6 News FROM FUEL BILLS TO BENEFIT CLAIMS, ADVISORS M 9


easy ways to pay rent


1. DIRECT DEBIT: Set up a bank instruction to pay your rent weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly or monthly.


2. ONLINE: Visit our website www.gha.org.uk and follow the instructions, or visit www. facebook.com/glasgowhousing


3. BY TELEPHONE: Call 0800 479 7979 to pay by debit or credit card.


4. IN PERSON: Drop into our ground-floor shop at 173 Trongate and pay by cash, cheque or with your credit or debit card using our chip and PIN facilities.


5. BY STANDING ORDER: Set up a standing order with your bank.


6. POST OFFICE: Pay at the post office with a GHA rent payment card.


7. BY PAYPOINT: At any shop that displays the PayPoint sign.


8. BY POST: Send a cheque or postal order to: GHA, 173 Trongate, Glasgow G1 5HF.


9. HOUSING BENEFIT: If you receive full housing benefit, your rent is paid by Glasgow City Council. If you receive partial housing benefit, you are responsible for paying the rest.


Want more information? Call us on Freephone 0800 479 7979, go to www.gha.org.uk or drop in and see us at 173 Trongate.


i theKEY - www.gha.org.uk


Stay warm and T


ENANTS across the city are saving thousands of pounds thanks to GHA’s fuel advisors.


Fuel advisors provide free expert advice to tenants on cutting their fuel bills and keeping their homes warm.


The service helps tenants access the cheapest energy tariffs. Advisors can also speak to fuel providers on behalf of tenants and arrange low- cost payment arrangements and, depending on their circumstances, help them write-off long-term debt. That means tenants are not only


warm and comfortable at home – but they have more money in their pockets too. Tenant Mark Johnstone, from Marfield Street, is celebrating after receiving a rebate worth hundreds of pounds.


Mark, 63, who works for the council’s cleansing department, said: “I get paid monthly so I like to pay my bills monthly and I have a credit meter.


“I’d been paying £60 a month


for almost two years – and was hundreds of pounds in credit. “The fuel advisor Maureen visited me at home and helped sort things out.


“She checked my meter and phoned the supplier – and got me a rebate. “She was absolutely brilliant. It only took two weeks and I had the money in my pocket. “It means I can go on holiday now. “It’s a great service.” GHA Chair Bernadette Hewitt said: “The fuel advice service makes a real difference to people’s lives – I’ve used the service myself, so I know how important it is.


“Not only does it help tenants keep


warm at home, it helps people save money on their bills too.” If you think you might benefit from an appointment with one of our fuel advisors, talk to your housing officer, visit www.gha.org.uk or phone free on 0800 479 7979.


Advisor helps tenant save more


A TENANT from the North East tells how she’s more than £10,000 better off after help from one of our welfare benefits advisors.


I


suffer from anxiety, depression and panic attacks, as well as sciatica and asthma.


I was on benefits but I’d been badly advised and forms hadn’t been filled in properly.


I didn’t know I could claim certain benefits – they don’t tell you about these things.


I hadn’t used my gas central heating for


five years. I could afford the electric but not the gas, so I would just wear extra clothes or use a small electric fire. I didn’t have a cooker for two years either. I used a microwave. The welfare benefits advisor Kathleen


visited me at home, looked at the letters I’d received, checked the figures and


realised I was missing out on £60 a week.


She phoned the DWP there and then and got it sorted. That’s £250 a month I didn’t know about.


I had been entitled to that for three and a half years but no one ever told me. I got it backdated. I’m more than £10,000 better off. Now I’m claiming the proper benefit,


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