AGE Concern in Okehampton this week claimed many elderly people in the area were not turning up their heating because they are unsure whether they will get cold weather payments or not.

In a letter to West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox, chief officer of Age Concern North West Devon, Barrie Duke, said people were not willing to trust the Government when it said that payments would automatically be paid.

Mr Duke said: 'Many cannot afford to turn up the heat unless they see money in their hand.

'One caller asked why it was that relatives in Northern Ireland have had up to three payments, when it appears that no-one in this area of Devon has received a penny.'

He said it was not helped by the fact that the weather station was 40 miles away in Dulverton on Exmoor, which experienced different temperatures being nearer to the coast.

The trigger for cold weather payments, available to pensioners and people on benefits, is if the weather station records temperatures of 0 degrees or below for a period of seven days.

'Surely when weather stations are so cheap to buy and to install, a better system of measuring the outside temperatures where people actually live could be found,' he said.

'The current siting of weather stations is certainly nothing to do with a fair and equitable means of preventing older people from falling into debt because they have been led to believe that they will get extra help this year.'

Mr Duke said a simple letter of notification from the Government informing people they were to receive a cold weather payment would put minds at rest.

Currently all they had were misleading statements and inaccurate information, he claimed.

'It is no longer acceptable when record numbers of older people, who are living in poverty, are having to choose between eating and heating for misleading statements to be made to the vulnerable,' he said.

A department for work and pensions spokesperson said: 'There are two ways we are helping this winter with winter fuel payments of £250 for all the 60s and over, or £400 for the over 80s and cold weather payments of £25. As domestic fuel prices rose by about 25% in 2008/09, cold weather payments were trebled.'

Cold weather payments are based on the temperature in the area recorded by the Met Office. Every residential address in Great Britain is linked to one of the 85 weather stations used in the scheme. For winter 2009-10, nine new weather stations have been included.

'There have been triggers at all weather stations across Devon and Cornwall, which means all those who are eligible will receive payments — including Okehampton,' the spokesman said. 'There is no need to apply as all payments are made automatically within two weeks.'

He said payments were made automatically rather than sending out letters because such large numbers of people across Britain would be eligible.

You can visit the website and type in your postcode to check if your area is due to receive a payment.