Contact your utility company

• Read your bills (are you being given estimated or actual readings? Only pay for what you have used.)
• Consider paying a little and often (for example, you may be able to spread the half-yearly water bill to 12 monthly payments, or the quarterly gas bill to monthly). If you decide to make a change there may be a one-off administration fee, but the company must tell you in advance.
• Check you’re on the best tariff – if you’re on benefits and/or there are disabilities in your household you should mention this to your/their supplier to be sure to get the social tariff. Also, tell them if you’re single or a low user. For example, Thames Water have: Watersure, Watersure Plus, and Waterhelp schemes for people with disabilities, large families and people on benefits. These cap bills at £30 per month maximum.
• When we suggest you talk to your ‘utility’ company, we don’t just mean the ones who provide you with gas, electricity and water. It is also worth checking if your telecomms provider has discounts for people on Universal Credit or other benefits. For example BT offers a Home Essentials package subject to eligibility.
• Contact your supplier if you overspend. They will help you make a realistic repayment schedule that you can afford.
• If you have a prepayment meter, avoid going into the £5 emergency zone for electricity as it may cost as much as £12 to repay over a bank holiday.

For further information on checking what benefits you can get, cost of living payments, charitable grants, saving money, taking out loans, and debt support please see here.

If you get benefits, you might be able to get £150 off your electricity bill or £150 added to your prepayment meter. You don’t need to apply for the scheme – payments are automatic.

Check which energy supplier you were with on 13 August 2023. You can only get the discount if your supplier is in the scheme. The following suppliers are part of the scheme:

Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy, Atlantic – see SSE, Boost, British Gas, British Gas Evolve (formerly British Gas X) – see British Gas, Bulb Energy, Co-op Energy – see Octopus Energy, E (Gas and Electricity), Ecotricity, E.ON, E.ON Next, EDF Energy, Good Energy, Green Energy UK (GEUK), London Power, M&S Energy, Nabuh Energy – see British Gas, Octopus Energy, Outfox the Market, OVO, Rebel Energy, Sainsbury’s Energy, Scottish Power, Shell Energy Retail, SO Energy, SSE, Swalec – see SSE, Utilita, and Utility Warehouse. 

The eligibility requirements for Warm Home Discount changed last winter (2022-23).

To qualify, you or your partner must have an account with a participating electricity supplier and one of you must claim one of the following.

• the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit
• a different ‘qualifying benefit’ (if you have high energy costs) – more info below

The qualifying benefits include the Savings Credit portion of Pension Credit, Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. If you claim a qualifying benefit, the government will assess your energy costs based on the type, age and size of your home. In deciding, the government will look at your circumstances on a specific date, known as the ‘qualifying date’. For 2023-24 this was 13 August 2023.

You can check if you’re eligible for the Warm Home Discount here: Check if you’re eligible for the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

You may not be considered eligible for the Warm Home Discount if you live in a more energy-efficient home, even if you receive a qualifying benefit. This doesn’t apply if you get the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit.

If you are eligible for Warm Home Discount, you’ll get £150 off your bills in winter. The money won’t be paid to you directly – it’ll be added as a credit to your electricity account. This usually happens between October and March.

In the winter months, pensioners can get between £250 and £600 to help pay heating bills. For more information on Winter Fuel Payments see here.

Households in receipt certain benefits (including Pension Credit & Universal Credit) can get an extra £25 per week during the winter if the temperature is zero or below for more than seven days. For more information on Cold Weather Payments see here.

If you can’t afford to top up your prepayment meter, you might be able to get a fuel voucher. This is a code given to you via a letter, a text message or in an email. You can use it to add credit to your gas card or electricity key.

Your local council might be able to help you get a fuel voucher. Contact them direct to see if you’re eligible.

If you’re in debt to your energy supplier, you might be able to get a grant to help pay it off.

You should check with your individual provider if you’re eligible for help.

If you can’t get a grant from your supplier, you might be able to get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust which is available to anyone – even if you are not a British Gas customer.

If you’re in debt and need advice, please see here.

If you’re worried about paying your rent, please talk to your Rental Income Officer on rentsincome@soha.co.uk or call them on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone).

From 8 November 2023, energy suppliers must follow new stricter rules before a prepayment meter can be installed in a household against your wishes.

Earlier this year Ofgem became very concerned about how energy suppliers were getting debt owed to them by trying to install prepayment meters in households without one.

They asked energy suppliers to stop installing prepayment meters in households without their consent and set out rules in our voluntary Code of Practice. All energy suppliers signed up to the Code, which remains in place until the new rules come into effect.

During the summer Ofgem asked for views about moving the rules set out in our voluntary Code of Practice into energy suppliers’ licences. Ofgem gathered all views about this change, and the requirements set out in the Code will now be made mandatory. This means that these new stricter rules will become part of each energy supplier’s licence. Energy suppliers must follow these rules, if not Ofgem will take appropriate enforcement action, which could involve substantial fines.

Currently no energy suppliers are carrying out prepayment meter installations without the consent of the household. They will not be able to do so until they have shown that they meet the strict criteria Ofgem has set. The new rules start from 8 November 2023. They will make sure that when energy suppliers do start involuntary installations they will act in a fair and responsible way and will only use them as a last resort.

Rules that energy suppliers must follow – before a prepayment meter can be involuntarily installed, energy suppliers must:

• make at least 10 attempts to contact a customer before a prepayment meter is installed
• carry out a site welfare visit before a prepayment meter is installed
• refrain from all involuntary installations for the highest risk customers including:
  • households which require a continuous supply for health reasons, including dependence on powered medical equipment
  • households where all occupants are aged 75 years and over (if there is no other support in the house)
  • households with children aged under 2 years old
  • households with residents with severe health issues including terminal illnesses or those with a medical dependency on a warm home (for example due to illness such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, sickle cell disease)
  • where there is no one within the household that has the ability to top up the meter due to physical or mental incapacity
• audio or body cameras must be worn by the lead supplier representative present on all warrant installations or site welfare visits to check for vulnerabilities ahead of an involuntary installation or remote mode switch. All audio and footage will be available for audit
  • give a £30 credit per meter (or equivalent non-disconnection period) on all warrant installations and remote switches as a short-term credit/measure to remove the risk of customers going off supply at the point of prepayment meter installation
  • re-assess the case once a customer has repaid debts owed. Suppliers must contact the customer to offer assessment of whether a prepayment meter remains the most suitable and preferred payment method of choice for consumers; if any prepayment meter customer is clear of debt and wishes to move off their prepayment meter (understanding any changes in the tariff they will pay), the supplier must agree where the customer passes any required credit checks

You might be able to get extra financial help if you rely on oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal or wood as your main source of heating or aren’t on the gas grid.

Citizens Advice are able to advise on what help is available to you. Contact Citizens Advice here.

Electric blankets are lovely, but need checking to ensure they’re safe to use. In 2021, nearly one in three blankets tested by Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, working with Oxfordshire Trading Standards, was found to be faulty.

OCCFRS say that blankets failed testing for a variety of reasons: sometimes it was because the blanket was over 10 years old and had no safety features built into the controller, or because the heating elements were able to move around inside the blanket. (If they’re not secure, they have the potential to rub together and cause a short circuit.) Sometimes elements even poked through to the surface.

Please check your electric blanket for wear and tear and frayed wires before using it this winter. You should also check the power lead fastener is secured to the blanket.

If the blanket is over ten years old the Fire Service strongly recommends that you replace it.

As the pressure of the cost of living crisis increases, energy scams are on the rise. Scammers have different ways of getting hold of personal information or bank details. They may imitate reputable companies or organisations (including Soha) to trick you into parting with your details or money. If you’re ever in doubt of something, or are suspicious, do not engage further and report it.

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from Soha and you are not sure, hang up and redial 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone) to be sure you’re speaking to us.

Scams can be difficult to recognise, but there are ways to be more scam aware. Citizens Advice have an online tool that can help you recognise a scam.

Check with Soha whether we can help improve your home: speak to your Technical Officer by emailing housing@soha.co.uk or calling 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone) to see if Soha can help with added insulation, double-check your boiler settings to help you to use your heating effectively, or understand your smart meter readings (if you have one).

There are many simple changes you could make to help save energy and money. Things you can do immediately include:

• Checking your use of appliances: tumble driers, electric fans, electric storage heating, and leaving the immersion on is all expensive.
• Making sure your hot water setting isn’t over 55 degrees.
• Checking for draughts: up-to-date insulation, carpets (with underlay), lined curtains and draught excluders under doors will all make a huge difference.
• Cooking in batches, using your cooker to cook several meals at the same time. A slow cooker or air fryer uses far less energy than the hob or oven and can cook up to three days’ worth of food at a time.
• Moving to a smaller property can also help reduce your household bills. If this is something you’d like to consider, you should contact the Lettings Officer for your locatliy by email rentsincome@soha.co.uk or by phone 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone) to discuss your options.

If you are struggling with rising living costs due to fuel bills, Better House Better Health can offer you free support. Supported by Oxfordshire County Council, they provide a single point of contact for expert advice to improve the energy efficiency of your home, reduce energy consumption, manage energy bills, and give you better home comfort.

Some Oxfordshire residents can also benefit from an additional free home visit, where a specially trained advisor offers impartial advice to ensure more suitable housing conditions and reduce housing-related health issues. Visit www.bhbh.org.uk or call 0800 107 00 44 for further information.

This winter, with the rising cost of living, many homes will be heated infrequently, or not at all and problems like damp, condensation and mould are more likely.

Damp environments are unhealthy, smelly and can encourage the growth of mould and mites, which often looks like a cloud of little black dots. Cold rooms are more likely to get damp and mould.

It is especially important to reduce condensation in your home. Condensation is the most common cause of damp and mould in buildings. You can reduce condensation by:

• Producing less moisture – keep lids on pans when cooking, only boil as much water as you need in the kettle, dry clothes outdoors (and especially not on radiators), and make sure your tumble dryer has a vent to the outside.
• Let moist air out by opening a window or using your extractor fan if you have one. Keep your bathroom door shut when taking a bath or shower to stop moisture escaping into the rest of the house and open a window to let it out instead.
• Let fresh air circulate around you home by making sure there’s a small gap between your furniture and the walls and give wardrobes and cupboards a good airing sometimes.
• Cold rooms are more likely to get damp and mould. Set the thermostatic radiator valve to 1 in unused rooms to give out a little bit of heat, or if you have central heating consider using a room heater with a timer and temperature control. Any room you don’t use often will need a good airing from time to time.

If you find mould on your walls, ceiling or window sills it needs to be cleaned off properly. For more information on how to do this please see our condensation leaflet.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious or worried by the cost of living crisis, you don’t have to face it alone. As a first point of call, it is important you talk to your GP if your money problems are affecting your mental or physical health.

Mind, the mental health charity, has information on organising your finances, claiming benefits when you have a mental health problem, dealing with services, and looking after your mental health when you’re worried about money.

If you need to speak to someone right now you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 (Monday to Sunday 24 hours).

You can also text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 to speak to a trained Shout volunteer. Texts are free, anonymous, confidential from anywhere in the UK and available any time, day or night.