Beat the recession
Date:
06 April 2009
Claim your dues
Some people are not claiming all their Benefits entitlements. With energy costs now higher than ever, please check that you and your loved ones are claiming what’s due to you.
Benefits advice surgeries are held at:
South Oxhey. Thrive Homes, 37 Oxhey Drive. Mon – Thurs 9am – 4:30pm; Fri 9am – 4pm.
Abbots Langley. Abbots Langley Parish Council, Langley Road. Tues 9am – 1pm.
Rickmansworth. Three Rivers House, Northway. Mon – Thurs 8:30am – 5:30pm; Fri 8:30am – 5pm.
Home visits are available for elderly and disabled residents. Contact us enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk 01923 776611.
Citizen’s Advice Service
CAB offers advice on a wide range of topics, including debt, employment issues, divorce and separation, state Benefits, consumer queries and housing problems. 
Advice is free, confidential, impartial, independent and open to all. We also offer home visits to housebound clients.
Abbots Langley CAB
01923 267 949
Oxhey and District CAB
020 8421 0911
Rickmansworth CAB
01923 720 424
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Free security check
West Herts Against Crime can provide a free home security check for all residents ceowhac@btconnect.com 01923 801138. The group is supported the Council, the Police and other members of the Three Rivers Community Safety Partnership.
Landlord help
Private homeowners and small business people who are struggling with mortgage and other credit payments may be helped by a novel scheme from the District Council. The Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme covers the deposit for private tenants who are eligible for Housing Benefit. The contract provides coverage for damage and non-payment of rent in the usual way.
The District Council acts as an estate agent, linking up potential tenants with landlords at no charge. The Council’s housing team supplies all the legal paperwork for a tenancy agreement and completes a detailed inventory and video of the property. Both self-contained homes and rooms in houses may be eligible for the scheme. All properties must be in a decent, habitable condition.
Energy hotline
Energy experts are offering free advice on how to reduce your fuel bills www.energysavingtrust.org.uk 0800 512 012
Older not colder
The cold is not just miserable - older people can die through lack of heating. Each year the District Council runs a special grants scheme, Beat the Killer Cold, to help pensioners on low incomes with their fuel bills. The grants are in addition to the government’s Winter Fuel Allowance.
More information about
the Winter Fuel Allowance is available from the CAB (above).
Private homes grants
Private home owners in receipt of Benefits may be entitled to a home improvement grant. The grants are for help with boilers, windows, roofs, brickwork and other things in need of immediate repair.