Pensioners.........we are so trusting and honest............

I had the same thing with water in March 16. A bad leak out on the road had the pressure down for a week till repaired. A letter came saying a £30 payment to householders for the problem would be added to next bill. Bill came in April but nothing. Too late to add it they said so they hung on to all those £30 till this years bill. Clever old Thames Water eh. Obviously not making enough profit already!

Its going on in local authorities with Leasehold Rents for
people who have bought properties. I say stand up to them and say 'No' thats what I do. They took me to Court and lost, then they tried to get the £200 it cost them from me, so I said they lost, and 'No'. Then they left it on my account as a debt, put me on the bad debtors list - I found this out at a shop ! I havent had anything on HP for
56 years never owed anyone any money. Five years later they tried to get it from me as £10 a year for the layby. Its not a parking charge, I paid it 3 years, nothing was done to the layby, it dawned on me what it was. I just send the bills back with 'No Money owed ' written on now . Most of us are quite capable of managing our money and dont booze and smoke fags all day long, when we get Govt Grant Money.

Fuel companies are right bobbies for this sort of thing. If it happens next year could you withhold payment until the winter fuel payment has gone in? I can't remember exactly when we receive ours but if you ask on here when you get your fuel bill I'm sure that some of us will be able to give you an indication of when the payments go out.
I didn't know that some payments went directly to the fuel supplier rather than the pensioner concerned.

I am 89 so qualify for a higher payment. The Govt. Dept send me a letter stating that a certain amount has been sent direct to my electricity supplier. Fair enough.
The meters are read in November, and this payment overlaps the November meter reading which generates the bills that they want the money for before we spend it on Christmas. ( Or booze and fags.)
Therefore if one does not pay it within the time allowed the electricity is automatically turned off at source. They dont send an electrician round these days, as they used to years ago.
My view is that when this happens the money for the November account and all winter accounts should be refunded to the pensioner by the fuel supplier, not held over until March when another meter reading goes in, and another bill generated by the computer.
They have retained £124 of my money until August, still not offering to refund it. Everyone else must be the same.

It would make sense for the payment to be sent early enough to avoid this wouldn't it?

I have decided now to keep all the notifications re Fuel
Grants in a seperate sleeve, then put the bills in with them.
That way I can check the totals more thoroughly.
Think we all tend to put official letters in one section of
our multi files, then they get lost over a year.

Sadly as my son found out having no debt such as credit cards or HP ever in your lifetime means you also have no credit rating. So even as a home owner in your 30's hiring something such as a TV is impossible without a guarantor. My 94 year old neighbour found the same after her husband died and had to take out a credit card and keep paying off the balance every month so she could get a credit rating.

It doesn't seem fair at all does it.OH once insisted we bought a suite on six months free credit - I really didn't want to but am glad we did as I now have a clear credit history. Never needed it but you don't know what's round the next corner do you?

Southern Electricity have now sent me a nice letter saying
they are sorry I have changed supplier, and that they will finalise my account and refund money owed to me probably in six weeks time. Hopefully I will then get my £124 back.

Excellent!