‘I didn’t have to choose between food and fuel’
Vouchers helped Bernard, 60, keep the heating on during his cash crisis
After working all his life to provide for himself and his son, Bernard Potter never thought he would be forced to choose between eating and heating his home.
But after a painful back condition forced him to give up his removals job, and his disability benefits were wrongly stopped last November, he found himself unexpectedly in crisis.
STRUGGLING
It left Bernard, 60, struggling to keep warm in his southwest London flat, just as winter set in.
Then, during a visit to a foodbank, he was told about npower’s Fuel Bank initiative, which offers vouchers to foodbank users in need to top up their gas and electricity meters.
The free vouchers – for £30 or £49, depending on the time of year – help households facing hardship to heat their homes for up to two weeks. The scheme has so far helped nearly 60,000 people during times of crisis, distributing vouchers worth more than £1million.
Bernard, who also suffers from arthritis, said the Fuel Bank™ was “a lifesaver” during one of the most difficult periods of his life.
WARMER
He said: “It was the cold that got to me. With the arthritis, I felt it right down into my bones. “Without npower’s Fuel Bank voucher, I would have had a very, very difficult winter. “Thanks to the warmer flat, I didn’t hurt as much. “And I didn’t have the stress of having to choose between food or fuel, or health or debt.” Thankfully Bernard’s situation improved after social services admitted they were wrong to deny his benefits and reinstated them this year. But he doesn’t know how he would have coped without npower’s help.
CRISIS
Research by IPPR, commissioned by npower found that around a million UK households are in “income crisis” – unable to pay two or more essential bills such as mortgage or rent, energy bills, water rates or council tax.
And a survey of Fuel Bank recipients found 92 per cent had had to make the choice between topping up their meter or eating in the previous 12 months.
Guy Esnouf, npower’s Director of Corporate Responsibility, said that Fuel Bank vouchers can now be accessed at 61 foodbanks in the UK. He said: “In two years, the npower Fuel Bank has grown from a small pilot into a nationwide initiative. “We are providing immediate help to people who need it most and, in order to reach many more people in crisis, npower has committed £2.25million to this initiative until March 2018.”
Without npower’s Fuel Bank voucher, I would have had a very, very difficult winter BERNARD POTTER SW LONDON
At the time of receiving help, 60 per cent had used the emergency credit on their meter and 34 per cent had run out of energy completely