THOUSANDS of readers flooded our Winter Fuel SOS helpline looking for support last month.

We received thousands of calls from older people worried about paying bills and staying warm this winter.

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We connected them with our panel of experts from Age UK, Which?, Independent Age and uSwitch and have helped many successfully apply for pension credit, save on bills and access awards to which they didn’t realise they were entitled.

In some cases we have helped readers access thousands of pounds worth of additional help.

We launched our Winter Fuel SOS drive following the government’s decision to axe the tax-free benefit worth 300 pounds for 10 million pensioners.

But those on Pension Credit will keep the Winter Fuel Allowance, however there are approximately 800.000 of people who could claim but don’t.

They are among just some of those who called our special hotline.

Our panel received so many calls we are still calling readers back and investigating their cases – but we know many thousands more may still be eligible for help.

Here are some of the stories of those we have helped already.

• Additional reporting: James Flanders and Clare O’Reilly

‘I’m so pleased I took the time to reach out’

WE also assisted 98-year-old Arnold Walton, who lives in Wickersley, Rotherham, with his British Gas energy bill.

The former D-Day veteran and ex-car salesman, who served with the York and Lancaster Regiment in WW2, assumed he wouldn’t qualify for Pension Credit because he was already receiving Attendance Allowance, as he is blind in one eye and has limited mobility.

It meant that he struggled to get by on a £239 a week state pension and £5.25 a week (£21 a month) private pension.

To help with his living costs, British Gas has agreed to cover half of his energy bill for six months.

They are also looking at fixing the damp in his home and have offered to replace his 35-year-old washing machine and cooker.

Additionally, as part of its “random acts of kindness” initiative, the energy giant will give him a £100 supermarket voucher.

And he may also get a boost to his income as our checks indicate he could be eligible for pension credit too.

Arnold told The Sun: “I’m utterly astonished by the support available, and I’m over the moon.

“I’m so pleased that I took the time to reach out, and I’m immensely grateful for all the help and assistance they’ve provided as Christmas approaches.”

We also helped a 64-year-old reader from Stanwell, Middlesex with her Octopus bill.

She is not eligible for benefits but is on a low income and is struggling with her energy bill and worried about this winter.

The energy firm was able to credit her with £750 from its Octoassist fund which helps vulnerable customers.

‘I think a lot of people give up’

RETIRED pipe fitter Neil Dingwall, 80, from ­Balmullo, St Andrews, faces an agonising nine week wait to find out if he will get Pension Credit.

He is unsure whether he will receive the benefit, despite living in Scotland, one of the coldest parts of the country.

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His uncertainty – and a family member – are what prompted him to call in to our Winter Fuel SOS line.

“I honestly wouldn’t have called in if it wasn’t for my daughter being pretty sure I’d be able to get something,” Neil reveals.

“I don’t want handouts, but the Winter Fuel Payment last year made such a difference.

“I think with the phone lines taking so long, though, and not getting answers quicker, a lot of people give up.”

He added: “It’s been brilliant having The Sun’s help, I haven’t heard about it for sure, but I’m hopeful I’ll get Pension Credit and the other entitlements that opens up to me.

“None of it would have happened without the Winter Fuel SOS helpline and my daughter.”

‘I’d no idea we could be eligible’

JOHN SMITH, 77, a retired builder, has incurable prostate cancer and is facing selling his home.

But after a call to our Winter Fuel SOS helpline, he could be due an extra £6,888 a year.

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Despite getting just £95 a week in State Pension, John doesn’t qualify for Pension Credit because his wife Sitada, also on a low income, is only 45.

The couple, who live in North Hykeham, Lincoln, are struggling to pay their bills and often dipping into their savings — and they won’t qualify for this year’s £300 Winter Fuel Payment.

But a little-known loophole means that the couple could apply for Universal Credit instead, and may be due an additional £132 a week.

Crucially, this should make them eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, too.

John said: “I had no idea we could be eligible for Universal Credit because I’m over the State Pension age. If it wasn’t for The Sun’s help, I would have never been aware.”

‘It’s outrageous I pay charges’

WE are fighting to secure Pension Credit for Douglas Gough, 72 – after benefits bosses warned he was not eligible.

Our experts reckon that the retired jeweller, from Dulwich, south east London – who gets by on £180 a week in State Pension –  should qualify due to sky-high service charges he pays.

Douglas, who lives in a two-bed flat, forks out £599 a month in fees despite buying his home from Lambeth Council back in 1970.

He said: “It’s outrageous that I have to pay these charges when I own my home.

“What’s even more absurd is that the service charge keeps increasing, despite the fact that the property is deteriorating and we’ve lost our reception porter.”

The outcome of a DWP investigation into Douglas’s case is pending.

Eligible OAPs have until December 21 to apply for Pension Credit but, crucially, they must ask for the claim to be backdated in order to get the Winter Fuel Payment.

Many face waiting until after Christmas to find out if their application is successful.

Meanwhile, other readers have told us they struggled to get through to the Pension Credit hotline.

The DWP says there is currently a nine week wait for applications.

And while the £300 Winter Fuel Payment is due to land in bank accounts from the end of November, it means that many will miss out.

‘I worried how I’d feed myself’

STRUGGLING to survive on her £800 a month pension, Jenny Ward, 74, began starving herself because she thought she had no other option.

“It got to a point where I couldn’t afford meat,” she explained.

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“I couldn’t afford fruit and oranges to get vitamin C, so I was using tomato juice to try and get the nutrients I needed. I was buying tinned kidney beans because they have a lot of protein in them.

“I started to get poorly.”

Jenny, from Wakefield, West Yorks, had no idea she was entitled to Pension Credit until Age UK, one of The Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS experts, stepped in.

She revealed: “I was so close to giving up and I tried to a lot of times, but Age UK kept persevering with me and for me, and it’s thanks to them I have it.”

Recalling how tough life was before she got the benefit, she added: “Every month was a challenge. I was sleepless with worry about what would happen to me, about how I’d feed myself and keep myself warm. It’s difficult, but a lot of people like me are in the same position.”

After a seven month wait for Pension Credit, Jenny is feeling less fearful.

She said: “I’m not looking forward to this winter, but I’m not as scared going into this one as I was last winter.”

ALIEXPRESS is an online retail service based in China which offers a wide range of different products.

It is comprised of smaller business and retailers, in China, Singapore and several other countries, who sell to an international market.

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World-wide company

The company is owned by Chinese multinational the Alibaba Group, which primarily focuses on computing and e-commerce.

AliExpress trades to international import buyers and does not trade within china.

In China, the Alibaba Group instead trades via a subsidiary named Taobao.

AliExpress was launched in 2010 and started off as a business-to-business portal, which has expanded to offer business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer sales.

It has websites in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, Russian and Indonesian.

Questions over counterfeit goods

AliExpress is a legitimate business, but only has a Trustpilot score of 2.8 (as of October 2-24).

The brand has ran in to trouble when a report suggested there were concerns of counterfeit goods on AliExpress.

The report read: “Existing data shows a correlation between the use of forced labour and child labour in the global production of certain products and the types of products that are most commonly counterfeited.”

In response, Ambassador Katherine Tai added: “This illicit trade also increases the vulnerability of workers involved in the manufacturing of counterfeit goods to exploitative labor practices.

“Counterfeit goods can pose significant risks to the health and safety of consumers and workers around the world.”

AliExpress responded to the claims and said: “AliExpress is committed to protecting intellectual property rights and prohibits our merchants from listing items that infringe upon the IP rights of third parties, and has in place measures to combat counterfeits.

“Rights owners may contact our platform and submit their claims through our Intellectual Property Protection Platform to report cases of infringement.

“Sellers found to be in breach will be penalised according to our platform policies, which may involve fines, suspension or termination.”

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AliExpress’ products

AliExpress sells thousands of discounted products, which allow users to buy more of the clothes that they love.

However, some users have claimed that they have received products that look very different to the ones that they originally ordered.

One Instagram user, whose handle is @itsleaux_, ordered an engagement dress from the site but she described her order as a “fail”.

She had ordered a fitted gown with blue tuelle but received a pink dress in the most.

The online store says it does allow full refunds for products that arrive late or are damaged though.

FRUUGO is a company whose services make it easier to trade goods across borders, whether they are clothes, tools or other shopping items.

The company is based in Ulverston in Cumbria, England and is a rapidly expanding business which has even been featured on Deloitte’s Technology’s Fast 50.

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Finnish beginnings

Fruugo was formed in 2008 in Finland and received heavy investment to help the service grow.

However, the companies growth was turbo-charged by an acquisition by Dominic Allonby and Darren Naylor in 2012.

The company moved to Cumbria and was serving one million customers globally by 2019.

It doubled its customer base in 2020 and received the first ever King’s Award for Enterprise for National Trade in 2023.

Dominic Allbony, the company’s executive chairman, said the company was “extremely proud” to recieve the award.

He added: “Fruugo has gone from strength to strength over the last few years and to see our achievements recognised with such a prestigious award is a real honour.

“I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their commitment to the company and to our vision; this achievement is a credit to the team’s hard work and determination.”

International trading

Fruugo offers sellers, who partner with the platform, the opportunity to reach customers in over 40 countries and even translate their page for each one of those countries.

They convert currencies on the website, enabling international trade, and drive traffic to its retailers’ products.

It also calculates international sales TAX and VAT, while paying relevant government bodies on its retailers’ behalf.

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Safety concerns?

Fruugo is a legitimate website which has been operating in its current form for over a decade.

The slew of awards it has won gives it even more credibility and the brand has a Trustpilot score of 4.1 (as of October 2024).

The company’s app is also safe to use.

ALDI is selling cosy bedding that’ll keep you warm all night without having to turn the heating on.

Summer duvets are being swapped with thicker sets to snuggle under – and for cheap.

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To start off your new bedding collection, the Teddy Fitted Sheet Double is the perfect place to start.

The soft fleece is perfect just in time for the winter months.

And you can choose from beige, green or grey – depending on what matches you room.

You can grab the bottom sheet for only £7.99 or grab the king sized version for an extra £1.

To match, you’ll want to get your hands on the Kirkton House Teddy Pillowcases that are only a shocking £3.99 each.

These pillowcases are so soft you may struggle to get out of bed in the morning.

You can also get your hands on the Kirkton House Teddy King Duvet Set, which includes the duvet cover as well as two pillow cases.

And, like the other collection, you can choose between beige, green or grey.

For this set, it will only set you back £16.99.

The supermarket giant are also selling a £1.99 gadget that can help to keep homes warm without putting the heating on.

Aldi is to stock a winter essential that could keep you from huddling by the radiator this season.

It’s safe to say summer has come to an end, with temperatures dropping down to single digits and Christmas food popping up in supermarket.

This year, millions of Brits may feel hesitant about turning on their heating due to high energy bills.

But with temperatures set to fall the closer we get to Christmas, now is the best time to prepare for those long winter nights.

Fortunately, there are is an Aldi product dropping soon that might help you steer away from a hefty heating bill.

The Workzone Adhesive Draught Excluder lines the gaps between your windows to prevent drauphts.

Heat often escapes through breaks in the window and can drastically change the temperature of a room.

The product description reads: “This accessory is great for keeping a room warm and keeping any chilling winds outside rather than in.”

By lining the window edges and blocking any temperature transfer, you’ll be less likely to whack those radiators on.

The soft-adhesive sticks to glass and window frames, fitting gaps from 2-5mm.

If you’re conscious of keeping your rooms stylish, as well as cosy, the draupht excluders come in three sets of colours to match your interior – white, brown and black.

For £1.99 you get two 5m lengths of adhesive which is long enough to cover most windows.

The draught excluder is available in stores from October 20.

How to save money when shopping

Sign up to the loyalty schemes of the brands that you regularly shop with.

Big names regularly offer discounts or special lower prices for members, as well as other perks.

Sales are when you can really bag a bargain.

Retailers often have promotions that tie into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends, so keep a lookout and shop when these deals are on.

Sign up to mailing lists and you’ll also be first to know about special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too.

When buying online, always search for money off codes or vouchers that you can use.

Vouchercodes.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk are just two sites that round up promotions by retailer.

Scanner apps are useful to have on your phone. 

Trolley.co.uk app has a scanner that you can use to compare the price of branded items when out shopping.

Bargain hunters can also use B&M’s scanner in the app to find discounts in-store before staff have marked them out.

And always check if you can get cashback before paying.

This in effect means you’ll get some of your money back or a discount on the item.

A MICHELIN-starred chef who previously appeared on MasterChef has suddenly closed his restaurant.

Peter Sanchez-Iglesias said the Bristol-based Italian restaurant, Casa Bristol, was closing until further notice.

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The West Country restaurateur, who also owns the Spanish-Mexican restaurant Decimo in London, guided contestants through a cooking challenge there in last year’s series of amateur MasterChef.

His third restaurant, Paco Tapas in Bristol, which lost its Michelin star this year.

A statement on the restaurant’s website said: “At this moment, we are closed for future bookings. If you’re looking to book a restaurant, please check out our sister restaurant, Paco Tapas.

“All vouchers for Casa will be honoured at Paco Tapas.

“If you have any concerns or queries, please contact us at info@casamiarestaurant.co.uk.”

Customers rushed to Reddit to discuss why the mysterious closure had occurred.

One was keen to praise the restaurant’s legacy in the area.

They wrote: “What you do have to say is that this restaurant has improved the quality of food served in restaurants across the city and many chefs have gone through this restaurant become top-tier chefs and gone on to open their own restaurants or projects in the city.

“If it is closed for good this restaurant has an excellent legacy.

“Only eaten here once, but one of the dishes was the best tortellini I have ever eaten.”

Another speculated that Peter was “bored on Bristol”, with a third echoing that he had perhaps “been more focused on London at Decimo”.

Peter’s parents were also in the business – opening their restaurant Casamia in 1999.

Peter worked there from the age of 16 along with his brother Jonray, eventually leading it to its first Michelin star in 2009.

After Casamia’s closure in 2022, Peter decided to relaunch and rebrand the restaurant as Casa.

It was designed to have a more casual vibe, with authentic Italian comfort dishes like potato ravioli and mushroom ragu.

But the joint never achieved the Michelin-star status of its predecessor.

Casa Bristol has been contacted by the Sun for comment.

LACED is a footwear website which functions as an online marketplace for shoe sellers.

The website functions in a similar way to Depop but has a particular focus on footwear.

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Born in London

Laced was founded in London in 2018 by its CEO Chris Gibbons.

The brand aimed to make accessing the latest sneakers as “easy as possible”.

Chris explained: ”At the heart of the Laced platform and mission lies our belief that everyone, wherever they are, should be able to go online, purchase luxury goods and have them delivered to their door in the easiest way possible.”

Laced stocks some of the biggest brands in footwear, including Nike, New Balance and UGG.

Is the brand legitimate?

The brand describes itself as the “middleman between buyer and seller”.

It has a Trustpilot score of 4.3, which suggests most users agree that it is a reliable website.

Trustpilot is an open, online review platform where any consumer can freely post their true thoughts and feelings about a product.

Laced maintain this high level of trust, through its team of in-house authenticators who ensure that the footwear sold on the website is legitimate.

The authentication process is very rigorous and involves inspections to ensure the products are good quality and in their original packaging.

Items that fail these tests are rejected and a refund will be sent to the buyer.

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The brand’s ethos

The brand’s CEO shared that Laced is driven by a belief that “everyone deserves access to luxury goods”.

To reach a wider range of customers, the brand is very active on social media and has over 115,000 followers on Instagram.

Laced also sells shoes in Europe, so even more people can buy luxury footwear.