Disabled People Being Robbed Blind!!

helenback_4

Hi All,

Hope that got your attention! I need help! I am a disabled person and since moving into Armed Forces rented accomodation in the summer with my new husband I have been using a Vertical (through the floor) lift to get up and down stairs, and a Bath Knight (fancy bath lift) all of which were installed by the MOD which I am so very grateful for! We were plodding on nicely in our home with all these wonderful mod-cons helping me to live independently having made the adjustment from a bungalow to a house. Then today - Panic!! Our first electricity bill calculated on our usage and our monthly payment has gone up from £25 to £69 for electricity ALONE!!! Oh My God!!! I have spoken to the provider, Npower, who basically said - tough, you use it you pay for it!
There's only the two of us in the house, so the bulk of the bill is from the Hydraulic Lift (I have no idea how much power it uses) and the bath lift, but they are things I have no choice but to use!! Can anybody help? Is there a company that can take this into consideration when charging?? I feel like I'm being penalised!

Helenback

King_David_2

To say that Npower are robbing disabled people 'blind', from your comments, seems to me to be a bit harsh.

Moving from a bungalow to a house is usually going to lead to higher bills as there are more rooms. Accepting your disability and your need to use the two lifts, the onus is on you unfortunately to be aware of how much power these use.

You need to find out whether you are with the cheapest provider to begin with. Additionally, make sure you are receiving any benefits you are legally entitled to.

I am not aware of whether there is any help from outside in relation to the increased power bills, that is something other people might be able to answer.

There is only one thing that people are penalised for in this country - that of owning a car and running it.

MarkyMarkD

Sorry if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs, but is it definitely an accurate bill based on a meter reading, rather than an estimate? And did you check the opening reading was correct?

If you monitor your usage by comparing the reading from one week to the next, you might find that something has gone wrong to lead to this high bill.

I doubt either of those appliances is going to use a huge amount of electricity.