Energy Debt

Two years ago, Mark from Stockton on Tees, was forced into early retirement as he was suffering with numerous health conditions which affected his ability to work

The sudden loss of income had a big impact on Mark and his family, and for two years he tried everything possible to keep finances under control, pay his bills and provide for his family. He done this by; seeking employment and by enquiring about going self-employed.

Unfortunately this was proven difficult and he found his bills were building up, especially his utility bill. Mark contacted Stockton Borough Council’s Warm Homes Healthy People project who referred him to Amy Baker, Executive Support Assistant at Five Lamps.

He explained his situation to Amy and told her that he was finding it difficult to pay the large repayments his supplier was requesting each month towards his arrears.

They discussed various payment options and worked with his supplier to identify a suitable payment option for Mark to ensure he could budget his money and pay back his outstanding debt. They also worked together to submit an Npower energy trust fund application to clear his arrears.

The application to Npower Energy Trust fund was a success, and Mark has been provisionally awarded a grant to clear his energy arrears. If over the next three months he makes sufficient payments to his arrears he will be awarded around £2000 to clear his energy debt.

Mark said:

“I cannot thank Five Lamps enough, for their help and support. I was in a dark place and they showed me the light. Thank you Amy and the Npower energy fund”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Nora from Stockton on Tees was referred to Five Lamps by the Tees Credit Union, when she informed them that she was finding it difficult to afford her utility costs

Gill Robinson, from Tees Credit Union explained that Five Lamps might be able to help as they were working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project to help people who may be at risk of cold related illnesses.

Amy Baker, Executive Support Assistant at Five Lamps arranged an appointment to meet with Nora the same week.

Nora explained that she had been managing to live on the bare minimum income as her DLA (Disability Living Allowance) had been stopped a few months before and she was currently in the process of appealing this decision. However, now that the weather was getting colder she was finding it difficult to heat her home and once the credit on her meter had ran out she had no other option then to self-disconnect her supply.

Suffering from numerous health conditions which are impacted by the cold weather it is important that Nora keeps her home heated and that she is not exposed to the cold.

Amy provided Nora with some energy efficiency advice and also informed her of a scheme called the Teesside Emergency Relief fund who also works in partnership on the Warm Homes Healthy People project.

Amy’s application to the Teesside Emergency Relief was a success and Nora was awarded £200.00. £150.00 was to be spent on gas and electricity and £50.00 for a month’s supply of food.

Amy also referred Nora to Citizens Advice, who are supporting Nora with her appeal; Broadacres who provided a draft proof check on Nora’s property and Cleveland Fire Brigade who completed a home fire safety visit and provided Nora with a thermal blanket and mattress topper.

Nora said:

“Don’t sit alone and vulnerable, go to the Five Lamps and if they can help they will, I received help from them which made a big impact to me I was able to enjoy Christmas knowing I would be warm. Thank you again for all of your help”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Incorrect energy bills and statements led Helen from Stockton- on- Tees into a substantial amount of arrears

Helen was paying her energy bills by direct debit; she was paying a low amount each month and often questioned her energy supplier to ensure they were collecting the correct amount of money.

After her energy supplier ensured Helen her bills were correct she thought no more regarding her payments. However, a couple of months later she received a bill for over £1,000. Helen was confused to why her bill was so high and how she would make this payment as she had just given birth to a baby and had minimum disposable income.

She was referred to Amy Baker, Executive Support Assistant at Five Lamps, through the Warm Homes Healthy People Project.

Amy contacted Helen’s supplier and arranged for her to have prepayments fitted into her property which would take the minimum amount from her arrears each week. She then applied to the British Gas Energy Trust for a grant to clear her arrears.

Helen’s application was successful and she received; £1,429. Helen said:

“I am so pleased that the application was accepted and my arrears have cleared, thank you so much Amy”

The reason Helen’s application was successful was because her energy supplier agreed that they had in fact been sending her estimated bills and should have flagged this up with her sooner.

Amy also informed Helen that she meets the criteria for the Warm Homes Discount Scheme which is a £140 rebate off her electricity between the winter months. She has applied for the rebate and will receive this payment shortly.

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Gemma from Norton, was receiving very high gas bills and was adamant they were not consistent with the energy she was using

After complaining endlessly to her energy supplier and then receiving a £1,000 energy bill, it was finally discovered that she in fact had a gas leak from both sides of her meter.

Gemma’s energy supplier eventually set up a payment plan to help her clear the arrears which had mounted due to the gas leak. Gemma ran a successful business but unfortunately due to ill health she was no longer able to work and had to sign on to receive benefits. She was now in a position with less disposable income and the arrears began to build up once again.

Gemma was referred to Five Lamps through Stockton Council’s Warm Homes Healthy People project as she was struggling to buy food and to pay for her gas and electricity whilst she was waiting on her benefits claim.

Firstly Five Lamps advised Gemma to contact Stockton Council’s Welfare Assistance scheme called Back on Track, which provides crisis support to residents of Stockton Borough. Gemma was successful with her application and awarded a short-term food voucher.

John Hird, Senior Loans Officer at Five Lamps also supported Gemma by submitting an application to the Teesside Emergency Relief Fund. The application was successful and Gemma was awarded £250 which was enough to provide a month’s supply of food, gas and electricity. John then referred Gemma to Amy Baker, Executive Support Assistant at Five Lamps, who helped her with advice regarding the energy arrears she had built up.

Amy realised that Gemma would be eligible to apply to the British Gas Energy Trust, a trust to help people who find themselves in arrears with their energy supplier. The application to British Gas was a success and Gemma was awarded £797.07 to clear her energy debt.

Now the debt has cleared, Amy Baker has helped Gemma to identify a cheaper energy supplier, by switching supplier Gemma will save on average £203 per year on her energy bills.

Gemma said

“I would like to thank Amy and John for all their help and support through what has been a very difficult year for me. Today my energy supplier has confirmed the payment of £797.07 has now been received from the British Gas Trust. This could not have been done without Amy and John, so thank you so much for all your hard work and efforts. I can now move supplier and hopefully afford some heating”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Charlie Morrison from Thornaby approached Five Lamps’ Financial Inclusion Team in January 2014, seeking an additional personal loan

At that time he was on benefits and doing voluntary work at the Moses Project in Stockton which offers support and mentoring to men suffering problems as a result of addictions or personal problems.

Charlie and his partner, who have a young son were finding the post– Christmas period difficult with increased bills and heating costs. Vince worked with Charlie and was able to support his application for an affordable personal loan.

Vince also supported the family by referring them onto Five Lamps’ Warm Homes Healthy People Project. John Hird, Five Lamps Senior Loans Officer met with Charlie and explained that he would be eligible for The Warm Homes Discount scheme, which provides a discount on electricity bills.

Charlie wrote to Five Lamps recently to advise that he received a £135 rebate on his electricity bills. He also explained that he had also secured a full-time role as a Drugs and Alcohol Support Worker and said

“My family and I would like to thank Vince, John and the Five Lamps’ team for their assistance. The support we received was second to none – it just takes a few nice people to take a chance on a family like mine, and you can change lives. Please keep up the good work!!”

Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 12,000 customers, enabling them to move away from high interest credit.

Five Lamps are also currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Sheila from Stockton- on-Tees was referred to Five Lamps by Stockton Council through the Warm Homes Healthy People project

She was finding her energy bills very high and required some energy efficiency and switching advice.

Amy Baker, Executive Support Assistant at Five Lamps contacted Sheila to discuss her energy bills. She noted that Sheila was paying for her gas and electric by different payment methods -her gas by direct debit and her electricity by prepayment meter. Amy informed Sheila that direct debit is one of the cheapest ways to pay for her energy bills and she could save money just by paying for both gas and electricity by direct debit. However this was unsuitable for Sheila as she uses a lot of electricity and preferred paying by prepayment meter so she could budget her money.

When doing an online check Amy noticed that by switching to a cheaper energy tariff with Sheila’s gas supplier she could in fact save £156 a year. By changing her electricity supplier she could save £176 per year and also be eligible for the Warm Homes Discount which would be £135 rebate towards her electricity before March 2014. She advised Mrs McKie to phone her current gas supplier ask to be placed on the cheapest tariff they have available and also ask if she had a cancellation fee on her contract with her prepayment meter so she could switch to the new supplier. Sheila then phoned the new energy supplier switched and applied for the Warm Home Discount.

In total Sheila saved £356 per year on her energy bills and will also receive £135 off her electricity bills before March 2014.

Sheila said

“The advice given to me by Amy was explained in a professional and friendly manner. I followed her advice and saved a large amount of money which has made me feel a lot better and will make our lives a lot better”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Penny was referred to Five Lamps as part of the Warm Homes Healthy People project by Stockton Borough Council as she was having issues with her energy supplier over an outstanding utility bill

Penny, who lives in Billingham, was concerned about an outstanding demand for over £700 and needed advice on how to deal with the demanding letters. Her case was passed onto John Hird a Senior Loans Officer at Five Lamps who visited Penny at home to look at a resolution to her problem.

After looking at her energy bills, John could see that she was receiving all of the discounts for having a Dual Fuel account and paying by Direct Debit but upon checking her bank statements there were no actual monthly payments being debited for her gas account. John rang and spoke to the supplier who agreed it was their initial error and they would now set up the monthly direct debit, in the meantime John applied to Charis for a grant to help Penny have the outstanding debt written off.

Unfortunately the energy supplier failed again to set up the direct debit which meant the outstanding debt had increased and then the grant application was declined.

John decided to start the whole process again as he felt Penny had a strong case due to the negligence of the energy company towards the increasing debt. After speaking again to the energy supplier they did eventually put the monthly payments in place and then by re-applying to Charis for help with a grant.

After a long three month wait for the grant application to be assessed it was finally approved in November and Penny was awarded £770.00 which cleared the balance of the outstanding debt.

John was pleased to ring Penny and give her the good news, Penny said

“I am stunned I do not know what to say, but I would like to thank Five Lamps for all of their help during a difficult time in my life”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Bridget phoned Five Lamps in October 2012; she was worrying as she had received a letter from her energy supplier saying that they were going to disconnect her electricity and gas supply if she did not pay £1,593

Bridget has a lot of health needs as she suffers from COPD, asthma, emphysema, arthritis and osteoporosis. If her energy supply was to be cut off this would have a huge effect on her health problems.

Bridget’s financial worries started when she divorced from her husband. Her husband had always dealt with the finances and paid the bills so when Bridget was faced with the finances she buried her head in the sand as she did not have the knowledge on how to pay the bills or budget her money.

Emma McNeill from Five Lamps visited Bridget at her home; she discussed with Bridget her outgoings, how she could budget her bills and how to set up payment plans to her energy supplier. Emma also contacted British Gas on Bridget’s behalf to make sure Bridget’s supply was not disconnected; she then applied for a British Gas Energy Trust grant to pay off her arrears.

Five Lamps work in partnership with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project. At a partnership meeting Age UK explained that they had some hampers which they were giving a selected few to Warm Homes Healthy People customers. Emma put Bridget’s name forward for a hamper and the outcome was a success resulting in Bridget receiving a hamper of food ready for the festive period.

Bridget also explained to Emma that her fire had been condemned so she was using electric heaters which were not very energy efficient; Emma pointed Bridget in the direction of an affordable personal loan from Five Lamps.

Bridget’s loan application was successful resulting in Bridget receiving a personal loan with low payments and low interest so she could afford to pay the loan back. This enabled Bridget to purchase a brand new efficient fire which would reduce her energy bills in the future.

In March 2013, the outcome for Bridget’s British Gas Energy Trust grant was decided and it was good news. The British Gas Energy Trust had agreed due to Bridget’s circumstances and that she could now budget her money and take better care of her energy bills in the future that they had agreed to write off Bridget’s £1,593 energy arrears.

Bridget said

“I am really pleased with the help I received from the Warm Homes Healthy People project and I am really happy with the service and advice from all of the Five Lamps staff. It has resolved my problem and I have also received help within another Five Lamps department”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Richard Quinn from Billingham was referred to the Five Lamps by Stockton Borough Council through the Warm Homes Healthy People

Richard was experiencing financial difficulties and also had issues with his health. His benefits had been stopped which left him in the position of having no money to buy food or put money onto his gas or electric so he was unable to heat his home, he had no warm clothing and even his electric kettle was broken so he struggled to get a hot drink. He had also fallen down the stairs and injured his back so had to move his bed into the living room as the stairs were now a struggle to climb

Amy Baker and John Hird from Five Lamps visited Richard to assess his current situation and look at ways that Five Lamps could help him with his difficult situation. After the meeting John completed an application form to the Teesside Emergency Relief Fund and applied for a £100.00 grant on Richard’s behalf which was successfully approved, this would now help him to put money onto his gas and electric, buy some food and purchase some warm clothing.

Richard also asked if any help was available with obtaining furniture as he did not have a sofa or chairs for his living room. Amy contacted the local St Vincent de Paul Society, an organisation that supplies free furniture to disadvantaged people in Teesside. Amy explained Richard’s crisis and managed to obtain him the furniture he was looking for.

In the space of two days Richard’s personal situation had greatly improved and his life had become a little bit easier, he could heat his home and was looking forward to the delivery of his furniture.

Richard said

‘I cannot thank Amy and John enough for the help they have given me in what has been a very difficult time for me’

Five Lamps is currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton- on- Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Last summer, Mark Howie, 38 from Newcastle his wife Dawn, 35, and their three children were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of their new baby.

Mark was working long hours to provide income for his family and Dawn was on maternity leave from a local children’s nursery, where she hoped to return to work after the baby was born.

Their world was thrown into chaos when their daughter Eryn was born with no kidney function. Eryn would need dialysis to live until she was old enough to be able to have a kidney transplant and Dawn stayed at the hospital with her until she was well enough to return home. A further health scare came shortly after when she had to go back into hospital with peritonitis which interfered with her dialysis.

With Dawn at the hospital, and three other young children to care for, Mark was struggling with the 14 hour days he was working and knew he needed to be with his family. When he was offered a job with the British Heart Foundation, he was grateful for the shorter hours so he could support his family, even though he knew he could not expect the salary he had been on previously.

Eryn’s life-threatening condition meant that she had to have a constant temperature in her room at home. As the colder winter months approached Mark was struggling with bills that he had previously been able to manage, and he was also having problems with his central heating system. He contacted the Energy Saving Trust for advice and they referred him to Five Lamp’s Energy Debt Advice team.

Gary Holroyd, Five Lamps’ Energy Debt Advisor, gave Mark advice on managing on his reduced income and applied for a grant to the British Gas Energy Trust to clear his outstanding gas and electricity bills.

He was also able to apply to British Gas Energy Trust for a further assistance payment for half the cost of replacing Mark’s new heating system, the remainder being met by a grant from Newcastle Council’s ‘Health Through Warmth’ Project.

Mark and Dawn were provided a grant of £644 from the British Gas Energy Trust and were also awarded £900.00 towards the cost of his boiler. Mark said

“I can’t thank Five Lamps enough for their support. We can now concentrate on Eryn’s continuing improvement, without having the worry of paying for heating repairs or outstanding fuel bills hanging over us”