No heating hot water

[toomanykittensnow]

It's my own fault I guess. During Summer my gas card didn't run out so
I didn't tip up. But it did run out and put me in debt. (So for months I didn't need to top
Up.. I thought my £60 top up I did in April had lasted). Now every time I top up gas it takes 45% for debt so I'm always topping up as it's so cold! Now I can't afford to top up again until December. We are freezing. What can I do?

What company are you with? I'm with EDF - if mine runs out I only get £5 gas or £10 electric emergency. I suggest you ring your utility company and speak to them to see if they can help.

Speak to your supplier and see if they will help, if they won’t or can’t then call Citizens Advice.

Do you have children?

Yes. A 13 year old

Well she's almost 13 (in Feb). This eve she asked me to put heating on as she was very cold. Luckily shower is electric so she could warm up under that and then I blow dried her hair (don't usually but wanted her in bed with dry hair and thought the hair dryer would heat her room up a bit) she's in bed with hot water bottles. My house is crap and has leaking windows and gaps in internal plaster can put a fist in.

If you've no credit on card meter but use no gas you'll still be accumulating the daily standing charge which may be 30p/day - a little over £100/year.

As above, speak to your supplier to make sure you understand what exactly you owe and that it's been correctly calculated.

If there's still a real debt there can you agree a less aggressive clawback?

Citizens Advice is a good shout. Aside from general help with this as a debt many local offices have funding specifically for energy advice with staff trained to know all the ins and outs. Insulation might help if there are gaps around windows/doors.

And if you've holes in walls then there's potentially a housing issue too.

Get on Facebook and join "Facebook Group Energy Support and Advice UK"
They have the people who can advise, but id suggest 45% claw back of debt is excessive. It also appears that the energy suppliers system is, in part, responsible for the debt. So I'd ring your supplier, and argue for a reduction in debt repayment, and a small amount of credit to get you to pay day. Think the second is unlikely, but worth asking.

Do you own your own house ?

It sounds to me like you need to do something about the heat leak. Maybe secondary glazing. You can get relatively inexpensive kits to do this. And find something to block the holes.

Ultimately the cheapest way of heating is to heat the person not the house, so using electric blankets and heated throws is cheaper than turning on heating, most of which will go out the walls if your house is very poorly insulated.

I appreciate both of these cost money though. Maybe there are some deals around at the moment.

https://www.gov.uk/cost-living-help-local-council

Contact your local council or check their website for their household support fund.