WINTER WARMERS
How to claim £2,000 worth of energy bill freebies as millions lose winter fuel payment
Find out how you can get freebies like electric blankets, insulation, prepaid meter vouchers and even food and drink
WINTER weather will soon hit, bringing higher heating costs.
The new energy price cap means the average household will pay an extra £149 a year for fuel, leaving 80 per cent of us worried about our bills, according to the supplier Ovo.
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Millions of pensioners have also lost the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, as confirmed in Rachel Reeves’ Budget.
Here Harriet Cooke shows where to find free support to take the edge off as temperatures fall.
Free electric blanket
VARIOUS energy suppliers are handing out electric blankets and thermal gear to help you keep warm.
Octopus is giving out electric blankets to vulnerable customers, especially those who are elderly or disabled.
READ MORE ON ENERGY BILLS
Apply for its Octo Assist scheme to see if you can get one – visit octopus.energy/blog/ octo-assist.
Ovo also has free electric throws, mattress toppers and home efficiency kits up for grabs.
Applications are decided based on customers’ disposable monthly income. Apply at customer-support- package.ovoenergy.com.
WORTH: £20
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Free hot drinks
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STORES are handing out free hot drinks but you might need to sign up to an app to get one. Waitrose offers free coffees with in-store buys through the myWaitrose scheme.
Greggs will give you a free hot drink for downloading its app while Morrisons offers unlimited refills to customers who buy any self-serve hot drink at the café, with prices starting at £1.85. No sign-up needed.
If you are a regular customer of any store, it can be worth joining its loyalty scheme. This month with Lidl Plus you get a free bakery item for a £10 in-store spend.
WORTH: £2
Martin Lewis explains how to slash your energy bills
Free food
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THERE are more than 700 Community Fridges across the UK, which allow you to pick up fresh food that is surplus to requirement.
More than 100 of these have transformed into Food Hubs offering support such as community meals and workshops on budgeting and reducing food waste (hubbub.org.uk/community-fridge-network).
The FoodCycle charity (foodcycle. org.uk) also offers free meals for anyone in the community.
The organisation, which operates across England and Wales, is about to launch its 100th UK project, in Reading.
Download the Olio app to collect leftover food and drink from local people, supermarkets and shops.
Warm spaces
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A NEW website features a UK-wide map of more than 4,000 public spaces that are kept warm for the community.
These include libraries, community centres, mosques, churches, cafes, sports centres, businesses and museums.
Campaigners behind the online platform, warmwelcome.uk, say two thirds of us live within a 30-minute walk of a warm space, but awareness is low.
Free insulation
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GET free loft, cavity or solid wall insulation worth thousands of pounds through a project that has helped more than 12,000 homes since it began in April last year.
The Great British Insulation Scheme is open to homes that have an energy performance certificate rating of D or below. You can check yours at gov.uk/find- energy-certificate.
The scheme is also restricted to those in council tax bands A to D in England or A to E in Scotland and Wales, which are smaller properties.
You can find yours at tax.service.gov.uk/check- council-tax-band.
The potential savings are substantial – with experts estimating cavity wall insulation can trim up to £400 a year from your energy bills.
Apply at gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme.
Families who claim certain benefits can also get help applying for free and cheap boilers through the Energy Company Obligation.
Talk to your energy supplier about whether you qualify.
WORTH: £400 a year
Prepayment meter vouchers
IF you can’t afford to top up your prepayment meter, you might be able to get a voucher from the Fuel Bank Foundation to add a credit to your gas card or electricity key – you just need a referral from your local council or a charity like a food bank.
The voucher – worth £30 in summer or £49 in winter – is a code sent by letter, text or email which is redeemed at the Post Office or a shop signed up to PayPoint or Payzone.
The voucher may have an expiry date and you might have to use it within 15 days.
WORTH: Up to £49 (but those in need can apply more than once)
Energy grants
MOST energy firms have grant schemes available to families struggling to cover their bills, but what you can get and whether you qualify depends on the supplier.
For example, the British Gas Energy Trust offers energy debt relief grants, emergency energy grants and free white goods. You don’t have to be a customer to benefit.
Ovo Energy, E.ON, Octopus and Scottish Power all have their own schemes where you can get money towards the cost of bills too. Call and ask what support is available if you’re struggling.
British Gas has just launched its “Post Office Pop-ups” scheme, which will operate until March.
These take place on certain dates in selected Post Offices across Britain, helping customers from all energy providers with money and energy advice, including how to apply for energy debt grants of up to £2,000. Visit britishgasenergy-trust.org.uk/post-office-pop-ups.
WORTH: Up to £2,000
'We went and had a lovely time'
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PHIL INGHAM enjoys going to community meals run by the FoodCycle charity in his home city of Portsmouth.
The former woodworker, 59, who retired after he lost most of his eyesight to severe thrombosis, heard about the scheme from his partner Diane.
Phil said: “At first I queried the idea of a free meal as I didn’t think it was right.
“Anyway, we went along and had a lovely time. I offered to make a donation but they said there was no need as it’s a free service and it helps to save food from going to waste.”
Trust fund 'horror' fees
A HIDDEN charge could leave thousands of Child Trust Fund holders with far less cash than they had expected.
Under a Government initiative, the long-term, tax-free savings accounts were set up for every child born between September 2002 and January 2, 2011.
The Government deposited £250 for every child during that time, or £500 if their family earned £16,000 a year or less.
Recent figures suggest the average amount in each account is £2,212.
These accounts are held in banks, building societies or other saving providers so are subject to each provider’s management charges – something not every holder will be aware of.
These pesky fees can eat away at the holders’ savings.
The National Audit Office estimates that CTF providers could be earning collectively up to £100million per year in charges.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “This horror was always lurking because the charges some companies imposed on Child Trust Funds were so high they ran the risk of eating the fund away completely.”
She said some firms found the administration of so many small pots expensive, so passed the costs on.
Anyone with an investment Child Trust Fund must check the charges regularly, Ms Coles warned. She added: “Even if they have a stakeholder account, they may be paying over the odds.”
By Ellie Smitherman
Pension fears die down
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PENSION savers rushed to withdraw cash due to fears that the Chancellor might scrap or cap tax-free lump sums.
There had been speculation that Rachel Reeves would slash the tax-free rate from £268,275 to as little as £100,000 but in the end the cut did not materialise.
But investment firms reported a surge in customers calling to withdraw from their pots ahead of Ms Reeves’ speech on Wednesday.
HMRC was forced to issue a warning about the risks, including that for those under 55, withdrawing pension money triggers a steep 55 per cent tax charge.
Anyone who did take cash out may be able to reverse the move – but it can be complicated, say experts.
Many schemes offer a 30-day cooling-off period when you take your first tax-free lump sum.
However, if this passes your options to return the money to your pension are limited.
Cancellation rights will vary depending on the provider and your own circumstances – such as how and when you took your tax-free cash.
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Helen Morrissey of Hargreaves Lansdown said: “If you’re unable to cancel the instruction and think about just reinvesting it back into your pension, you need to be careful that you don’t breach recycling rules that are designed to prevent people from reinvesting tax-free cash for an extra slice of tax relief. . . It’s worth speaking to an adviser about how you manage this.”
By Ellie Smitherman
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