How cold is it where you are?

[Icanthinkformyselfthanks]

Are you worried about the old people who are too concerned about paying their bills because they’ve lost their WFA to put their heating on/up?

@Sunnnybunny72 , the cut off point for help if the elderly person is able to fill in the paperwork is way too low.

“They” - parents, nursery worker, lollipop lady who ensured you crossed safely, dinner lady, TA, teacher, Brownie leader, nurse, doctor…not your problem, eh? Aren’t you a gem?

@SabreIsMyFave , be really clear there are elderly, vulnerable people suffering tonight. Why you should believe otherwise is difficult for me to comprehend.

Yep, my dad is in his 70s, but is morbidly obese. He will sit in a warm house in his T-shirt and shorts, yet is still moaning that the WFA has been "taken" from him. His is not entitled because my mum still works, and they are absolutely not struggling for money.
My brother is in his 30s, gets every illness going. Is living in a flat that has water appear on the inside walls in the winter, and his bed is always damp. He can't afford to put the heating on. A younger single bloke gets no help from anyone.

So are babies. So are disabled people.

I think it’s right that the WFA was taken from those who don’t need it. It’s means tested. If an elderly person who doesn’t qualify for WFA is worried about needing to have their heating on more than usual this week they need to budget just like everybody else and also wrap up in warm clothes, hot water bottles, electric blankets etc just like everybody else will be. I’m in my overdraft at the end of every month and can’t really afford to have the heating on for more than a few hours a day but I’ve had it on more this week and will have to cut back in other areas to compensate.

https://www.meaco.com/products/meaco-dd8l-dehumidifier will dry the flat out and warm it a bit for 8p/hour.

-4 predicted to go down to -5 tonight.
The heating was on 17 for most of today, as usual. It was so cold by about 7ish, I turned it up to 20. We will make up the open fires tomorrow and keep the heating at 16/17.

Will turn it down to 15 when we are in bed.

-5 and freezing

i hate the cold and want some sunshine and temps of 20+ 🌞

This is interesting and I see it from all angles. My DM (89) lives in a beautiful toasty warm annex at my sisters, my sister and BIL are extremely wealthy, DM is annoyed because she usually passes this payment on to them. I am poor and disabled and have every layer on that I can manage so we are warm enough (if a little clumsy and bulky) I volunteer cooking for the elderly in my town; I take some of them all their meals; I have helped three of these amazing women claim pension credit… they get no support from their families with stuff like this and although clever aren’t internet savvy. Sooo I think, I think that universal Warm Heating Credit is wrong but if you have friends or family that can help older people make a claim, or if something is set up via Age UK or similar and we can support it, then that is probably the best solution.

Minus 4.

Meant to be minus 5 here tonight

Feel for anyone young or old that genuinely cant afford to put the heating on nobody should have to live like that

I do agree some elderly people who got WFA didn't actually need it my dm included although she was just stingy with putting the heating on despite being well off and some younger people do need it I just don't know how it can be administered so it goes to the people who actually need it.

This 💯 from a pensioner who doesn't need the winter fuel payment and we are of average income

Minus 7 here but the windchill making it even colder. The back of our house is getting a battering because of the exposed hillside. My bedroom is in the coldest corner and we have had to crank up the heat because we were starting to get damp from the house constantly being very cold and me trying to dry clothes in an airer.,

If you know of any older people struggling with forms, who live in villages, you can refer them to the local village agent. Here's a summary of the role:

www.cambsacre.org.uk/village-agents-cambridgeshire/

-5 c. Pretty cold.

-7 in Hampshire. I checked on my ex-next door neighbour earlier in the evening and she was wearing her coat and gloves in her sitting room. She's in her 80s.

Her house was about 16 degrees which wasn't too bad.. She doesn't qualify for pension credit. She wouldn't come and stay but says she's taking her dog to bed 🙂 I made sure she has a hot water bottle too.

I hope Starmer & Reeves central heating break down tonight. Teach their arrogant selfish arses a little humility.

I'm in the Highlands so yes, it's bloody freezing here. House is nice and warm though. I feel for anyone who can't afford to keep their house warm at this time of year. We don't need to be bickering about which groups are the most/least deserving. I think everyone deserves to be warm.

well, maybe you've got 40+ years to get as comfortable as you think they are.

Minus 8 here, yep its cold

So far, since mid November , my oil has cost me over a thousand quid and Im spending £40 every 10 days on coal

No we arent sitting around in t-shirts , the house is just warm enough that you notice it coming in, but to be sat here, we wear base layers and thermals

My mum - silent generation - lives with us ( the reason why my oil bill is so high) . She feels that she shouldn't have to warm just herself or the room she is in ( she has her own living room, bedrooms, bathroom within our house , with electric fires ) she insists that the whole house needs to be warm because she hasn't worked all her life to be scrimping

Yes she has lost the WFA, not that when she got it we saw it , she donated it to The RNLI ( she does pay half the oil bills ) Doesnt stop her spitting blood about it, but at least now shes stopped giving off about the free tv license being removed

Not all pensioners are equal. Which is why the universal give it to everyone system wasnt sustainable and seeing as means testing it was going to be so expensive, the decision to just give it to those on PC was the cheapest and fairest option

So no, Im more concerned about our daughter and her family who need UC to top up their income. Who live in rented accommodation with mould on the walls and running water on the windows . Me and DH are both close to pension age, early 60's and now both only working part time, and we have to find the money to not only pay our bills, but send the daughter oil fills so the grandchildren dont suffer

It's -4 here. I don't dare get out of bed 😂
My house is freezing, I'm so reluctant to put the heating on any more as i just can't afford the bills to go up. can barely afford it now. I'm in a bit of a debt spiral, not really sure what to do if I'm honest. Times are pretty bleak.

I worry about homeless people in this weather, I cannot imagine how awful that must be.

My parents are off on holiday to Australia for 6 weeks so they'll avoid the cold that way. My dad still moaned about losing the WFA 😂🙄

Why do threads like this end up being an older people sneery session. Yes, there are wealthier pensioners, there are also wealthy families, single younger people, childless couples. There's rarely bitching about how those demographics should stop talking about the cold.

And no, we didn't all have 40 airy years plus to sort out massive pensions. We're not one bloody homogenous miserable penny pinching group. We manage like everyone else tries to in unusual circumstances.

This weather is hard for everyone who isn't your average 'how do I manage on my two 6 figure salaries' mnetter.
Compassion, not weird envy and pitting everyone against each other, isn't hard

DH has just hit pension age so, in other years, we would have got the WFA. Like many of our friends, we don't need it and would have given it to a local charity. I would like to see more media info/encouragement aimed at those pensioners who are living in poverty - those who would qualify but don't claim. Also, we can have the heat on all day in just a couple of rooms, something that would have been difficult when the DC were at home.

It was -5 where we are last night, and -4 where FIL lives. He is late 80s snd generally doesn't put the heating on. He doesn't get the WFA, but is not struggling for money. I have recently seen him at a pub or family meet up at another house but DH visited a few times recently and said it was freezing

Yes, these people are especially vulnerable, and of course you have pensioners who are disabled. As far as I know, there is no help for disabled people to heat their homes in the bitter weather, please correct me, if I am wrong.