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Sarah L

Warm Front grants

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Hi, Everyone,

 

My son J has ASD with ADHD, he is registered disabled. He also suffers with sensory senstivity and hates wearing clothes. He prefers to be in the nude at home so I keep the house warm for him. We have a very old boiler over 25 years old which desperatly needs replacing. At a recent meeting there was a big splash about Warm Front. A government "thing" to help with energy saving including loft installation, cavity wall insulation and replacement boilers. The person talking was saying that this was specifically to help people with disabilties and low income families. I thought great I will give them a call find out what it is about.

 

I then had this strange and ridiculous conversation with this lady that we could not have a grant because J though disabled is not the homeowner or tennant, and though I am also on a benefits, it was the wrong sort of benefit. She then went on to explain that if I made my 5 year old a tennant, he would be entitled to the grant.

 

One I was dumbfounded that a disabled child is not considered a householder and two that she would be telling how to get round the system? :huh:

 

Sarah

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Hi Sarah

 

I don't know much about this, but this webpage has the criteria and a number of links to other information about grants for heating:

 

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Bfsl1/Benefits...ort/DG_10018661

 

Don't know whether any of this applies, but it may help you find out why they thought you weren't eligible or to disprove them if necessary.

 

Good luck

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Keep a record of any conversations you have with warmfront (just in case there's a problem)

I made an application cos I'm on Income support with a disabled child ( i think income had to be below �15,000) Someone came round and did an assessment and said they can do loft insulation, new front and back door and cover my boiler for 5 years. A company then got in touch to arrange loft insulation. I cleard the loft completely, job was done as arranged, but they also put draught excluder round the front and back doors - strange if they were being replaced. But that wasn't their contract - must be someone else. Waited ,heard nothing. Contacted warm front who had no record of new doors. oh well

Then my boiler packed up a few months ago. After a couple of phone calls and queries eg - we're not due to fit a new boiler, or we didn't put that boiler in, or you haven't got cover with us cos we don't offer cover blah blah blah. They said we'll contact you in 2 weeks. Heard nothing, called again - no record!

Then I was given the number of the contractor and I had to deal directly with them. Called them and told could take up to 6 months.

Back to warmfront. ' We don't do emergency breakdown cover so you will have to wait til the contractors have a space.' What's the point of offering this to a family with a disabled child- heating is essential ( this was end Sept/beg Nov)

Got in touch with council who then made a few calls and stressed the urgency etc. He was pretty helpful.

Eventually got boiler fixed about 8 weeks later.!!!!!

The job would have cost about �150 - but if I had gone and got it done, they would not have paid and would also have cancelled my boiler cover and grant

 

So a bit of advice - write down everything they say and take names, just in case they start denying things

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can i say that whether you or someone in the household receives any benifit including dla or just dla and work and this includes tenents and private householders then they are entitled to having the house they live in insulated etc.

i receive dla for two of my sons and live in a rented home and had my home insulted and my sister whom owns her home and receives dla for her son also had her home insulated.

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We got our loft insulated & cavity walls done for free, but we didnt qualify for central heating/boiler as J is not the householder. So why did we qualify for the first lot? Its like Kafka innit.

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We've just applied for a similar things through British Gas, which was open to those on particular types of benefit. The criteria was 'someone in the household', so we got it as my son gets DLA. We are going to get our loft, water tank and pipes insulated - for free. Unfortunatley the house is too old for cavity wall insulation. They class DLA as priority, so we are due to get it done in two weeks.

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We got our loft insulated & cavity walls done for free, but we didnt qualify for central heating/boiler as J is not the householder. So why did we qualify for the first lot? Its like Kafka innit.

 

An update on this: applied for my mum who I also care for, she got walls insulated & energy saving bulbs. Her boiler is nearing the end of its life, but has to break before they'll consider replacing it, & it cant be done retrospectively, i.e. we cant get our plumber to do it then charge it to them. Which makes me wonder, with all the red tape, how long you'd have to be without heating/water?

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I had same with my boiler. It broke. I called eaga or similar to enquire about replacement boiler - they called me back two weeks later - on the day that British Gas were here fitting a new boiler. This was in December, when I had three little children.

 

Karen

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Reading the original post it just confirms what a ridiculously pathetic system everybody is prepared to tolerate, how can a five year old become a tenant in their own right and be responsible for signing documentation.

Things are no better now in fact they are a lot more ridiculous now in a lot of cases, the needs of the child are not being met again because of regulation that isn't practical for the purpose intended.

I do believe that this is done to create the situation where you appear to be helping but install regulation so that you can refuse it in a lot of cases so you don't have to actually help.

It may be a cynical view put what's the other perspective that those that govern and have positions of trust and responsibility don't have any ideal of how to organise and are incompetent and ineffective.

Either way the people are not getting the help they need, and they are saving money be it by intent or incompetent ability.

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