Cold weather payments!
 

It's just been on the news, Age Concern are bleating about the cold weather payments not being enough. Excuse me but I'll gladly accept £250 every November to see me through the winter, I'll gladly accept another £25 per week if the temprature drops below a certain level for 5 days, basically they are getting £250 plus another £25 per week while it's cold like it has been, they've got the potential to get over £300 in free fuel.

I know of people who are getting this while living in sheltered accomodation where their heating is free or included in their rents, I also know of people who are getting free coal but still get the winter fuel payments each year.

To Age Concern, if the payments aren't good enough tell the pensioners to hand them back or better still tell them to spend it on their heating instead of down at the Bingo.

Cast your minds back to 15 years ago before these payments came in, you can go back to them days if you want?

The more you give them the more they want.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

this was discussed on the Jeremy vine show radio 2 , and because the money is paid out in nov it usually goes on Xmas pressies for the gran kids ,according to research carried out .

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

I get cold weather payments (not winter fuel) and I'm glad I do. Can't say the more I get the more I want though.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

I think it would do more good if Age Concern made an effort to ensure all those who were entitled to this extra benefit were actually getting it.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Cold weather payments are brilliant unless you are being paid by cheque and there is no post! :fit:

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Ah right so it's not just me then?? If they don't want the money pay them in credits which can be cashed against their heating this way they'll spend nothing on Christmas pressies and then Age Concern will have nothing to moan about will they??

I'd like to see them in another EU country where they don't get the weather payments.

---------- Post added at 10:36 ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 ----------

Does it cover your winter fuel payments??

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

No.

edit - Mind you I wouldnt expect £25 or £50 to cover all my winter fuel costs.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

We help a few elderly and sick people in the village and some of them just have enough to live on never mind battling these temp extremes.. I've seen then shivering in thier beds as they don't have enough money to even put the heating on minimal.. These payments are a lifesaver to people like that..

In our area there's been 3 cold weather payment activations and I normally tell the people directly from internet information as the letters come far too late for them to know that they can afford to run thier heating a bit more

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Indeed - and I think it may be a good idea to post this link again.
http://pensions.direct.gov.uk/en/col...yment/home.asp

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

I think it's enough. it's a lot more than nothing. I know one old person that has over £63,000 in his bank account and is a scrooge with the heating. he'll complain that it's cold but won't turn it up or even on until a certain time because he doesn't want to waste money.

not all are like that, but for the sake of an extra few quid a week in keeping warm or suffering. it's just not worth it.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

We get the £25 cold weather payment every now and then, and we put it all on the gas or electric. Having an old crappy back boiler doesn't help.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8440557.stm

A government scheme that gives households in England £400 off the cost of a new boiler has been launched.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Thanks for the link Kymmy, but we live in council accommodation.

Our council estate has been on the waiting list for new boilers for about 3 years. Maybe this year we'll get them?

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Counts me out, even though everyone on our estate has a Category G boiler.

So, very affordable then. Ok, it may save you more than that in the long term, you still need to have that amount to spend in the first place though.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

thats the only draw back with the scheme ,i think they should give you the voucher and make the contractor claim the money back not the home owner as this could put alot of people of ,although i believe British gas will be appliying a discount matching the grant to ofset the full cost

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

You also need to :-

Get an estimate and submit it to the Energy Saving Trust.

Wait for the approval and a voucher to be issued.

Then have the work done within 12 weeks of the date of the voucher.

Pay the whole amount on completion.

Submit the paid receipt with the voucher to claim back the £400.

Simples, I think not.

With the pressure on qualified installers to do their normal work I can see a lot of people falling foul of the 12 week deadline, and having to fork out the £400 is unjustifiable when registered installers have to be used and they presumably would be able to claim the money themselves against say ... VAT returns.


add ... Sorry martyh, I seem to have spent so long typing that I have duplicated part of you post.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Partly true. Unfortunately, housing associations have nothing to do with the council, they are private not for profit providers of social housing, and are not included/covered by any of the decent homes funding.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

We had many of the same issues when we applied for a grant under the Scottish renewables scheme, which is administered by the EST. The amount of grant was far larger - 30% of the total cost - but, as with the boiler scrappage scheme you still have to have the cash in hand before you start. Thankfully I had a very generous friend who lent me £3,000 from his savings account until I could claim it back after completion.

It's a completely cockeyed way of encouraging people to go green if you ask me. The very people who will benefit most are the ones who won't be able to participate because they're unlikely to have 100s of £s just lying around that they can spend and then claim back later.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

that is true ,and it's a pet hate of mine that housing associations don't get the same grants from the government as the council homes do ,especially since they took alot of the council houses and made them liveable 15-20 years ago when the councils didn't want them

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

44 years from now i would gladly accept £250, personally i think thats more than enough!

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

you should be able to buy a newspaper with £250 by then -remember to stuff your clothing with it to keep warm ;)

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Oh! i thought it was just for the gas!, lets hope they still have primemark in 44 years haha

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

I think the payment should be sent either to the heating providers or given in vouchers so it cant be used for anything but heating.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Good idea :) - see I'd have no problems with thaat.

I put my payments to one side and use them to pay the gas bill when it comes but as I say I'd have no problems with them giving it me as a voucher or indeed paying british gas direct.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

wouldn't paying the energy companies direct be quite a simple system to set up ,i believe that option was available to people on the dole years ago

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Was it - I dunno. Only been signed off sick for four years.....

I dont think it would be that hard to do though.

Blooming heck - four years. :(

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

£400 isn't a lot though. I had a quote of £4200 from BG for a simple boiler swap in the summer. Another £400 from BG is nice but means they'll put up their prices by £400 i'm sure. Indpendent heating engineers weren't much less.

Meanwhile for the last year or so, people with nice jobs have got £2000 off a nice new car. Meanwhile I have to struggle with a 20 year old boiler because I don't have £3500 cash.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

its approx 1/2 the cost of the boiler ,an average boiler will set you back about £850-£900 ex vat with fitting you should pay no more than £1500 and that includes thermostatic valves on the rads ,at least that's what a landlord has just payed i work for

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Yes, thats what OH paid - but we know a plumber so i suppose if you're not so lucky you could get ripped off.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

under the scheme a plumber from the pub ,however good ,isn't going to get the grant ,the contractor will have to vetted by whoever gives out the voucher ,leading to price hikes in the labour cost

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

No, its approx 1/2 the net cost of a boiler (minus VAT and profit) and noone's going to fit one for free either.

In case people are thinking i'm making this up. This is the cheaper quote BG gave me with just the essential work.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...1&d=1263063051

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...1&d=1263063051

Maybe if you're going from a new boiler to another new boiler the costs are lower but apparently not for going from a 20 year old one to a brand new one. And as for recouping the cost, if my gas bills are halved (which seems to be the more optimistic estimate) then it would take 16 years to recoup the £4200. Who's heard of a new boiler lasting that long? Nowadays you're lucky if you get 8 out of it.

And I did shop around. If someone quoted me £1500 for something everyone else is quoting £3700-4200 for i'd seriously wonder if it was safe letting him in the house.

So yeah. A lot of people got new cars, and some got nicer cars than they were planning to buy. That's what's important.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Glow Worm Condenser Boiler fitted all new pipes and new thermostats on all the radiators cost £1250 with a CORGI registered plumber, there's no need for £2000-£3000 then claim the £400 back under the scrapage scheme. Any decent plumber out there will do the job for much less.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Yeah, sure. British Gas aren't cheap but they don't just charge double what everyone does it for.

Re: Cold weather payments!
 

That boiler on the BG quote is about £750. Quotes for fitting seem to start around £500:

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/prices/pl...ting-only.html

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

thats what i said ..1/2 cost of boiler ex vat no more than £1500 for the boiler including fitting ..thats just the boiler not rads you don't always have to have new rads fitted a full central heating kit(condensing boiler +7 rads ) can be bought for roughly £800+vat

Re: Cold weather payments!
 

Well I will trust the HEs that have actually come around to my house and quoted me.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

CORGI? Who are they?? ;)



---------- Post added at 22:33 ---------- Previous post was at 22:31 ----------

Just to correct this - it's 0 degrees or lower for 7 consecutive days.

Re: Cold weather payments!!!
 

Re: Cold weather payments!
 

What's also important to remember is that cancer patients need additional heating. The chemotherapy and other drugs used mean they feel the cold more than other people. The additional fuel payments are only applicable to pensioners who are means tested, but cancer patients don't automatically qualify for additional assistance - especially important during these recent cold spells.

You can all help by looking at the MacMillan nurses website:

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/GetInvol..._campaign.aspx

Thanks!