The rising cost of fuel - how does it... - Lung Conditions C...
The rising cost of fuel - how does it affect you?
254 VotersPlease select all that apply:
There r days I don't eat ,so as to save money
MEG,THATS THE WORST THING TO DO, YOU WILL FEEL THE COLD MORE IF YOU don't EAT, GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR SUPPLIER THEY WILL HELP OUT IN AS MUCH AS DEFER PAYMENTS, GIVE IT A TRY MEG PLEASE DON'T GO COLD
I did get in touch,there bloody old and heartless and I don't care who hears e say it,I long forthe summer months ,I dread winter every year,because of the heating bills and my various ailments that plague me every winter,il say it again they r not interested in helping us toners ther interested in money
where you are from dont they have for people who dont make enough they just pay real low, like i pay 50 dollars a month, but i am in the us
Hi Meg
Will you give us a call on 03000 030 555 to see if we can try to help? We will call you back!
Best Wishes
Jo
JO i hope Meg does get in touch, she certainly could do with a helping hand. its terrible to think that there are people so bad off in uk in 2013.bye
meg get in touch withSOCIAL SERVICES phone them and get them to call and see you, keep heat off that day then they can see what you have to put up with, meg do this give it a try nothing lost but chance for you to get some help. good luck
I marked that I worry about paying - despite being on pre-pay meters there is always the worry that we will overdo it and the lights will go out, or the gas fire will, if we don't have the credit on the meter. We've been offered 'normal' meters, but dare not swap as we would not be able to pay a monthly or quarterly bill. Right now we are forced to buy credit - or do without.
We do reduce the number of rooms we heat. The kitchen has no heating anyway, apart from the gas oven. Unless you're cooking, it's cold in there. The dining room gas fire has only been on twice this winter, when it was really cold for a couple of nights. No rooms upstairs are heated during the day, the bedrooms just for an hour or so before bed, the bathroom for an hour or two while we have showers and so on.
The living room is our main hub, the fire is on and off during the day to air/warm the room. During the daytime, when others are at work, I make do with the sleeping bags and fleece blankets We can't keep the fire on all the time.
We are not in arrears now, but were a few years back. That's why we have the pre-pay meters as we were forced to pay the debt off that way. I've looked at swapping suppliers but they are all pretty much the same with pre-pay.
On pre-pay there are no special tariffs (single r double f) or discounts. With our supplier, if you're on a monthly/quarterly payment scheme you get a dual fuel discount, which was £150 a year. On pre-pay you have to pay in advance, they are sure of getting their money, yet no discount is given at all. That stinks!
Energy efficient, no, it's not. The gas fires are ancient, 1960/70's era. The wall heaters upstairs are 25 years old. We put double glazing in about 7-8 years ago, that's helped but the house is old and does not have cavity walls that could be filled. We've swapped over to low energy light bulbs, then again to LED bulbs. We changed the TV from an old tube one to a flat screen, same with the computer monitors. But, hot water is via an immersion heater, very expensive to run.
We would very much like to get central heating installed, which would have just one source of heat running, instead of the individual rooms having their own. It would also provide hot water, cutting out the need for an immersion heater. That would be a modern, energy efficient, system that should also save money and therefore reduce the worries about being able to heat the home and pay for it.
When I think back 10-15 years. We used to have the gas fire on all evening if we needed it, the bedroom heaters would go on a couple of hours before bedtime and stay on low through the night. We had baths, now we have showers. We're now paying twice as much for half the energy...
Hi Gordon if you can get 1 of those electric water heaters that a lot had in the 70s / 80s the ones that you have over sink that you fill up from tap i dont know if they still sell em but they would save you having emersion on all day and would be a lot cheaper and you would never need to boil a kettle
The immersion heater is on for under an hour a day, unless we need more hot water for some reason. That's enough for washing the pots up, personal washing and shaving, and and cleaning that needs to be done. When it's gone, it's gone. I wouldn't dare leave it on all day 
The over-sink water heater would be useful if we had somewhere to install it - we've only got a small kitchen and have looked at these before - like this one: e-lightingandheating.co.uk/... - plus there's the cost of buying and having it installed, 
the ones iwas thinking of were made of plastic and seethrough so you could fill it up from tap and you could put it on wall but they were not very expensive and just plugged into mains but if you aint got space for one i guess its a non starter
Gordon if you go to your housing office not for tenants you can get a
grant or you my be able to get what they call a loan for the central heating . But you do not have to pay it back only if you sell your home
There are a few things more but the grants department will tell you
The only thing they were aware of was the Green Deal scheme. I've looked at that many times before and it's not something we could afford to go for as they take the repayments on your electricity account, with having pre-pay meters we can't afford any more being added on.
In my area the housing is a separate company to the council. I have contacts there and they know nothing about a loan scheme other than the one I've already applied for, a Disabled Facilities Grants.
Gordon, I'm sure you could get a grant to have central heating put in, especially with your condition. Have a chat with BLF, they will probably know what's availabe. You shouldn't have to sit wrapped in blankets/sleeping bags with no heating on ......
I have already contacted the the Adult Contact Team (Social Services) at the council about this. They have taken my details and passed it on to the appropriate department.
Last time I did this it took 10 months before anyone got in touch. I've already sent email to the lady who came out then and let her know about my request. They have a backlog...
There are grants available for home adaptations, I think it was up to £30,000 per home for those who qualify. I've had a second handrail put in on the stairs, and they supplied a perching stool for me to use, so they've already assessed me in the past.
I'm giving it to the end of the month and will then be on to my MP and the Mayor's office again !
The grant i was telling you about you should see someone with in two
weeks it has nothing to do with a disable grant for adap
tions phone them in the morning .
The only reson i know about it as my bedroom floor caved in as i sleep down stairs .
Having very severe emphysema I must keep warm so the heating is on in my house 24/7 from October until April. The main thing is to make sure we claim all we are due to have help with heating bills, and make sure our house is energy efficiant. I have also signed into a long contract with the price held. And when that ends if my present supplier cannot still give me the best price. I will find another supplier that will. But we have to have heating as cold is dangerous
I used to work in utlilities gas / electric sales the best way to save is to pay by direct debit from bank and most important is to find a company with the longest fixed price at the best rate but it is the longest period thats the best advantage of fixed prices if you had fixed your prices 2/3 years ago till now you will have saved a considerable amount there are usualy 2 price rises a year once the fixed price period is finishing its time to find the next fixed price deal . Paying by direct debit is always cheaper and if you are on line then you can get better online rates this may mean you reading your own meters and puting them online to supplier . There are social grants such as if you recieve social benefits ring your supplier you could get up to £130 off your annual bill also there is a goverment set up scheme called staywarm for pensioners im not sure if it starts at age 55 are 60 , this scheme is a set price for gas and electric and you can use as much gas electric as you need for that set price this is great for people who use a good amount of gas and electric its worth finding out how much it is for you it goes on the amount of bedrooms and the amount of people in the house thats how they determine usage it is good for some but can be more others and it is in creased usualy each year i hope this helps . Bob x
We all need to keep our houses or flats at 21 degrees during the day and 18 degrees at night,this is the recommended guidlines for keeping us somewhat healthy.
I'm on benefits but because they are contribution based(deamed as having paid enough into the system) and I'm entitled to diddly-squat in the way of fuel allowance.
My bills are crippling me.....this government sucks big time and can't tell the difference between their butts and their elbows.
Husband is 70 and disabled, I am severe copd. We had to make the decision to use the heating only 2 hours a day one in morning the other in late afternoon. Sometimes I throw up as I am so cold. Hot water bottles, blankets and going to bed early is the way we cope. We eat as well as we can and have lots of soup.Have a cheap to run portable fire that we use is the grandchildren come as they are so small. Hubby was able to get the £130 credit to the elec bill which is what we use for the small fire. Rang both SEB and Southern gas to find out about tariffs for oaps or benefits such as staywarm as mentioned above but were told none of those exist anymore and were replaced by the discount.
I know that here inUK there is help available for ppl who are in real trouble with paying heating bills, someone out there will know who MEG can get in touch with to get this benefit, sounds as if she is at the end of her teather,so please help her out andlet her know who will help her.
all energy companies have a hardship sceam ask
These hardship schemes are to help those who have got into arrears and are having difficulty clearing those arrears, not for general users. You have to apply to the scheme then show that you are willing and able to pay for your current usage for three months before they will even consider looking at helping you clear the debt. If you can't pay then they can't help. There's more information for anyone in this situation at charisgrants.com/, of contact your own energy supplier.
call your local social serviceses thay can help you but only if you call you may think you are getting all the help you need but from what you say you are not please phone them tell them that you need help don't be specific and they should send s omeone round
Thanks Bunny, i will pass that ont MEG as she is the one in trouble and worried weather to eat or put heat on. Its a terrible situation for her to be in. cheers
I have put I worry about heating
but I will not go cold. My kitchen has no heating and I hate heating in the bedroom.
I do not have any other heating bar radiators. I did think of getting a log burner but decided against.
I despair that in this century in our modern world we have people going cold. Basic heating surely is a must.
I know its begging but there are plenty of charities out there, see if one of them can help. What job did you do? there are often charities asscociated with the types of jobs that can help.
Sorry but if people think its ok to go to charities and ask them to pay there bankcruptsy fees then to pay for someones heating to me is a must.
There is help for people who worked in certain industries or meet some other qualifying criteria. I know Jo at BLF often posts about individual grants that crop up, if anyone has some time to spare and wants to try their luck you start at :- turn2us.org.uk/
They have a feature on at present - 'Are you in fuel poverty?' - try the questionnaire at :- fuelpovertymap.org.uk or fuelpoverty.turn2us.org.uk/...
I've come to the conclusion that the only time I'll feel warm in the winter is if I'm cremated then...
As someone said above, the recommend daytime room temperature is 21 degrees, but I NEVER have my thermostat set above 15 as I know how much extra that will cost me and I can't afford it. I find that if I stay (imprisoned) in the same room and keep the doors and windows closed the average temperature stays at about 18. Not comfortable, but there you go ......
Thank goodness I registered for the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which should be paying out next month. At least my bill will be cleared....... until next time.
My flat is perishing cold [and I suffer from bronchiectasis and aspergiloma]. I thought that perhaps I could qualify to have some help concerning roof insulation installed, but was told that since I did not own the roof [my flat is in a multi occupation building] I could not get any assistance.
There are so many rules which means that there is always someone somewhere who is totally isolated.
I have COPD, bronchiectasis, angia and heart failure , I myself am on oxygen 24 x7 so my electrucity bill is high. I know the company pays me 9p per hour useage which is good as it help, not a lot but grateful. I now wear variose layers of clothing to keep warm and costs down. At the moment we pay£53 per month for Gas and £93 per month for electricty. We have to eat and keep warm. We are fortunate that we are not in arrears (Yet)
i have a big problem ,if cold weather or air i have cramp in my lung,any one saffer the same
We have started using a 'calor gas' heater. We bought it last year in case of a power cut. We buy a gas bottle for about £30. Obvously it depends how much you use it as to how long it lasts. It really keeps the room warm and does not smell at all. My husband is on oxygen and this has caused no problems.
We had a key meter when we moved here but it worked out very expensive. We now pay by direct debit and get help towards the cost of having the oxygen 24/7.
Also please make sure that you are claiming any benefits you are entitled to.
P.S The oxygen concentrator keeps our bedroom quite warm.
The cost of keeping warm especially if you have family even if not so, is horribly mean! our family have prepaid meters for both gas & electricity as paying the fuel without these meters would no doubt leave us having to cut the gas supply! so there's no choice really but to have these budgeting meter's to which we have to feed the gas more often twice if not three times a week! We switched from one supplier near the end of 2011 to another to one we was with before because it was a lot cheaper but after switching back to our current supplier we are still no better off! What's next to come.....
This may not be useful at all, but I wonder if one of those 'all-in-one' fleece garments might help some of you? It won't warm the air but if your body is warm you'll feel a bit better.
Now there's a thought - Onesies on prescription ? 
I do have one, but found it a little tight in a rather delicate area so can't sleep in it. I have had it on after a shower a couple of times, but the weather isn't kind enough for it on it's own just now, it needs to go under something else. It may reappear in the spring, but for now it's too much messing about. I may as well stick to the thermals, PJ's and dressing gown with gripper bedsocks. Otherwise I'd have to undress to take it off to put the other things back on.
I have a couple of fleecy blankets. One is the type with sleeves, you're supposed to wear it when you're sat in a chair or something, so your hands are still free. The other is a smaller one, but still useful to wrap around the shoulders when sat watching TV.
I've decided that if/when we get the Warm Home discount payment, some of it is going to have to go on a new sleeping bag. I have 4 in all, three are just thin summer ones and I use a combination of those just to try and keep the draughts out. The main one is quite old, the washing instructions are in Latin, and I don't think it's doing as well as it could. The biggest problem is that the zip works it's way down during the night and I end up being cold down one side, despite the other sleeping bags and fleeces. I've tried a spare quilt, but it falls off when I move.
Hi guys I am a new member I got dx with copd last week I am 56 I used to be a chef and to be honest no one should ever go without food I can give you recipes that will cook substantial meals for a couple of pound all fresh no processed food at all I am here if you need simple recipes x
Hi taffydaffy
Found your message tonight. Did you ever give out your recipes?
I am a vegetarian and my husband is not. It is my husband who has COPD.
Look forward to your reply, hope you are keeping as well as possible.
Jean
Hi everyone, I don't know if this is just my fuel supplier (SSE), but they approached me about insulation etc. told me to ring the Affordable Warmth Scheme 0800 980 7537. They said they replace appliances over 5 years old and boilers over 16 years old. Sounded too good to be true, so forgot about it, but they came and did survey and going to replace boiler and put thermostatic controls on radiators to cut costs.it depends what benefits you get, but you either get it free or pay a contribution I think.
Please give them a ring: they've been told by government to spend this money and we pay enough, don't we!?and being cold is the worst thing for chest patients.
If the Energy Companies REDUCED THEIR COLOSSAL PROFITS we wouldn't have this problem in the first place, but this millionaire Government won't do anything to stop them chasing ever bigger profits , ( More rises in the future wer'e told ) even they have admitted nearly four million can't pay their bills now and on the basis that the bigger your bill, the more VAT the Government rake in , I can't see any change coming. apart from possibly in a couple of years with further increases, Millions are going to be priced out of Energy altogether - then what ? ......colossal deaths from Hypothermia etc, - I read recently 23, 642 died last year - sources - "Age Concern, " and " Macmillan Cancer ", The only answer I can see is to get rid of the millionaires running this country who have no concept because of their massive wealth ,of having to struggle paying ever increasing bills, and try and find a party who appreciate what the ordinary, poor, and disabled folk are going through ....
