BRITISH Gas offers a variety of help to its customers, which is worth being aware of if you are struggling this winter.

The UK’s biggest energy supplier was founded back in 1812 and has over eight million customers.

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The company has been running a number of schemes to help its customers who are struggling financially.

It comes as millions will see their energy bill rise by £149 this winter after Ofgem‘s new price cap came into force earlier this month.

Households previously paid £1,568 a year but the figure is now set to rise by nearly £150 to £1,717.

The government has also axed its £300 Winter Fuel Payment for over 10million pensioners who are not on means-tested benefits.

Free cash to help with energy bills

British Gas has a fund open to pre-payment meter and credit customers who have found themselves in debt worth up to £1,700.

The Individual and Families Fund was first set up in 2021 to help households struggling with energy debt.

This scheme’s support is available to British Gas and non-British Gas customers.

However, if your provider is Ovo Energy, E.ON Next, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, Octopus Energy or Utilita it asks your go to them for assistance first.

There are certain criteria that you need to meet to be considered for the Individual and Families Fund, including:

• Pre-payment meter customers must have between £50 and £1,700 of energy debt
• Credit customers must have between £250 and £1,700 of energy debt
• You live in England, Scotland, or Wales
• You have not received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust within the last 2 years
• You must be seeking a grant to clear an outstanding debt on a current or open gas, electricity or dual fuel energy account
• The account must be in your name and relate to your main residence
• You have received help from a money advice agency within the last six months

Customers with energy debts worth more than £1,700 will not be eligible for support through the fund.

You can check out your eligibility for the scheme here.

Match debt repayments

Earlier this year, British Gas also launched a £15million “You Pay: We Pay” initiative.

This scheme works by matching 100% of a customer’s energy debt repayments to help them clear their arrears faster.

For example, if a customer pays £100, British Gas will pay off £100, too, effectively wiping half the amount owed and getting them back on track sooner.

The scheme opened in June and June and eligible customers will be contacted directly – they won’t need to apply.

A detailed assessment will be made to determine if customers qualify for the scheme but broadly, they must:

• Be in or facing fuel poverty
• Must have obtained or will obtain debt advice 
• Have been a British Gas customer for at least six months
• Pre-agree a payment amount following the assessment

You must be a British Gas customer for at least six months to be considered.

Help with energy bills worth £150

British Gas is giving eligible customers £150 worth of extra cash through the government’s Warm Home Discount scheme.

The payment is issued to those on the lowest incomes and is designed to cover the additional heating costs over the colder months.

Households in England and Wales don’t have to apply to get the cash and receive it automatically.

However, some Scottish households do have to apply for the discount.

Eligible households get the cash credited to their electricity bill between October and March 2024.

To qualify for the Warm Home Discount, you need to claim either the guaranteed credit element of pension credit or a different means-tested benefit, including:

If you weren’t claiming any of the above benefits on August 11, 2024, you won’t be eligible for the payment.

What other support is available?

You do not need to be a customer at British Gas to get help with your energy bills this winter.

 EDF has a customer support fund which on average wipes £1,250 off customers’ bills. 

It is available to vulnerable customers experiencing hardship. 

To apply, visit EDF’s website and make sure you have details of your account number (find it on your energy bills or EDF emails) and the current debt balance on all EDF accounts you have.

Meanwhile, Octopus Energy offers a range of support, including cash from its Octopus Energy Assist Fund.

It could also include loaning a thermal imagery camera to find heat leaks in your home, which you can fix to reduce energy usage and your bill.

It also conducts home energy visits to discuss how households can reduce their usage and gives out free electric blankets.

You might also be able to get help with essential costs from your local council through a programme called the Household Support Fund (HSF).

The funding is designed to help people who are vulnerable or can’t afford to pay for necessities like energy bills, water bills, and food.

Some councils offer food vouchers to families during the school holidays, as well through the scheme.

Eligibility criteria vary by council, so you need to check your local authority’s website to see what’s available and how to apply.

SHOPPERS are racing to get their hands on an energy gadget after its price was slashed from a whopping £99 to just £9.99 and it will help keep the heating off.

With energy prices still high and the winter fuel payment cuts affecting thousands of pensioners, finding ways to keep warm this winter is proving challenging.

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However, the EGL 2000W Oil Filled Radiator could be the money-saver households are looking for.

The easy-to-use heating device has been reduced by a staggering 90 per cent after its price was slashed from £99 to £9.99, saving shoppers an eye-watering £89.01.

Several shoppers left great reviews about the product on HotUKDeals, with many eager to get their hands on the portable radiator.

One user wrote: “These are great to have, only heat one space in the home rather than the entire thing, I’ve used them for years.”

“Ordered mine, fingers crossed,” another added.

A third said: “Absolute steal.”

And a fourth shopper commented: “Very good deal.”

The EGL 2000W Oil Filled Radiator is estimated to cost around 50p per hour, meaning an 8-hour day would add up to £4 in total.

This would make it “cheaper to stay at home rather than driving to work and staying warm in the office,” another user added.

Unfortunately, this deal is no longer available but there are still similar heaters for discounted prices on offer.

Shoppers can bag themselves an Electric Freestanding Oil-Filled Radiator for just £26.99 from Screwfix.

Similarly, Amazon has stocked up on heating devices, with the cheapest portable radiator selling for just under £30.

B&Q’s Oil-filled radiator is currently scanning for just £24.

Ways to save this winter

Heated airers are a great way to save money when you can’t dry your clothes outdoors, but they’re not the only gadget you should seriously consider investing in.

Heated throws are great for keeping warm without switching on the heating. Pop one over you while you’re on the sofa watching TV, drape one over your bed – there’s even one from Lakeland you can wear. They offer several temperature levels and often have timers to automatically switch off.

Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air and when it’s drier in your home you tend to feel warmer. They can also be great for drying washing and some brands even have a laundry setting.

Air Fryers are the kitchen must-have of the last few years. They generally cook food quicker than your main oven does and in less time, using much less electricity.

Heavy or lined curtains can help keep out the cold, while draft excluders not only help keep cold air out but warm air in.

Before it gets really cold and you turn to your central heating for the winter, check to see if your radiators need bleeding. It’s a simple job whereby you use a radiator key to release any build-up of air bubbles that can stop the radiator from functioning effectively.

DOBBIES will shutter one of its sites in Bristol in just a matter of months, devasting shoppers.

Its Little Dobbies store in Clifton is one of the 17 sites the retailer has marked for closure as part of a restructuring plan.

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Dobbies will also work with landlords to seek temporary rent reductions at a further nine sites.

The business began a financial overhaul back in August, which it warned would lead to shop closures.

Dobbies has many stores across the South West of England, but it has been confirmed that its location in Clifton, Bristol could now close.

The news has devasted shoppers, with one describing the move as “very sad”.

Another local said the decision to shutter the site was “such a shame”.

While a third said: “A shame that any shops have to close, especially that gardening became more popular during and following lockdown.”

It comes as Bristol locals have had to wave goodbye to a number of retailers in recent years.

House of Fraser shut its site at the Cabot Circus shopping centre back in August, and The Guild department store closed in May.

The full list of Dobbies stores set to close are:

• Altrincham
• Antrim
• Gloucester
• Gosforth
• Harlestone Heath
• Huntingdon
• Inverness
• King’s Lynn
• Pennine
• Reading
• Stratford-upon-Avon

Six Little Dobbies, which are smaller branches selling houseplants located locally rather than out of town, are set to close in these areas:

• Cheltenham
• Chiswick
• Clifton
• Richmond
• Stockbridge
• Westbourne Grove

If the restructuring plan is approved the 17 sites will close by the end of the year.

They will continue to operate as normal until the plan is approved.

The nine sites where its seeking rent reductions from landlords have not been named.

A spokesperson previously told The Sun: “Subject to the restructuring plan being successfully approved, we expect the affected sites to cease trading by the end of the year.

“Thereafter, Dobbies will operate 60 stores and continue to play a key role in the market, working constructively with stakeholders and suppliers, and having an active and committed role in the communities in which it’s based.”

The garden centre chain, which was bought by investment firm Ares Management last year, fell to a £105.2 million pre-tax loss in the year to March 2023, against a £7 million loss a year earlier, according to its most-recently filed company accounts.

Restructuring plans are often launched by businesses when they find themselves in financial difficulty to help shore up extra costs.

It comes as many retailers are struggling to keep their heads above water.

High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers’ finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops.

Garden centres and home improvement businesses also boomed during the pandemic when customers were stuck at home.

But customers have been forced to cut back on spending since.

Back in August, Homebase announced that 10 of its stores would close and be transformed into Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

Homebase’s owner, Hilco Capital, is preparing to sell the company.

The retailer has closed 106 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

BRITS have just hours left to tell HMRC if they need to register to make a Self Assessment tax return.

You must tell the tax office by today, October 5 if you need to complete a tax return and have not sent one before.

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The assessment is used by the government body to collect income tax.

This tax is usually deducted automatically from people’s wages, pensions and savings.

However, people and businesses with extra income must report it in a tax return.

It is worth noting that this is not the date you need to file your Self Assessment, just the date you need to register your intention to file.

If you are not sure whether you need to register you can complete a simple assessment on the gov.uk website.

It is particularly important to register this year especially if you sell clothes or other items on websites such as eBay or Vinted.

That is because since the beginning of 2024 firms like Vinted have to pass on customer data to HMRC if a user sells 30 or more items, or earns over £1,700, in a year.

While the reporting rules have changed, this is not a new tax.

Those who earn more than £1,000 outside their regular employment were already required to file a Self Assessment tax form with HMRC.

The deadline to submit the return for the 2023/24 tax year – and pay any tax you owe – is January 31, 2025 online.

But there’s an earlier deadline of October 31 this year if you file via post.

It is worth bearing in mind that HMRC will fine you £100 for failing to file your return by the deadline.

Then, a £10 daily fine applies every day you don’t submit your tax return.

When do I need to file a tax return?

It is not just online sellers who are required to fill out a tex return.

The rule applies to the following:

• Your income from self-employment was more than £1,000
• Earned more than £2,500 from renting out property
• You or your partner received high-income child benefits and either of you had an annual income of more than £60,000
• Received more than £2,500 in other untaxed income, for example from tips or commission
• Are limited company directors
• Are shareholders
• Are employees claiming expenses over £2,500
• Have an annual income over £100,000

You can register online via the GOV.UK website.

To register online you must log on to your business tax account on the HMRC website and select ‘Add a tax to your account to get online access to a tax, duty or scheme’.

If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them when you sign in for the first time.

If you do not want to register online you must send a form to the following address: Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs,
BX9 1AN, United Kingdom.

After you submit your form you will then get a unique taxpayer reference code (UTR) and activation code from the HMRC.

It’s a 10-digit number and it might just be called a tax reference.

This tends to arrive in the post 15 days after you register for a tax return.

Upon receiving the UTR you can then file a Self Assessment tax return online via the GOV.UK website or by post.

If you file by post the deadline is October 31 2024.

However, if you file online you have up to January 31, 2025.

Check out our step-by-step guide on filling out a tax return here.

A FORMER homeless man who lived in a tent after his parent kicked him out revealed that he is now worth a whopping £5million.

Adam Pope transformed his life after admitting that he often found himself in trouble during his youth.

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The now-millionaire would regularly host illegal raves and joyride in cars.

He was no stranger to the police who almost threw him in jail after he was caught driving whilst disqualified several times.

Despite his illegal activities, Adam claimed that his parents did everything they could to keep him on the right path.

He said: “I came from a good background; my parents are still together. It’s not like I came from a broken home.”

However, at the age of 20, he was kicked out of his family home in Bolton after his parents became fed up with his behaviour.

Adam began sofa surfing at friends’ houses, but unfortunately, their parents soon grew tired of his disruptive behaviour as well.

He told Manchester Evening News: “I was on a self-destructive trail.

“I’ve always been a nice person – I was never a bad person – I just never knew why I was going down this path or what the cause was.”

With nowhere left to turn, he was forced to sleep on the streets where he would walk for hours “just to pass the time”.

He added: “By the end of the night, I would have walked 20 miles instead of going to sleep.”

Fearing for his safety on the streets, Adam would sleep in his parents’ back garden, ensuring he was out of sight by the time they woke up.

The millionaire Brit added: “I was paranoid about staying in the same place for any length of time.

“I would rarely stay in the same place every night. It became challenging.”

Eventually, he managed to take a tent from their garage, which he used to camp in a local woodland.

Despite his homelessness, Adam continued to attend college to finish his business course. 

Anything and everything would freak you out

Adam Pope

A lecturer confronted him about it after rumours about his living conditions spread.

“I had gone to college and I wasn’t far from finishing,” he said.

“I got there and one of my tutors went, ‘I heard you’re sleeping in a tent in the woods’.

“I got back from college and the very few belongings I had left had been stolen along with my assignments that were due in a few weeks. I couldn’t finish college.”

Adam slept rough for a total of six months, during which he recalled how terrifying “sleeping in the woods” can be.

He added: “All sorts go through your mind. There are all sorts of characters about.

“It was the winter and it was freezing. Anything and everything would freak you out.

“You could hear shuffling about and you would think, ‘What was that?’ and quickly get back in your tent.

“Sleeping was never a thing. You couldn’t switch off properly.

“But I knew I was better off in the tent compared to some of the other places I was in.”

BACK ON TRACK

Fortunately, Adam’s grandma learned about his situation and offered him a place to stay with her.

With a roof over his head, he began trying to get his life back on track and even managed to find employment.

However, it was short-lived after he was fired from several jobs over poor punctuality and other issues.

Failing to hold down jobs, his dad allowed him to work in his business as a tea boy.

This proved to be a humbling moment for the now 43-year-old, who decided he wanted more out of life.

At the age of 27, Adam started a financial services dispute company before going on to launch Spencer Churchill five years later, a law firm based in Bolton.

The company specialises in corporate law, commercial mediation, dispute resolution, employment law, real estate, intellectual property and private client services.

Incredibly, the business now turns over £5million.

Although the business is already hugely successful, Adam has no intention of slowing down – aiming to scale the firm even further in both revenue and size.

But the entrepreneur says he probably wouldn’t be in his position today if it weren’t for the hardships he’s had to overcome in life.

“It’s not where you started, it’s where you finish,” he added

“I’ve had a very difficult early few years. It would have ruined a lot of people.”

Is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock overvalued? This question, while simple on the surface, is extraordinarily hard to answer.

Many investors use a valuation metric called a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This popular metric is useful because it measures the stock price against a company’s profits. And in Nvidia’s case, its P/E ratio of 57 certainly looks expensive, considering it’s roughly double the P/E ratio for the S&P 500.

Then again, context is important. Nvidia stock might look expensive now. But it actually trades at a steep discount to its average P/E ratio valuation over the last five years, as the chart below shows.

Many say to avoid stocks with a high P/E ratio. But Nvidia’s high P/E over the last five years didn’t prevent the stock from rising over 2,700%.

Nvidia stock is now cheaper than its five-year average valuation. Moreover, it’s not even the most expensive constituent of the S&P 500. In fact, Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON) and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) trade at higher P/E ratios, as of this writing. And even Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) has been more expensive than Nvidia at times in recent weeks.

Axon provides hardware and software to law enforcement agencies. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity specialist. And Costco is a grocery and home-goods retail chain known for its membership-business model and low prices. As the chart below shows, none of these companies are necessarily cheap when looking at the P/E ratio.

Should investors sell stocks when their valuations are high? Should they only buy stocks that trade with below-average valuations?

If the path to long-term wealth were this simple, all investors would be rich. The entire investing process could be automated to sell when a P/E ratio was high and buy when a P/E ratio was low. But it’s not that simple. As I said at the start, it’s extraordinarily hard to say when a stock is actually overvalued.

Famous investor Bill Miller succinctly explains why valuing a stock is difficult. Miller has said, “100% of the information you have about a company represents the past, and 100% of the value depends on the future.”

Imagine for a moment a company valued at $10 billion and that has only made $1 million in profit. That stock would look extremely overvalued using the information we have from the past. But Miller reminds us that value has to do with the future. If this same $10 billion company earns $100 billion in profit over the next five years or so, then the stock is a screaming value stock.

In my opinion, whether Nvidia is overvalued or undervalued today largely depends on how sustainable its profit margins are. As the chart below shows, its margin has soared as artificial intelligence has fueled demand for its hardware products.

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I believe it’s reasonable to expect more growth from Nvidia in coming years. And if the company can defend its current profit margins, then the stock likely has more upside. But if its margins drop back down to more normalized levels, the stock might not fare as well. That’s a question that every Nvidia investor needs to answer.

But what about the other three companies that are as expensive or more expensive than Nvidia when looking at the P/E ratios? Well, here’s how I think about their valuations.

Two stocks I’m not so sure about today

Costco is a fantastic business, enjoying stability from 137 million membership card holders with a greater-than 90% renewal rate. But one thing it’s not is high growth. It only had 5% top-line growth in its fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 1. This led to 14% growth for operating income, which is respectable. But investors shouldn’t expect these growth metrics to materially improve in its fiscal 2025.

That’s why I’m not a fan of the valuation of Costco stock today. Its valuation implies better-than-average long-term growth with the business whereas it’s more likely to be modest.

Turning to Axon, its growth is far superior to Costco, and it should stay robust for quite some time. The company has a competitive advantage because it sells its hardware in a package with its cloud-software services. Agencies are eager to renew their contracts with Axon because they don’t want to find a new solution for all their data. And there are still plenty of places that aren’t using Axon yet that could in the future.

However, I still think there’s room for caution with Axon stock today. Its growth rate has been higher at times in the past. But by contrast, its price-to-sales valuation is almost double its 10-year average.

A clear winner?

CrowdStrike stock is by no means the cheapest stock on this list when using various valuation metrics. But once again, value is about the future. And CrowdStrike’s potential is still so large because of its market. Management projects that the market for its security platform will skyrocket from $100 billion in 2024 to $225 billion in 2028.

For perspective, CrowdStrike only has $3.5 billion in trailing-12-month revenue. In other words, it doesn’t even need to grab a significant portion of this market to have significant growth. Moreover, it has an easy path to growth. Only 29% of its customers use seven or more of its software products, whereas it has more than 20 options to chose from.

Cross-selling to existing customers is an easy path for growth for CrowdStrike. And what’s stunning is that its pipeline for new deals has completely recovered from its catastrophe earlier this year when a software defect caused a massive IT outage. The speed of its rebound strongly implies that its customers love its cybersecurity platform and products.

CrowdStrike stock is quite expensive when looking at the valuation metrics that measure its past results. But when considering its path for future growth, I believe the stock could still be a good value today and perhaps the best value of the four stocks mentioned here.

Should you invest $1,000 in CrowdStrike right now?

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Jon Quast has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Axon Enterprise, Costco Wholesale, CrowdStrike, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Think Nvidia Stock Is Expensive? These 3 Members of the S&P 500 Trade at Even Higher Valuations. was originally published by The Motley Fool