Keep well & warm

If you’re aged over 66 and on a low income, you may be entitled to Pension Credit.  

If you get Pension Credit, you’ll automatically get cold weather payments. You may also be eligible for help with NHS related costs, and a free TV licence if you’re over 75. 

Plus, you can backdate your Pension Credit by 3 months, meaning you’ll get up to 3 months of money in your first payment. 

Find out more, and apply, on the government website, or by calling 0800 99 1234. 

South Staffordshire council are running roadshows to help get people receiving Pension Credit. Find your nearest roadshow on their website.  

If you or anyone in your household claims Universal Credit, you could save on broadband by switching to a social tariff. All you need to do is check your provider offers a social tariff, if they don’t you can switch to one that does. 

If you think you are eligible, please visit the ofcom.org.uk website. 

Housing Perks is the UKs most popular money-saving app and it’s now available to Homes Plus customers.

You can save money on the essentials that you use every day.

Save up to 50% using the free Housing Perks app by paying with vouchers, cashback and discount codes.

Find out how to get started by visiting our Housing Perks page.

You could get money off your electricity bill for winter under the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

The money is not paid to you – it’s a one-off discount applied to your electricity bill.

The scheme is due to reopen in October 2024. Find out more on the gov.uk website.

If you were born before 23 September 1958 and receive certain benefits including Pension Credit and Universal Credit, you could get a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.

If you think you are eligible please visit the gov.uk website for information. 

The government-backed Money Helper website offers free money and pensions guidance to make it quicker and easier to find the right help for you.

Visit the website

A Cold Weather payment helps people on low incomes to heat their homes when it is particularly cold.  

You may be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment if you’re getting:   

• Pension Credit  
• Income Support   
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance   
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance  (ESA)
• Universal Credit   
• Support for Mortgage Interest   

Find out more on the gov.uk website.  

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 and receive Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use instore in some UK shops.

You can use your card to buy:

• plain liquid cow’s milk
• fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
• fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
• infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

To find out more and apply, visit the NHS website. This scheme is available all year round.

Our employment and money advice team have shared some top tips to help you save energy in your home.

Cyber criminals may contact you via email, text, phone call or via social media. They will often pretend to be someone (or an organisation) you trust.

Scams are getting smarter and some even fool the experts!

If you receive a call, message, email or letter that looks like it may be a scam, please end the contact, do not respond or follow any links, and do not offer any personal or payment details. For further information on spotting and reporting scam emails, texts, websites and calls, please visit the National Cyber Security Centre’s website. 

If the scammer is claiming to be from Homes Plus, you can also report this to us by calling 0800 048 8955.

The financial pressures of the festive season can increase the risk of falling victim to loan sharks. If you can answer yes to one or more of these questions you might be borrowing from a loan shark:

• Did they offer you a cash loan?
• Did they not give you paperwork?
• Did they add huge amounts of interest or APR to your loan?
• Have they threatened you?
• Are you scared of people finding out?
• Have they taken your bank card, driving licence, passport, watch or other valuables from you?

You can report Loan Sharks to the Stop Loan Sharks team by visiting their website.

• Food banks in Shropshire
• Food banks in Stafford 
• Food banks in South Staffordshire

• Help for households offers free advice, discounts and offers
• Citizens advice offer advice on further grants and benefits available
• Shropshire Council – Money matters.
• Staffordshire Council – Money matters.
• Shropshire Council – Cost of living help.
• Shropshire – Community Resource.
• Shropshire – Marches Energy Agency.

Due to rising fuel bills, many people put off switching their heating on until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

We recommend that you test your heating to ensure any problems with your central heating system or boiler can be identified and fixed before you really need it.

We suggest you:

• Pick a day in September or early October to test your heating is working.
• Switch on the heating on a low setting.
• Test thermostats and radiator controls by turning them up and down.
• Test radiators by checking they are hot from top to bottom.

If you find any problems with your heating system please call us on 0800 048 8955.

Frozen pipes can also be a very common problem during the winter months and can be a serious issue. It does not have to snow or sleet for pipes to freeze, which can happen when temperatures reach 0°C. In these temperatures the water in a pipe may freeze, causing the pipe to expand and potentially burst, resulting in extensive damage to your home.

You can take a few preventative measures, to avoid this happening:

• Before the start of winter, make sure all hoses are disconnected and outside taps are turned off.
• Run water through your taps regularly – frequent use of the cold water supply will reduce the chances of water freezing.
• Regularly inspect your plumbing (inside and outside) for signs of freezing. The first sign of a frozen pipe is usually when no water comes out of the tap, but you can also see it. Frozen pipes may have frost on the outside, be covered in ice, or be bulging.

See it – Report it!

If you spot signs of damp and mould in your home or have any questions or concerns, please call our customer services team on 0800 048 8955, send us a private message on Facebook or by completing our online form.

Find out more

Condensation can happen in any home. It is caused by warm, moist air meeting a cool surface and turning into water droplets.

Everyday activities like cooking, boiling a kettle and taking a shower or bath can produce condensation. It is a bigger problem in the winter, when windows and walls are colder. We also tend to keep our windows shut in the winter and without ventilation, warm and moist air can’t escape.

Small amounts of condensation – like the steam from a shower condensing on our bathroom mirror – are not usually a problem and there are some simple things that we can all do, to help reduce it.

Homes Plus has worked with the Energy Saving Trust to offer some easy tips to help you cut condensation. You can find our handy tips on this page.

We’ve created some handy ‘How To’ videos to help you deal with issues you may encounter around your home. Learn how to unblock your sink, locate and turn off your stop tap, and isolate a leak.  

You can also discover what to do when your fuse box ‘trips’ – and how to find out what is causing the problem. 

Watch them here

• Open all of your taps fully.
• Check for leaking joints or burst pipes.
• Apply a hot water bottle, or thick towels soaked in hot water to pipes to help them defrost. Start at the end of the pipe nearest the taps and work your way along the pipe.
• Use electric fan heaters, only if it is safe to do so, to warm the room where the frozen pipe is.
• Do not use electrical items if there is a chance the pipe has already burst.
  NEVER use a naked flame to defrost pipes.
• Do not try to thaw the pipe too quickly as there may be splits in the pipe which are not immediately noticeable.

Warning!

• Do not rush thawing the pipe by using water that is too hot.
• Always make sure that you are standing at ground level when pouring water onto it – do not climb to a higher level to reach frozen pipes.
• Never disconnect the pipe.
• Always use suitable protection for your hands when handling hot water.

Frozen condensate waste pipes are a common problem in the winter months. The majority of modern boilers have condensate pipes taking water vapour away from your boiler, making it more energy efficient. The condensate pipe is usually plastic, running
from your boiler and discharging internally into a waste pipe or externally into a gully.

In cold weather the condensate pipe (particularly those running externally) can freeze, even if insulated. If this happens then your boiler will automatically shut down and leave you without central heating and hot water.

There are a couple of ways to tell if your condensate pipe is frozen.

• You may hear some bubbling sounds coming from the boiler or the pipe itself.
• There may also be a warning light on your boiler indicating that the pipe is frozen.

If you want to try thawing an external condensate pipe yourself you can:

1. Warm some water in the kettle – do not use boiling water as this could crack the pipe or scald you.
2. Stand away from the wall and gently pour the warm water onto the frozen pipe.
3. Repeat until the pipe has thawed.
4. Once the condensate pipe has fully thawed, the boiler will need to be reset using the reset switch. Once reset, the boiler should fire up and run as normal.
5. If you are unable to reset your boiler please contact our customer services centre to arrange an appointment for an engineer to attend.

If you are still having problems, please call us on 0800 048 8955.

Warning!

• Do not rush thawing the pipe by using water that is too hot.
• Always make sure that you are standing at ground level when pouring water onto it – do not climb to a higher level to reach frozen pipes.
• Never disconnect the pipe.
• Always use suitable protection for your hands when handling hot water.

• Set your heating at the right temperature, ideally between 18°C – 21°C and try to heat
  your bedroom overnight. If this isn’t possible, warm your bedroom at night before you go to bed.
• If you have storage heaters, make sure they are set to fully charge at night, when electricity is cheapest.
• Make sure that your windows and curtains are closed, to keep the warmth in.
• Use an electric blanket or hot water bottle to warm your bed, but NEVER both together. Only leave an electric blanket switched on all night if it has thermostatic controls for safe all-night use. Otherwise switch it off and disconnect it before you get into bed. Electric blankets should only be used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and fire service safety advice: www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/electric-blankets.

While fire safety is vital throughout the year, many of the things we enjoy over the Christmas period, such as candles, decorations and fairy lights, can all be fire hazards if care is not taken.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have shared advice on how to celebrate safely on their website.

In the dark winter months, candles, incense and Bukhoor can make our homes feel cosy. But we must remember to prioritise fire safety. 

Please follow the below guidance from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. 

• Never leave candles incense or Bukhoor unattended. 

• Always use a holder or a burner. 

• Burners and holders should always be put on a flat, non-flammable surface and away from windows. 

• Keep candles, incense or Bukhoor out of reach of children.  

• Keep your clothing out of the way of the flames. 

• When you have finished with an incense stick, douse the tip in water and break it off. The remainder can then be relit later. 

Finally, remember to regularly test your smoke alarm. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service recommend that you test your smoke alarm weekly. 

For more fire safety advice visit our fire safety page. 

Ovens and gas cookers are designed to cook our food, not heat our homes. 

Using a cooker as a heater to keep one room warm to try to save money, can be very dangerous. 

Unlike a gas fire, your cooker doesn’t have a flue to safely remove fumes. When cookers are used to heat a room, windows and doors tend to remain closed. Along with the danger of burns and an increased risk of fire, this turns a kitchen into a sealed box, leading to potential carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Please don’t put yourself at risk this winter and remember to check on neighbours when the temperature drops. 

Wood burners or solid fuel fires may seem like an attractive way to reduce energy costs. But they come with serious risks. 

Many houses have had fireplaces blocked, gas fires removed, or chimneys decommissioned. This is because they may have defects or operational issues that make them unsafe to you and a danger to your neighbours. Using them can risk fume leakages, chimney or house fires and structural issues. 

For that reason, we never give permission for new solid fuel fires or wood burning appliances to be installed. Unfortunately, where we do find these installations, we will arrange for their removal. 

ReConnected is a new service for people aged 55+ providing advice about the things that matter most to you, as well as activities and social events in your community.

It’s completely free for residents of Stafford Borough and South Staffordshire.

Find out more

ReConnected is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund

Cold weather can make some health problems worse, especially for those who are more vulnerable. Remember to check on your neighbours to make sure they are well and warm. Visit the NHS website for guidance.

NHS website

Many people experience feelings of loneliness and isolation at this time of year. For mental health information and support, visit the NHS website.

NHS website

You can also visit our useful contacts page for signposts to mental health support and other help available.

Useful contacts page

While it can often be hard to identify abuse or neglect, if you have any concerns, please speak up. Find out how to contact your local safeguarding team on our safeguarding page. 

Safeguarding page