Helen Simpson, 67, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, went to the dentist final summer time with toothache and was instructed therapy would price tons of of kilos.
Ms Simpson mentioned her earnings of a state pension and private independence cost was “not sufficient to stay on” and he or she struggled to afford the therapy.
She mentioned: “I used to be truly shocked as a result of I believed as a pensioner I’d get it without cost.
“So I went to the Residents Recommendation Bureau in Musselburgh, and defined the state of affairs. They requested me why I wasn’t claiming Pension Credit score Assure. I mentioned I’d by no means heard of it and didn’t even know what it was. They instructed me that it was a weekly profit and that they thought I used to be eligible to say it.”
Ms Simpson acquired assist from CAB advisers to say the extra profit, which boosted her earnings by £83 per week, and was backdated for 3 months. The £900 cost was made to her checking account that night which she describes as a “life-changing” amount of cash.
She added: “Properly you possibly can think about, I used to be gob-smacked. That kind of cash is life-changing for me.
“Don’t get me flawed – I gained’t be occurring a cruise to the Bahamas or shopping for a Rolls Royce. I’m nonetheless dwelling fairly close to the breadline. However this extra cash has made all of the distinction.
“It meant I may get my tooth mounted, and I can hold the heating on as an alternative of rationing it. And there’s meals within the cabinet, plus I can even deal with my little canine a bit extra.”
Residents Recommendation Scotland, the umbrella charity accountable for all CABx in Scotland, are urging individuals to test what advantages and different funds they could be entitled to however not receiving.
Ms Simpson has urged others to go alongside to their native CABx for help and helps to launch the charity’s “Get it Claimed” marketing campaign.
“I’m eager now to get the message out to different individuals to not make the identical mistake. You might have cash sitting unclaimed proper now, so rise up and go for it.
“You might be like me, lacking out on £80 per week. Or extra. It’s your cash, so get it claimed.
“If I hadn’t had a toothache final yr, I’d nonetheless be sitting shivering within the chilly, fearful sick about how I used to be going to pay these massive will increase in vitality payments. Or I’d be in debt – spiralling uncontrolled, which isn’t a great place to be.”
Stephanie Millar, from Citizen’s Recommendation Scotland, mentioned: “The associated fee-of-living disaster is hitting individuals laborious. No person must be going with out warmth or meals whereas there’s a pile of money they could possibly be claiming.
“Each penny counts. We will’t promise everybody has a fortune in unclaimed cash, nevertheless it prices nothing to allow us to test for you.
“So as we speak I’m asking individuals throughout Scotland to test what you’re lacking out on. Your native CAB can do that whether or not you’re in work or not, pensioner, scholar, single or with a household. Our service is for everybody, no matter circumstance.”
