Help with sorting parent's bills
My Father has recently gone into a Care Home; whilst we were hoping that it would be on a "temporary" basis, sadly, it looks more and more like it may become permanent.
In the meantime, I am trying to sort out all of his "finances", which is far from easy, especially since it is a case of looking at incoming statements to see what comes in and what goes out. In addition, I still have to sort out the ongoing bills, as and when they arise, such as the Home Insurance which has just ended.
I am trying to get the "best deals" for my Father, and so I am trying to shop around, but it is hard to tell what I can do, since I am not my Father.
I do have POA, to an extent, but even then, like I have just noticed on his old Home Insurance reminder - I see details that are either incorrect or have changed. (One example, it states that there is a smoker in the household - my Dad hasn't smoked for about 40 years! Also, it asks for the household occupancy - well, currently, it is Unoccupied, (despite we really hope that it will be occupied again, but cannot guarantee this,) and so will that make the policy cost increase immensely or should I still class it as one person occupying the house?)
Another discovery is that his phone, electric and gas are all under the same provider. I shall have to take the phone off of this package, (since he is being charged a silly amount just for having it, and any little "add-ons",) but would I be better looking at separate utilities or combined packages again?
I can sort my own finances out, but trying to sort my Dad's out, especially since he cannot contribute too much, is proving quite complicated and long-winded.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, or can otherwise help, please?
Thank you, (in advance).
In the meantime, I am trying to sort out all of his "finances", which is far from easy, especially since it is a case of looking at incoming statements to see what comes in and what goes out. In addition, I still have to sort out the ongoing bills, as and when they arise, such as the Home Insurance which has just ended.
I am trying to get the "best deals" for my Father, and so I am trying to shop around, but it is hard to tell what I can do, since I am not my Father.
I do have POA, to an extent, but even then, like I have just noticed on his old Home Insurance reminder - I see details that are either incorrect or have changed. (One example, it states that there is a smoker in the household - my Dad hasn't smoked for about 40 years! Also, it asks for the household occupancy - well, currently, it is Unoccupied, (despite we really hope that it will be occupied again, but cannot guarantee this,) and so will that make the policy cost increase immensely or should I still class it as one person occupying the house?)
Another discovery is that his phone, electric and gas are all under the same provider. I shall have to take the phone off of this package, (since he is being charged a silly amount just for having it, and any little "add-ons",) but would I be better looking at separate utilities or combined packages again?
I can sort my own finances out, but trying to sort my Dad's out, especially since he cannot contribute too much, is proving quite complicated and long-winded.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, or can otherwise help, please?
Thank you, (in advance).
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Comments
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The home insurance question would probably get a better answer on the insurance board.
For the energy, the usual advice would be to find historic usage (if you don't already know it) and enter it into a price comparison website. If the home is likely to be unoccupied over the winter, historic usage is unlikely to be accurate. While you'll want to have the heating on at a low level for frost protection the usage may be low enough to justify a zero standing charge tariff.
You also need to find out if the current tariff has a termination charge. With the phone included, is the current supplier Utility Warehouse by any chance?3.6 kW PV in the Midlands - 9x Sharp 400W black panels - 6x facing SE and 3x facing SW, Solaredge Optimisers and Inverter. 400W Derril Water (one day). Octopus Flux0 -
It is cheaper to have gas and electric at seperate companies.
But if no one is in the house is it worth changing ? Or keep them together for ease.
Be careful about phone. This is likely to start a new 12 month contract. If the house is likely to be sold within this time you would have to pay the remainder. How much are you paying for phone?0 -
My Father has recently gone into a Care Home; whilst we were hoping that it would be on a "temporary" basis, sadly, it looks more and more like it may become permanent.
In the meantime, I am trying to sort out all of his "finances", which is far from easy, especially since it is a case of looking at incoming statements to see what comes in and what goes out. In addition, I still have to sort out the ongoing bills, as and when they arise, such as the Home Insurance which has just ended.
I am trying to get the "best deals" for my Father, and so I am trying to shop around, but it is hard to tell what I can do, since I am not my Father.
I do have POA, to an extent, but even then, like I have just noticed on his old Home Insurance reminder - I see details that are either incorrect or have changed. (One example, it states that there is a smoker in the household - my Dad hasn't smoked for about 40 years! Also, it asks for the household occupancy - well, currently, it is Unoccupied, (despite we really hope that it will be occupied again, but cannot guarantee this,) and so will that make the policy cost increase immensely or should I still class it as one person occupying the house?)
Another discovery is that his phone, electric and gas are all under the same provider. I shall have to take the phone off of this package, (since he is being charged a silly amount just for having it, and any little "add-ons",) but would I be better looking at separate utilities or combined packages again?
I can sort my own finances out, but trying to sort my Dad's out, especially since he cannot contribute too much, is proving quite complicated and long-winded.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, or can otherwise help, please?
Thank you, (in advance).
Although you will get a lot of good advice on this forum, none of us are experts in this situation.
I would suggest that your local Citizens Advice would be your best port of call as they deal with this all the time.0 -
My MIL asked me to take control of her utilities several years ago.
Keep pecking away at it - as the house insurance is due foe renewal do that first. You may find that if your father had had the same insurer for years the premium has crept up and up. Don't worry about minor errors. Likewise something like Homecare.
Check Council tax for the 25% sole occupier discount.
If you don't live locally get the post redirected.Never pay on an estimated bill0 -
Starting with home insurance, have a look on the main websites advice by Martin on filling out the insurance details before venturing onto a comparison website such as Gocompare, Confused etc. MSE advice is to get 3 different quotes. Then compare the cashbacks on any at Quidco and Topcashback. It is all quick and easy to do nowadays, as is the switching suppliers
Advice such as "dont over price the rebuild cost or they will inflate the premiums ".is a good one. I just halved my new years quotation last week just by following the advice from MSE.
Think about switching suppliers or lowering the tariffs with the present supplier. Big savings here to be had and if the house is going to be unoccupied possibly an Ebico no standing charge tariff may be best..Visit Uswitch to begin with because its easier to use and to register than many of the others but use Cheapenergyclub for cashbacks to do the switch.
Check if father qualifies for the £140 a year off the electricity bill with the Warm Home Discount.
if your dad is not on a water meter think about getting one.0 -
As an aside, I presume he is getting Attendance Allowance ??
I know it complicates things but it is worth claiming on his behalf.0 -
greyteam1959 wrote: »As an aside, I presume he is getting Attendance Allowance ??
I know it complicates things but it is worth claiming on his behalf.
The OP states his father is currently in a care home, so may no longer be entitled even if claiming it, one more thing to sort out
I've not checked the rules since my mother died, but rule of thumb was any stay over a fortnight the entitlement ceased
IF OP has time to read when DWP should be informed when a pensioner goes into care / hospital.Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens0 -
The OP states his father is currently in a care home, so may no longer be entitled even if claiming it, one more thing to sort out
I've not checked the rules since my mother died, but rule of thumb was any stay over a fortnight the entitlement ceased
IF OP has time to read when DWP should be informed when a pensioner goes into care / hospital.
If a resident is self-funding, they can receive AA however long they live in a care home.0 -
You can claim attendance allowance (normally higher rate) when in a care home provided you are self funded. Being the sole owner of a property would make that the case as would sufficient savings.0
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Hi Raxiel
Thank you for your advice!
I think, for the insurance, I shall just go onto one of MSE's "Comparison" pages, and check the best deal for what he has covered already. I am assuming that the premium will go up, though, because it is now predominantly unoccupied.
Does the boiler come under Home Insurance, because he did have boiler cover, which has also expired, but someone from British Gas came out for their standard visit, approx 2 months ago, and said there was nothing wrong with it, and just cleaned the inside a little?
I am afraid I am unsure as to what "a zero standing charge tariff" is, exactly.
I shall also just use MSE's Comparison pages to check the best energy deals, too.
No, he isn't on "Utility Warehouse" - are they bad or good? He is with "SSE". It will be interesting to see what they now quote as a Customer buying gas and electric but no phone package.0
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