Don’t Wait Until Winter - Sponsored Editorial

Millions of people across Scotland, including here in West Dunbartonshire, are worried about their energy bills, keeping their home warm, and the cost of living this winter. The financial pressures people face in the lead up to Christmas only add to the burden.

Staff at West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau have repeatedly expressed concern about the toll on local people trying to cope, firstly with Lockdown and then with the Cost-of- Living Crisis.

Last year West Dunbartonshire CAB helped 4,559 people with 33,486 issues and unlocked

£1.56m in client financial gains. The majority of these enquiries were about benefits, debt and energy costs.

We always worry about how people will cope through the winter and in the last few months we've been running a 'Don't Wait Until Winter' campaign.

We're already giving advice to people who have self-disconnected from gas and electricity and feel unable to re-connect. In some cases, people have reported being unable to afford additional energy costs where medical equipment is used in the home.

Our Advisors know that people struggling with energy bills are likely to be struggling with other costs – some may even be borrowing and going into debt to pay for every-day essentials. This is why it is important that people have their benefits checked again and make sure they are getting all the financial help available.

Our advisers get life-changing results, in the words of one client:

“CAB have helped me to be able to keep my heating on. I’ve been so scared to use it in case I’m unable to afford it, especially on a low income. The payment that the adviser got for me makes a huge difference to both my physical and mental wellbeing.”

People don't need to come to the CAB for support - we have online information pages and interactive self-help tools that allow people to see how they can boost their income or cut their costs.

Lots of people don't necessarily need one-to- one advice, just the right information about what support is out there and their rights.

The most important thing is to not put things off, and let money and debt worries build up until they are overwhelming. Debt happens, but the Citizens Advice Bureau can help you through it.

That's why we would encourage anyone worried about the cost of bills, whether energy or otherwise, to seek help from the CAB.

You can phone us on 0800 484 0136 or visit www.wdcab.co.uk and work with us to go through your options to find one that works for you. Our advice is free, impartial and confidential. We never charge anyone for advice.

We are here for everyone, whether they are working or not. We don't judge, we just help…and our advisers get real results.