Pigs Getting Me In Debt, Any Help Would Be Really Appreciated.

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Coco&Luna

Coco&Luna

Adult Guinea Pig
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I'm really struggling with my gas an electricity bill because of Luna.
I'm now £700 in debt with my gas and electricity from trying to keep the temperature of the house up for Luna.
During the night the temperature drops to 14-15 degrees when i don't put the heating on.
Luna seems to be really sensitive to this and quickly develops a URI overnight when it happens.
So i've had to set the heating to click on at specific times during the day and night to maintain the house temperature at about 18-19.
I can't do this anymore because the debt will quickly become unmanageable if i don't, i'm already really worried about it.

I've got heat pads, the problem with this is that a couple of times a week just now i'm leaving the house at about 2pm and not coming home until the next morning because i've got family problems coming out my ears and need to be with them, and the pads don't stay warm that long.

I cant put that many cosies in the cage just now because Luna and stanley have only been together for a short time and when i add in the cosies with only one opening it seems to trigger dominance issues and Luna starts being a right snappy cow to the poor boy. lol.

Any help at all could be really, really appreciated. I can post pictures of their current set up if it might give any one ideas?

Thanks so much,
 
IMG_20150622_182901[1].webp IMG_20150622_182721[1].webp

Thanks guys.
That's their cage just now.
@Claire W I have been doing that, i was folding the fleece right over at night leaving a gap of one grid uncovered for ventilation, but she was hooting away again by the next morning even with that and giving her a talking to and telling her to toughen up hasn't worked either :td:. I might try a double bed quilt over it and see if that makes any difference.

she's such a dainty wee flower. :hb:
 
@PiggyOwner I was gunna buy a little radiator, but people kept telling me that they cost an absolute fortune though and would be just as bad?

I bought a little heater fan but havn't used it because apparently they're just as expensive and i've been too scared to find out.
 
@worried val of york That's actually a really good idea! Is that sheeting used for camping?

I know, I hate scotland, lol, it was actually snowing here about 2 weeks ago about the time we were supposed to have a heat wave. pffffft.
 
Coco&Luna said:
@PiggyOwner I was gunna buy a little radiator, but people kept telling me that they cost an absolute fortune though and would be just as bad?

I bought a little heater fan but havn't used it because apparently they're just as expensive and i've been too scared to find out.
Click to expand...
I didn't think the oil filled radiators were too bad.

My guinea pigs are in a shed in a hutch. The legs are high enough to fit a radiator underneath. There is no way I could heat the entire shed economically. I have never had to put the radiator any higher than 2 - it creates under floor heating ! I have thermometers in the hutch to monitor the temperature to make sure it is warm enough.
 
Maisy and Poppy said:
You can buy emergency blankets which look like foil from poundland. They reflect heat from the piggies and heat pad.
Click to expand...
Oh, i'll go down tomorrow, your a star!

@PiggyOwner :tu: I was sure I had one the council left when my central heating conked out and forgot to take back, but i can't find it anywhere. I'll have a look on amazon tonight.

I'm also gunna buy a tube of window sealant because that rubber seal round the edges is peeling off (& i may have helped it along a bit because it was annoying me and peeled off a whole edge...), maybe that makes a bigger difference than I thought.
 
Hi, sorry that you are in this situation. No more suggestions about heating the room there seems to be many good ideas already but a while back when I was in debt to the fuel companies I changed over to a key meter. This meant that I paid for the fuel as I went along and was also able to slowly eat away at the debt, This was taken off as a weekly tariff. I'm not sure whether this would be suitable for you or even if it is still available. x
 
@Midge&Panda I've been wanting to switch to a key meter for ages, people keep advising me too. I honestly don't know why i didn't do it ages ago. it would suit me alot better as well and would stop any surprise debts popping up when i don't pay close enough attention. :( i'll deffo look into it this week.
 
prepayment meters are still available but tend to be more expensive. Have you checked with your supplier that you are on the cheapest available tariff with them? Whilst you are so far in debt it's not going to be possible to switch to a different supplier so worth doing a check. I've heard that the halogen heaters can be quite efficient but fan heaters are expensive to run
 
I'm sorry you're in this situation Coco&Luna - and isn't it ridiculous we're talking like this in June ! I hope we've provided some ideas you can work with.

I think it would be a good idea to contact your supplier - firstly - as Lady Kelly has already said - to make sure you are on the cheapest tariff. They may also have some advice for you - about spreading the cost of your debt and ways to stop your debt getting worse.
 
Just another thought ... have you any neighbours or friends who could pop in while you are away and replace the heat pads?
 
I'll need to phone them again tomorrow to see if anything else can be done. I'm already paying £160 a month to it just now. bleh. As long as i sort it quickly before i can't handle it anymore i'll be ok.

The only person that would be able to help would be by dad, but he's got S&E mental illness and can be forgetful, i've asked him before and he's completely forgotten, lol & i'd honestly trust a stranger in a balaclava before i'd hand my key over to my neighbours ;) haha
 
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/search/filter/panel-heaters/type/any/module/shopcategory/page/1

i bought the £54 one of these for my kitchen as its freezing in the winter, these panel heaters use about 4 light bulbs worth of electric when on, it takes the chill off of my kitchen & you can paint it to match the decor of your room too if you want?
i have it on a timeswitch i bought from wilko for about £3 to come on in the middle of the night ready for me in the morning :)

try putting some clear polythene up at the windows (with tape or drawing pins or blue tack) to give it the double glazing effect & get some thick, cheap curtains from a charity shop, the longer the better. they keep back loads of draughts & keep the heat in really well. (or a duvet cover with a sheet or two folded to size in it, if no curtains available)

put draught excluders at all your doors (roll up some rags or newspapers to go in front of the gaps under doors, doesn't have to be expensive stuff).

how expensive would it be to get a lamp like reptiles have? are they any good for piggies? i have no idea if they're safe for them does anybody know if this could be an option?

have you spoke to the utility companies? you may be able to get a cheaper tariff as suggested or they may lower your payment if you say you're struggling?

the emergency blankets are a great idea too.

xx good luck
 
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I have double glazing but the sealant really does need redone. That heater looks really good and the draft excluder at the door is a good idea, they have nice ones in home bargains for like a fiver, i'll buy one of those and the emergency blankets. :)

Heat lamps are quite expensive and i need something to heat the whole cage. Luna even though she obviously get's cold wont sit near the heat pads, so i assume she wouldn't sit under the bulb. I just out the pads in to try and warm the general area and hope for the best.

I'm with Scottish Power. :/
 
I can only add that my piggies have their own small oil filled radiator. ....I only heat the rooms I'm in and then only sparely.

It's amazing how much it can heat up their bit of the room and has a thermostat so won't waste heat. I don't know how much it costs to run but my heating bills didn't show any noticeable difference.

A thermometer is a good idea
How about a maximum minimum thermometer so you can see the lowest temperature it reaches.

I tend to use their ears and feet as quick and easy temperature checks!
 
Coco&Luna said:
@PiggyOwner I was gunna buy a little radiator, but people kept telling me that they cost an absolute fortune though and would be just as bad?

I bought a little heater fan but havn't used it because apparently they're just as expensive and i've been too scared to find out.
Click to expand...
I have an electronic oil filled radiator. I have skinny boys and I have to keep their room temp at exactly 18-20 c

As it is thermostatic it turns off when reaches the temp and back on when it drops. They cost the equivalent of around 30p a day to run. My electric has not increased the whole of the last year and a half I've been doing this.

Only fan heaters or storage heaters cost a fortune :) for around 30-40 pounds you can pick one up. My boys are in exactly the same set up too.
 
Ahh quite a few suppliers have charitable grants available for people in fuel poverty, unfortunately Scottish Power is an odd one in that they will only fund charitable organisations and not individuals.

There is something called the Warm Home Discount which is a credit on the electric account of £140 over the winter period up until March 2016. Again Scottish Power are a bit slow and haven't opened up this years applications yet so I don't know what their exact criteria is. It's worth keep checking their website to see when it opens whether it is something you can claim.

In my experience I have never seen Scottish Power come out as a cheap company and I'm sure if you did a comparison you would find something much cheaper but given the level of the debt SP are likely to block you moving away. Is the debt fairly even between gas and electric or is it more on one account? Though you might lose the dual duel discount you may be able to save more money by moving one of your supplies early and just trying to reduce the debt on the other.

Whilst energy costs more through prepayment meters, they do make it easier to budget and not get into debt. The concern with this is that if there is no money on the meter and you have used the emergency credit already you will self disconnect. If you are out of the house for some hours and it self disconnects then Luna might get ill without you realising that they have no heating etc.

You could also contact Scottish Power for energy saving tips or an assessment which might give an idea on ways that you can save http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-at-home/ do you own the home or rent? If you're in private rent then maybe speak to your landlord about any outcomes that say that certain fittings could be changed for energy efficiency (these can reduce the landlords tax bill at the end of the year).

If you do want to look at switching this is the best website to look at http://www.goenergyshopping.co.uk/en-gb it's all been set up by Ofgem and shows only Ofgem approved comparison sites so should all be a bit more trustworthy.

If you have any questions or want to chat about it anymore feel free to pm me :)) I work for a charity providing personal money management/budgeting advice to social housing tenants so this is the kind of thing I go over on a day by day basis lol
 
Hi, very sorry to hear about your predicament.

In regards to Prepayment meters, I contacted British Gas about my electric one because for me it's a pain in the bottom, they told me that it's just the same cost for a prepayment as it is for direct debit, your best bet is to call your energy provider, ask about tariffs and ask if it would cost you any more to switch to a gas meter.

Also is your home social housing? If so maybe call them and tell them your home is always cold and that your windows need resealing and if your doors are rubbish, ask if someone can come out and look at them to see if they need replacing.

I used to use a long curtain on my draughty doors.

Can you get advice from an advice centre where you live? Sometimes the CAB can help.

(Sorry if this stuff has already been posted and you've sorted it, I haven't read all the replies due to my concentration being a bit bad).

PS - I don't think you can switch when you have a debt, the next company would probably be a bit funny about accepting you.

Check this link out

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/c...n-t-switch-energy-supplier-because-of-a-debt/
 
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Sign up to Martins money tips website and look at his energy thread. I've signed up to this and it alerts me when diff suppliers have better deals to switch.

As ladykelly says alot do warm home discount and also duel fuel.

One thing I will say... For around a year I was approx 280 and 300 in debit with gas and electricity.... A few estimated bills as I don't let readers into my house.

I ended up paying nearly 180 a month until I used my sense to ring and give readings. Turned out they owed me over 500 pounds... And I got it back


If they do owe you they won't tell you as they like it sitting in their account making them interest.
 
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