Who can get it and how much you can get

The Winter Fuel Payment is a tax free payment to help older people keep warm during winter. It is provided by the government to those who are eligible.

It’s not means tested and you can get it if you’re still working or claiming a benefit. However if you were born on or before 5 January 1951 you may qualify. If you were born after 5 January 1951, find out when you’ll qualify for Winter Fuel see Directgov.com website and follow the links.

The amount of Winter Fuel Payment you can get depends on your personal situation – find out how much you can get. Again see the directgov.com website and follow the links.

If you have previously received a Winter Fuel Payment and there has been no change to your circumstances, you don’t need to reapply. You should automatically get your payment this year. However if you circumstances have changed you need to tell the government of these changes.

You have not received a Winter Fuel Payment before

If you have not received a Winter Fuel Payment before then you need to find out if you qualify. Claims must be received by 30 March 2012.

If your partner is currently receiving a Winter Fuel Payment, but you aren’t, then you will need to claim.

Find out if you can claim it, how to claim it and how much you can get. There’s also information on when you’ll be paid, what to do if there’s a change in your situation or you think your payment is incorrect.

Cold Weather Payment

Cold Weather Payments are different to Winter Fuel Payments. You may get one for each week of very cold weather in your area. Again see the directgov.com website and follow the links for more information.

A pensioner aged 76, who has not been named, swallowed a felt-tip in early 1986 while she was trying to check her tonsils. The pensioner held down her tongue with the pen and it fell down her throat and she rushed to hospital to have it removed. The doctor and husband dismissed her story after scans and X-rays failed to find anything. She later left the hospital and forgot about it.

More than 25 years later she was seen by a gastrointestinal specialist in hospital suffering from stomach pains, weight loss and diarrhoea. An urgent investigation disclosed that areas of the woman’s large intestine had become inflamed, which was causing the abdominal pain.

A CAT scan of her abdomen appeared to uncover a “linear foreign body in the stomach” that looked remarkably similar to a pen. The plastic felt-tip was later successfully removed during surgery under general anaesthetic but doctors were astounded when they removed the pen undamaged and still in full working order.

The pensioner  got lost while he visiting his daughter who only lived  60 minutes away.

The pensioner  was eventually found by police still in his car after a major search when concerned relatives reported him missing.

His car  was seen  on a police camera only 10km from his intended destination yesterday but he was not seen again until today.

A source told us “he had stopped to catch up on some much needed sleep   before setting off again. He is after all 82 years old. Presumably he put fuel in the car during the service stops over the two days”.

The pensioner has been reunited with his daughter safe and well.

Listen out for our new radio adverts which are due to go live on Heart FM in the new year. Madge from Benidorm is the voice of our new campaign and we think our  ads are as funny as the show.

Listen to us on Radio Heart FM

In the New Year we are going to be advertising on the radio. Madge from Benidorm is the voice of our campaign as we think you will find them hilarious.

Madge Mobility

Madge from Benidorm is going to be the new voice for our advertising campaign which is due to go live on Heart FM in the New Year. We hope you will find our ads as funny as the show!

Ensure you have good lighting

Make sure the edge of the steps are clearly lighted and can be seen while going up and down. Make sure there is no glare or shadows going along the stairway.

• Use the brightest wattage allowed for your light fitting
• If there are any glares use a frosted bulb or indirect lighting or lamp shades.
• Make sure a qualified electrician fits the light fitting
• Have light switches fitted at the top and bottom of the stairs

Steps

• Ensure each stair or step allows secure footing
• Loose carpeting and worn treads can lead to insecure footing so get this fixed
• Slippers, socks or smooth soled shoes can be dangerous on the stairs
• Consider painting any outdoor steps with a paint with a rough texture or use abrasive strips
• Steps should all be the same size and height
• Ensure the edges of each step can be clearly seen
• Avoid carpets with a thick pile or dark in colour
• Don’t leave things lying around on the stairs
• Consider having a stairlift fitted

*** REMEMBER PERIODICALLY TO RE-CHECK YOUR HOME!

FACT- Older means wiser 

Brains of over-55s work more efficiently as experience of age beats speed of youth

Surely this is the evidence that parents have longed to arm themselves with in disputes with their children – getting older really does make you wiser.

Beware of Bogus Callers

 Older people are less likely than any other age group to be victims of crime. But there is one type of criminal that target older people: bogus callers.

Also known as distraction burglars, they trick their way into people’s homes to steal money and valuables while the householder’s attention is elsewhere.
 
Most callers are genuine and mean you no harm but bogus callers can often seem very plausible and will try to fool you.

Scams checklist 

If an exciting offer seems too good to be true, think about the following warning signs and ask yourself if its s scam

•              Was the offer unsolicited?

•              Do you have to respond quickly? What’s the rush?

•              Do you have to pay for a prize or ‘free’ gift?

•              Do you have to ring a premium rate starting with 09?

•              Are you being asked for your bank or credit card details?

•              Is the business reluctant to give you its address or contact details?

•              Are you being asked to keep the offer confidential?

There’s nothing wrong with being sceptical – especially before sighing anything or handing over any money

Did you know a TV historian found evidence in a list of possessions of King Henry VIII that attributes the first stairlift belonged to the monarch. The 30 stone king, injured through jousting, used a chair that was hauled up and down stairs on a block and tackle system by servants at the ancient Whitehall Palace in London. In  the 1920s,  a Pennsylvania entrepreneur,C.C. Crispen, created a way to enable his ailing friend to travel from floor to floor. Crispen’s idea was to design a seat that could climb stairs. A self-taught engineer, he built the first prototype of the inclining chair. He called it the Inclin-ator. 

Here at One Stop Mobility we understand that buying a stairlift is not something most people do very often so it can be difficult to know you are making the right decision. At One Stop Mobility we’re dedicated to ensuring that every customer gets the stairlift that’s right for them and their home – so we’ve prepared this list to help you make the right choice.

1) Don’t buy one without a comprehensive warranty.

All our new stairlifts come with a 2 year warranty and our reconditioned stairlifts come with a 1 year warranty.

2) Don’t buy one unless the stairlift company has been  to measure your stairs

Staircases come in all shapes and sizes, so that’s why we always take the exact measurements of your staircase to ensure your stairlift fits perfectly.

3) Make sure it comes with a 24 hour call out service.

We are local company and we employ local engineers in the unlikely event of  something ever going wrong with your stairlift, we can reach you as fast as possible to get your stairlift up and running again.

4) Try before you buy.

It’s hard to tell how comfortable a stairlift is from a brochure. We think it’s much better to try one out in person, so we’ve placed a stairlift in our Mobility Shop. This means you can take one for a test run before deciding to have one fitted in your home.

5) Make sure you’re measured as well as your home.

Before fitting a stairlift, it’s important to take more than the measurement of your hallway. To ensure you get a stairlift that’s right for you, One Stop Mobility conduct a full risk and user assessment at each home. This means we take your measurements, as well as your staircase, to ensure that our product is right for both you and your home.