Managing your household bills - full version

June 2009

Tips for saving money and making your home more energy efficient

Insulation

Good insulation can make an impact on your bills in the long run. Laying your loft with 10 inches/25 centimetres of insulation can save you around a quarter of your home’s heating costs. A third of warmth in your home is also lost through the walls.

If you install cavity wall insulation you can make further savings on your heating bills. Everyone qualifi es for at least 50 per cent off the cost of loft and cavity wall insulation through CERT – see below for more information.

Light bulbs

Replacing just one old light bulb with an energy saving one may reduce lighting costs by up to £78 over the lifetime of the bulb. They also last up to 12 times longer than the ordinary filament light bulbs.

Inefficient light bulbs are being phased out over the next few years.

The boiler

If your boiler is over 15 years old, you may wish to consider switching to a new energy efficient one. High efficiency condensing boilers can save up to a third of your annual heating bills, and there are Warm Front grants (HEES grants in Wales) available to help cover the cost – see below.

Turn it down

Turning your thermostat down by 1˚C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent. Also, your cylinder thermostat should not need to be set any higher than 60ºC/140ºF.

Turn it off

Do not leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily. Switch your lights off when you are not using them; it all adds up.

Washing

Remember to use the half-load, economy programmes for the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher.

The kettle

Only boil as much water as you need, but remember to cover the elements if you are using an electric kettle.

The freezer

Regularly defrost your freezer to make sure it is operating at full effi ciency.

Hot and cold air

Draw curtains over windows at night to provide insulation for the room. Keep outside doors shut and block up obvious draughts (including the letterbox). Move furniture away from radiators and heaters to allow heat to circulate around the room. Open internal doors of any rooms that get more sun than others and let the warm air travel around your home.

Water drips

A dripping hot water tap can waste enough hot water to fill half a bath in just one week, so fix leaking taps and make sure they are all fully turned off.

Reading the meters

Take regular meter readings so that your bills are accurate and not based on estimated readings.

Compare and switch suppliers

If it is cheaper, you may want to switch to a new supplier. It will take a while to do the comparisons yourself so go to one of the following price comparison websites, which carry the Consumer Focus Confidence Code logo. Consumer Focus is the new statutory organisation campaigning for a fair deal for consumers.

Visit http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk for more information.

. www.homeadvisoryservice.co.uk
. www.moneysupermarket.com
. www.switchwithwhich.co.uk
. www.uswitch.com
. www.simplyswitch.com
. www.unravelit.com
. www.energyhelpline.com
. www.theenergyshop.com
. www.ukpower.co.uk
. www.confused.com
. www.saveonyourbills.co.uk
. www.energylinx .co.uk

Switching to direct debit, duel fuel and paperless billing could also make your bills cheaper.

Local council grants

If you are on a low income, your local council may be able to help with home repairs, renovations and improvements such as insulation. Contact your local council for more information.

If you live in Greater London, regardless of which company supplies your energy, you are entitled to apply for discounts on cavity wall and loft insulation and £100 cashback once you have insulated your home. Loft insulation DIY kits are also available for £99, with £50 cash back from the Mayor and British Gas.

Call 0845 070 5059 and quote ‘web GLA’ or go to www.london.gov.uk/insulate for more information

Home Improvement agencies

There are about 250 Home Improvement agencies in the UK, who also provide advice on repairs and home improvements for disabled and vulnerable home owners or tenants.

To find your nearest agency, call 0145 789 1909 or go to www.foundations.uk.com

Heating your home

There are several grants available to help you keep your home warm, as well as organisations that can give advice.

The Energy Saving Trust

The Energy Saving Trust is a government agency that provides advice and help on saving energy. For an instant search of the grants and offers available to you, and for an online home energy check, visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk, or call their free helpline on 0800 512 012.

The Home Heat Helpline

The Home Heat Helpline can offer practical advice if you are concerned about paying your energy bills. They can advise you on grants for free home insulation and special payment options that your energy supplier might be able to provide. To talk to one of their advisers, call 0800 33 66 99.

CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target)

Every household qualifies for at least 50 per cent of the costs of loft and cavity insulation and a range of other energy saving devices, such as low-energy lightbulbs.

To apply, you are advised to contact your energy company or the Energy Saving Trust Helpline on 0800 512 012.

Keep Warm Keep Well campaign

Keep Warm Keep Well is a government campaign to reduce cold-related illnesses and deaths during winter. It offers tips and advice on keeping you and your family warm and reducing your heating bills.

For more information look out for Keep Warm Keep Well leafl ets in your GP’s surgery, local pharmacy or council offi ces. You can view information online at www.campaigns.direct.gov.uk/keepwarmkeepwell or order the leafl et from the Department of Health publications order line on 0300 123 1002.

Low Carbon Buildings programme

This is a government scheme which encourages you to install technologies such as micro-wind turbines, biomass heating and solar water heating panels. For more information go to
www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk or call 0800 915 0990.

Winter Fuel Payment

These are one-off annual payments to people who are aged 60 or over on 15 September annually. You must be ordinarily resident in the UK and not subject to immigration control in order to qualify.

The payment should be made to you automatically at some time in November or December if you have had one before or if you are receiving your state retirement pension or another social security benefit (except Child Benefit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit).

If you have not received one before, or the automatic payment has not been made, call the Winter Fuel Payment Helpline on 08459 151515 before 31 March. The amount in winter 2008/09 was £250 (£400 for the over 80s).

Cold Weather Payment

You are eligible for a Cold Weather Payment if you get

Income Support; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; income-related Employment and Support Allowance if it includes the pensioner premium, severe disability premium, enhanced disability premium, the work-related activity component or the support component; or Pension Credit.

and have one of the following:

a child under five in the family; a disabled child premium; Child Tax Credit that includes an individual element for a child or qualifying young person who is disabled or severely disabled; a disability premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium; a pensioner premium, higher pensioner premium or enhanced pensioner premium.

If you qualify for this payment you will receive £25 when the average temperature where you live is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0˚C or below over seven consecutive days during the period from 1 November to 31 March. Specified Meteorological Office weather stations are used to obtain this information.

You do not need to apply; you will get a Cold Weather Payment automatically as long as you qualify.

Tell your Pension Centre or Jobcentre Plus office if you think you should have received a Cold Weather Payment but have not had one. Cold Weather Payments do not affect other benefits you may be getting.

Warm Front grant (England only)

What is Warm Front?

Warm Front is a government funded scheme, managed by Eaga, which provides grants to make your home warmer and more energy effi cient. If you own your own home or rent it from a private landlord, you may be able to claim a Warm Front grant to help keep your home warm.

What grants are available?

The grant gives energy effi ciency advice, two energy efficient light bulbs and a package of improvements to meet the needs of each property, up to the value of £2,700 or up to £4,000 if your home needs oil central heating. The improvements may include loft insulation, draughtproofi ng, cavity wall insulation, hot water tank insulation, central heating, repairs to existing heating or converting a solid fuel open fire to a glass fronted fire. If you have received a grant before, you may still qualify for further help, depending on the improvements you originally received.

Who qualifies for Warm Front?

You may get a Warm Front grant if any of the following apply to you:

1. You get one or more of the following benefits:

Working Tax Credit (with an income of less than £15,460 and which must include a disability element)
Child Tax Credit (with an income of less than £15,460)
Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Income Support (must include a disability premium)
Housing Benefit (must include a disability premium)

Council Tax Benefi t (must include a disability premium)
War Disablement Pension (must include a mobility supplement or a Constant Attendance Allowance)
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefi t (must include Constant Attendance Allowance)

2. You have a child under 16 or are pregnant and have a maternity certifi cate MAT B1 and also get any of the following:

Income Support
Income-related Employment Support Allowance
Council Tax Benefi t
Housing Benefi t
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Pension Credit (Savings or Guarantee elements)

3. You are aged 60 or over and get any of the following:

Pension Credit (Savings or Guarantee elements)
Council Tax Benefit
Housing Benefit
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

You may be entitled to a Warm Front grant even if you are not yet getting any qualifying benefits. Call the Warm Front benefit entitlement check team for free on 0800 072 9006.

How to apply

You can confi rm that you qualify for a Warm Front grant and ask about making an application over the phone. Call Eaga, the Warm Front scheme manager, on freephone 0800 316 2814 (from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays) or go to www.warmfront.co.uk

You will need to complete an application form before a Home Energy Adviser visits you to assess and recommend work for your property.

How it works and costs

A Warm Front appointed engineer will complete a technical survey of the work needed for the existing heating system in your property. If, for example, your property needs a replacement boiler, work will be carried out within six to eight months of the technical survey.

You won’t have to pay anything as long as the work doesn’t cost more than the grant. In some cases you might have to pay towards the work but wherever possible the scheme will try to cover these costs. As part of the assessment, Eaga also has an arrangement with each utility company to get the utility company, where possible, to do the cavity wall and loft insulation whenever this cost would take you over the maximum grant.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme for Wales

Warm Front grants are available in England only. In Wales the Home Energy Effi ciency Scheme (HEES) provides the grants. The qualifying criteria and amount of the grant is different for HEES. For example, single parent families with children under 16 on a qualifying benefit may be entitled to a grant of up to £3,600. For more information, you can call Eaga Partnership, the HEES manager, on freephone 0800 316 2815 or go to www.heeswales.co.uk

Water bills

WaterSure

WaterSure is a scheme that helps people on a low income with water bills. You will only pay the average bill that the water company charges overall so if you use a lot of water then your bill will go down. To qualify for help you must be on a water meter and someone in the household must be on one of these benefits:

Income Support
Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
Income related Employment Support Allowance
Pension Credit
Working Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit (except if you receive the family element of Child Tax Credit only)
Housing Benefit
Council Tax Benefit

and there are three or more children aged under 19 in your household;

or,
someone in your household has a medical condition that means extra water use such as flaky skin disease; weeping skin disease, i.e. eczema, psoriasis, varicose ulcers; incontinence; abdominal stomas; renal failure (unless health authority helps with water costs already); Crohn’s disease; or ulcerative colitis.

Get an application form for WaterSure from your water company. You need to give proof of the benefits you are receiving and you need to explain any relevant medical condition in detail. (If the medical condition is not listed above you can still qualify if you use large amounts of water. You will need a doctor’s certifi cate as proof.)

If you qualify, you stay on the scheme for a year and then you have to reapply.

General help with bills

If you are struggling with fuel, water or any other debt, you may wish to read our factsheet Dealing with Debt or you can call National Debtline, the free, confidential and independent advice service, on 0808 808 4000 or look at their website, www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

If you are trading as a small business you can contact Business Debtline on 0800 197 6026.

Remember, water companies can disconnect your domestic water supply if you are in arrears.

Below we detail other possible routes to assist with your fuel and/or water debts.

Crisis Loans

This is part of the Social Fund payable by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). To be qualify for a Crisis Loan, you must be without sufficient resources to meet the immediate short-term needs of your family and in some circumstances that might include payments for bills. Contact your local Jobcentre Plus offi ce or claim online at www.dwp.gov.uk

Fuel Direct

This is a scheme that does not offer help to pay bills but if you are getting either Income support, incomebased Job Seeker’s Allowance, income–related Employment Support Allowance or Pension Credit, you can have amounts deducted from your benefit and paid directly to your fuel provider. This can be done if you are in arrears of at least £60.50. An amount of £3.05 per week for each fuel debt can be deducted from benefi t for the arrears and a further amount for your ongoing average consumption costs. Contact your local Jobcentre Plus office to find out more.

Community Care Grant

A grant can be awarded for reconnection if you are changing to Fuel Direct after being disconnected, or for the installation of a prepayment meter. To be entitled to a Community Care Grant you must be in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit. Contact your local Jobcentre Plus offi ce to apply for a grant.

Charitable trusts and utility company schemes

Many water and fuel companies run charitable trust funds or schemes to help you pay your household bills. Some offer help with the water and fuel debt only; others are prepared to help with other priority debts and even bankruptcy fees in certain situations.

Some companies run ‘restart schemes’. These enable you to start making regular payments, which are then matched by the trust fund. If you keep up with the payments, the rest of your debt may be written off.

See below for details of trusts that you can apply to.

If you need help with completing an application form, contact your local Citizens Advice bureau – details are in your local phone book or see www.adviceguide.org.uk

Anglian Water Trust Fund

This trust can help if your water is supplied by either Anglian Water or Hartlepool Water or by water companies whose sewerage services are supplied by Anglian Water (Cambridge Water, Essex and Suffolk Water and Three Valleys Water.) You will be required to demonstrate a commitment to paying your current and ongoing bills in your application to the Trust Fund. Get an application form by calling 01733 421060 or download one from www.awtf.org.uk

Bristol Water

This company operates a ‘restart scheme’, which means that if you are in debt to them and enter into a regular payment scheme, their charitable trust may help reduce your arrears.

Apply through an adviser at your local Citizens Advice bureau or other debt advice agency. If you are unable to contact your local debt advice agency, call the Bristol Wessex Billing Services Limited Restart Team on 0800 528 3 838 to request an application form. They may arrange for one of their staff to visit you in your home to complete the form.

British Gas Energy Trust

This trust can help with arrears of domestic gas and electricity charges and/or other essential domestic bills and costs. The British Gas Energy Trust is part of a Shared Programme of Giving. So it is possible that you are eligible to apply to other trusts too. Get an application form by calling 01733 421060 or download from www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk

EDF Energy

This trust can help if you are a customer of EDF Energy with gas and/or electricity debt and other essential domestic bills and costs. To apply, call the Charis Grants Information Line on 01733 421060 or see www.edfenergytrust.org.uk

EOS Foundation

This trust can help you if you are a customer of Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water, Folkestone and Dover Water, Mid Kent Water, Portsmouth Water, Tendring Hundred Water and South East Water. They can help with water debts and other essential bills. Get an application form (you will need to include proof of income when you complete it) by calling 01733 421060 or download one from www.eosfoundation.org.uk

npower First Step Scheme

You may have your debt cleared by npower if you keep to an agreed payment plan. If you are on a low income you may also be eligible for npower’s cheapest tariff. Contact npower on 0808 172 6999.

Powergen Hardship Fund

You can get free advice on energy effi ciency and you may be able to apply for payments from the Hardship Fund. Contact Powergen on 0800 051 1480.

Severn Trent Water Trust Fund

This trust can help if you live in the Severn Trent Area and you are in severe hardship and unable to meet the cost of water charges. They may also help with other priority bills. Get an application form by calling 0121 355 77 66 or download one from www.sttf.org.uk

Southern Water Trust Fund

If you are unable to meet the cost of water charges and live in the Southern Water area you can apply for help. In certain cases, the trust also considers giving some help to meet other essential bills, household needs or other debts. Get an application form by calling 0845 270 0897 or download one from www.swtf.org.uk

South Staffordshire Water

This company has a trust fund if you are having difficulties paying your water bills and you are willing to show a commitment to pay £1 or more a week for two months. You can apply through your local Citizens Advice bureau or call 0845 60 70 456 and ask for an application for the Charitable Trust Fund. For more details go to www.south-staffs-water.co.uk

South West Water

This company has a Special Assistance Scheme if you are having diffi culties paying your water bills. In order to get help, you have to show that you are trying to pay the bill or that you can stick to a repayment programme. Contact your local Citizens Advice bureau for an application form.

Thames Water

This company has a Customer Assistance Fund, Vulnerable Tariffs and Special Needs schemes if you are having diffi culties paying your water bills. To be considered for help, you must be referred by your local Citizens Advice bureau or other advice centre, National Debtline (0808 808 4000) or social services.

Three Valleys Water

This scheme enables water charges to be written off to enable you to have a ‘fresh start’. Apply through an adviser at your local Citizens Advice bureau or other debt advice agency.

United Utilities Trust Fund

This trust helps if you cannot pay your water charges and live in the North West of England. Get an application form by calling 0845 179 1791 or download one from www.uutf.org.uk

Welsh Water/Dwr Cymru

This company has a Customer Assistance Fund if you are having diffi culties paying your water bills. If you are able to keep to a repayment plan for six months, the fund can pay half of your water arrears. After another six months of payments, the rest of the arrears will be paid off. To be considered for help, you must be referred by a money adviser at your local Citizens Advice bureau.

Wessex Water

This company operates a ‘restart scheme’, which means if you are in debt to them and enter into a regular payment scheme they may help reduce your arrears. Apply through an adviser at your local Citizens Advice bureau or other debt advice agency. If you are unable to contact your local debt advice agency, call Bristol Wessex Billing Services Limited Restart Team on 0800 528 3 838 to request an application form. They may arrange for one of their staff to visit you in your home to complete the form.

Yorkshire Water Community Trust

This trust can help you if you cannot pay arrears of water charges that are no more than two years old and less than £1,000. You must have at least one other priority debt as well as water charge arrears. Priority debts include rent, mortgage, council tax, gas and electricity. To request an application form call 0845 1 24 24 26 or email info@ywct.org.uk


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