Utility bills

mlumley

I have been living in Ireland for 17 years. I am thinking of returning to the UK. What are your utility costs per month, electricity, gas, council tax etc etc. I am getting horror stories in the Daily Express about charges going up & up & up. I would like to hear from those actualy living there to let me know what you think. Also, is it "Rip off Britain" or what.

Princessdizzy

I live in the UK, in Kent in a 2 bedroom end of terrace (small and keeps heat well) but here is what I pay for things: Electricity and Gas jointly costs £70 per month. There are two of us living here and I would guess we use an average amount of hot water and heating. My parent's house is old and they pay loads for gas heating so it depends what type of property you would be in. Poll tax on my house is £135 per month, you pay for 10 months (so total of £1350 over year). If you are going to be living on your own you get 25% discount. Don't forget we pay for water and wastewater in UK - my water bill is £15 per month and wastewater is £34 per month. I'm on a water meter so it depends how much you use. TV license is about the same as yours I think about £12 per month. I pay £15 a month for Broadband (plus £13 month phone line rental/calls) - shop around and again depends on where you are, we're quite rural and providers are still limited.

I don't think its particularly 'rip-off Britain'. Yes prices have gone up dramatically lately for food and petrol but that I think is the same in every country. And there are scare stories in the paper again lately about heating bills rising.

We're moving to Ireland later in the year so we've been looking at cost comparisons - and something the UK is much cheaper for is car tax - couldn't believe the prices you pay over there! We've had to get rid of our big engine cars for a sensible little car and we will still be paying about four times as much on tax when we come over.

Hope this helps. Anything else you want to know just ask.

Can I ask a question back - I know we will have to pay for healthcare over there but do you pay a certain price for a prescription or do you pay for the cost of the drug itself? Thanks!

mlumley

Thanks for the reply, wow, council tax is high. To answer you question, you pay to visit the Dr here. It is €50-55 in my area, no reduction for kids. Drugs, well you full cost for each item.

There is a a two tier health care system here as far as hospitals go. You can pay into VHI or one of the outher private systems, or go public.

Private Might get you a single room in hospital, though mostly not, and they are in shared wards. Public patients share wards, again, where I live they have up graded the hopital (much needed) and it's now nice and comfortable.

It has been said that Private patients jump the que, so what, they have paid twice for the same treatment.

If you are not working, you can apply to the local health board for a Medical Card. This is means tested. With this, you receive free Dr visits and Prescriptions, or you may qualify for a Dr's visit only card, you dont pay for Dr visits but pay for your drugs.

Can I ask, what do you hope to work as here and where will you be living?
At the moment there are not many jobs and it is said 1000 young people are leaving a WEEK.

Anything else you want to know, just ask, if I dont know I'll try and find out.

Princessdizzy

Yes the council tax makes me soooo angry - apart from my mortgage it's my highest bill. It kind of feels ok to be paying out on gas and electric - you see and feel the benefit from those but paying nearly twice as much as a heating bill for yet another government tax .... oh don't get me started!

Anyway back to the health services in Ireland. So there is a public system if you have to go to hospital? That's what I didn't understand, I knew you paid to see a doctor. If I got ill and had to go to hospital but didn't have private health insurance - is it free or do I get a bill at the end of the treatment or do they shut the door in my face and say 'you're not coming in if you haven't got insurance'? We will be working not claiming benefits so not the medical card thingy. Would there be anyway of finding out how much a particular medication would be - my husband has to have some?

And yes I know we're mad. Call it a mid-life crisis (if 41 is the right age for that). My hubby has always wanted to live there (visited alot, grandparents from Ireland, few distant relatives still there etc). Our plan is to buy a rundown place for cash and we do it up ourselves - he's builder/plumber/electrician etc. We'll have enough cash to live for a year, by then hoping at least one of us will have at least some sort of income - part time, start up self-employed, possibility I might still work remotely over internet for current boss - anyway that's a gamble but we can only try. We know it's a huge risk but its kind of an 'adventure', change our lives totally, get out of the mundane 9 to 5, debt-ridden, materialistic lifestyles we've both been living. We want chickens, grow our veg, that kind of thing, keep our living costs as low as poss. A bit hippy-like. Which is so odd considering I used to think handbags were a thing of art! At the moment I earn a middling salary and it all goes on mortgage, bills and huge debt payments. I'm stuffed if something goes wrong now. If we follow this dream we may be cold and hungry in a run-down shack - but it will be our shack!

mlumley

We all have the mid-life thing. Mine is wanting to learn to fly.

Hospital is free, except for a payment towards food etc. It is only payable for the first so many day I think. Medication is not cheap. In fact years ago read of a woman who sent her prescrition to her mother in Portugal, as it was way cheaper. As I said, there is a limit to how much you are expected to be able to pay for drugs a month. Not sure how much it is.

It's a good thing you can work remotly from home. Work outside the cities is hard to come by, especial in building, it will be a long time befor builders are in greay demand again.

But on the pluss side, property is a lot cheaper, and is expected to fall a bit more. Try looking on www.daft.ie It is the most popular property site and covers all the country.

I will try to find out about the drug payment thing for you, and will post in a couple of days.

coolabula

hospital is not free, you pay €100 for attending A&E, if you are admitted you dont pay this but pay €75 a night, my partner recently had a bill over €900 :eek:

also you might want to check on broadband availability in rural areas, I live in the rural midlands and we only have mobile broadband, and we are lucky to get that, we will never have proper broadband, so this might affect your plans to work from home

Princessdizzy

Yes I think there is more chance of me getting work here and there (all sorts of office experience from junior to personal assistant plus qualified beauty therapist - I get bored easily) rather than hubby. He can stay at home and grow the veg and think of interesting things to do with the one egg our chicken lays!! I wonder how long our sense of humour will last

Sorry mlumley totally gone off track to your original post. Where abouts in the UK are you returning to? How come you went to Ireland and what differences did you find to the UK? Anything else I can answer for you?

I did wonder about the broadband too, hubby said it might via mobile as we will definitely be somewhere rural.

mlumley

coolabula wrote: »

hospital is not free, you pay €100 for attending A&E, if you are admitted you dont pay this but pay €75 a night, my partner recently had a bill over €900 :eek:

also you might want to check on broadband availability in rural areas, I live in the rural midlands and we only have mobile broadband, and we are lucky to get that, we will never have proper broadband, so this might affect your plans to work from home

Thanks, shows how long it has been since I was last in Hospital.

coolabula

coolabula wrote: »

hospital is not free, you pay €100 for attending A&E, if you are admitted you dont pay this but pay €75 a night, my partner recently had a bill over €900 :eek:

also you might want to check on broadband availability in rural areas, I live in the rural midlands and we only have mobile broadband, and we are lucky to get that, we will never have proper broadband, so this might affect your plans to work from home

Are you sure it was that much?

According to citizens's information the max anyone non-insured person should pay in 12 months is €750

From http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/hospital_services/hospital_charges.html

Citizens Infomation wrote:

Charges for accident and emergency/casualty services in public hospitals

If you go to the accident and emergency or casualty department of a public hospital without being referred there by your family doctor (GP), you may be charged €100 (from 1 January 2009).

There is no charge if you are referred by a GP.

The charge of €100 also does not apply to the following groups:

* Medical card holders
* People who are admitted to hospital as a result of attending the casualty department (you will then be subject to in-patient charges)
* People receiving treatment for prescribed infectious diseases
* Children up to six weeks of age, children suffering from prescribed diseases and disabilities and children referred for treatment from child health clinics and school health examinations
* People who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regulations
* Women receiving maternity services.

If you have to return for further visits to an out-patient clinic in relation to the same illness or accident, you should not have to pay the charge again.

You can be referred by your family doctor to the out-patients department of a public hospital for specialist assessment by a consultant or his or her team or for diagnostic assessments (i.e., x-rays, laboratory tests, physiotherapy, etc.). If you attend this service as a public patient, you will not have to pay for this service. If you wish to attend a consultant in a private capacity, you must pay their fee.
In-patient charges in public hospitals

If you are in a public ward under the care of a consultant for treatment and you remain overnight, you are receiving in-patient services.

If you are admitted to the hospital under the care of a consultant where you do not require the use of a bed overnight and your discharge from hospital is planned, you are receiving day services.

The charge for in-patient/day services is €75 per day up to a maximum of €750 in a any 12 consecutive months. The charge does not apply to the following groups:

* Medical card holders
* People receiving treatment for prescribed infectious diseases
* People who are subject to "long stay" charges
* Children up to six weeks of age, children suffering from prescribed diseases and disabilities and children referred for treatment from child health clinics and school board examinations
* People who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regulations
* Women receiving maternity services.

Jack B. Badd

All,

This seems to getting a bit off-topic. Could we please bring it back to the issues of services within the UK rather than a debate on those in Ireland?

Many thanks,
Jack.