Raiding of hard-earned savings is a disgrace

I HAD not realised how vulnerable our old people are until I read Jayne Dowle’s article (Yorkshire Post, October 10).

And when I sought out the oldest man I know and showed him the article, he told me he is having to pay for a daily carer, and this costs more than his pension so he is spending his nest egg which he scrimped together while he was working.

And he pointed out that he soon wouldn’t have a nest egg for use as intended – to pay the big household bills, buy new washing machines, another old banger, the thousands of pounds 
needed for redecorating his 
home inside and out, and how he’s been told that his electricity and gas bill is going up.

This raiding of hard-earned savings is a national disgrace.

It would have been better if 
he had did what those who 
spent – or borrowed – all their lives, their care home then 
being free!

We are all to blame – we choose politicians lacking both wisdom and fairness. We allowed things to happen instead of planning properly.

It is time we put things right.

From: M Rogers, Barwick in Elmet, Leeds.

Further to the letter from Mike Smith (Yorkshire Post, October 15) regarding the length of letters from npower, we received our latest statement from npower on the previous day. This is breathtaking in its brazen audacity.

The first page announces our revised monthly payment. Although stated to be assessed against consumption, absolutely no explanation is provided of how the new payment has been derived.

It is not until one reaches 
pages six and seven that any details of consumption and charges for the year ahead are provided.

A “prediction” is provided of the cost over the next 12 months.

The new monthly payment requested by Npower represents an increase of some 50 per cent on the predicted cost over the next 12 months.

One is left pondering: are npower really planning to increase prices by 50 per cent, or is it an attempt to extract an interest-free loan?

It is high time that politicians and the regulator reined in such predatory practices.