Bills, bills, bills

January 12th, 2009

I am sure we are all getting good wear out of our Christmas jumpers this month.

This cold weather isn’t much fun and the spring can’t come quick enough.

January is a month many of us will be happy to spend the majority of indoors rather than brave the cold outside.

Of course, then you have to face the bills at the end of the month and they are unlikely to make happy reading.

While we must keep up the pressure to the power companies to give customers a fair deal, we can also take matters into our own hands.

After years of relatively low energy rates, many of us have picked up some bad habits when it comes to heating our homes.

Research conducted for the Energy Retail Association showed that, although 75 per cent of people believe the credit crunch has made them more concerned about saving energy, more than half admit that they are not as energy efficient as they could be.

Other figures show that one third of people are unaware that there are grants available to fit free or discounted home insulation. Why not check with the local energy saving scheme on 0800 198220 to see if you qualify?

Furthermore, two thirds of people don’t know they might qualify for grants and other assistance from their energy supplier.

This is definitely something worth investigating and you might be surprised at the scale of savings.

I would also recommend a call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99, which specifically targets vulnerable customers, giving benefit checks and advice on additional support available from your supplier.

Bills are something that none of us look forward to but you might be surprised at the savings or support you could receive by just making a phone call.