help with gas and electric bill when husband has cancer and heart failure — Scope | Disability forum
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help with gas and electric bill when husband has cancer and heart failure

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Norman140566
Norman140566 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
edited October 2021 in Benefits and financial support
help with gas and electric bills when husband has cancer and heart failure and I need the heating on as he is feeling the cold terrible, and we have no savings and were done by hackers on our pensions, in a desperate way atm
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  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
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    Several options I can think of to explore: 

    1. Warm home discount might be available. 
    2. You could be entitled to winter fuel payment? 
    3. Use the turn2us grants search. 
    4. See whether your supplier has a grant scheme or trust to apply to for help. 
    5. Speak with supplier and explain situation to see whether they can offer assistance. 
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  • Oxonlady
    Oxonlady Scope Member Posts: 566 Pioneering
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    Hi @Norman140566, sorry to hear of your predicament.
    Macmillan Cancer support offer some financial assistance. If you can't get through on their helpline maybe ask at one of their shops if you can.
    Also, depending on the type of cancer the patient has, there may be a specific Charity that can give you more advice. 
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  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,741 Disability Gamechanger
    edited September 2021
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    Hi @Norman140566 and welcome to our community, I hope you're keeping ok today.

    I'm sorry to hear things are hard but am happy you found us as we have a free disability energy support service who can help make things easier for you both.  The service is open to people living in England and Wales and assists with:
    • managing energy debt
    • switching tariffs or supplier
    • changing your meter
    • energy efficiency
    • accessing energy benefits, grants and trusts
    • contacting or complaining to your supplier
    • understanding your gas or electricity bills
    • understanding how to use your heating systems
    To apply to the service and have a 45 minute call with a friendly specialist advisor, follow this link.

    You also mentioned:
    we have no savings and were done by hackers on our pensions, in a desperate way atm
    If you're comfortable sharing, can I ask what happened with the hackers and if it was reported?  Money-wise, have you used a benefits calculator to get an indication of any benefits you might be entitled to that you aren't currently in receipt of?  You can use Turn2us Benefits Calculator to do this.

    Otherwise, do you feel that you both have enough support with daily living?  We don't want you struggling so please let us know if there's anything else that you feel you would benefit from.

    Take care and hope to speak again soon.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,985 Disability Gamechanger
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    Details of the warm home discount here. https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme although this isn't available until later in the year/early next year.

    You mention a pension so if you were born before 26th September 1955 you will automatically qualify for this. https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility

    As Oxonlady has advised, a cancer charity should also be able to do a full benefits check with you.

    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
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    Apart from specific help with energy use have you checked to see taht you are getting, or have applied for, any benefits that may be available to maximise your income?
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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Scope’s Disability Energy Support service is open to any disabled household in England or Wales in which one or more disabled people live. You can get free advice from an expert adviser on managing energy debt, switching tariffs, contacting your supplier and more. Find out more information by visiting our
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