If you're struggling with your water bill payments, please don’t panic – give us a call on 0800 072 6765 or complete our struggling to pay form . We have a range of support schemes available depending on your specific circumstances. We’re already helping more than 100,000 customers in this way, so you’re not alone.
If you have a low income or receive benefits, our Payment Break scheme can give you some breathing space if you lose your job or need to pay out for an unexpected household emergency. Call us on 0800 072 6765 or download our payment break leaflet (PDF 754 KB opens in a new window) for full details.
If you’re in a lot of debt, our Payment Matching Plus scheme can help. For every £1 you pay towards your debt, we’ll pay £1 too, increasing to £2 after six months. We’ll even clear any remaining debt after two years. Call us on 0800 072 6765
People just like you have received support to help them out of debt. Here’s just some of the ways we’ve given our customers a helping hand
| Some of the ways we can help | |
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Back on Track (fomerly known as the Support Tariff) (PDF 282 KB opens in a new window) - if you're behind with your water bills and are on benefits, we can get you straight by putting you on a fixed amount, depending on your circumstances. |
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Help to pay - if you are receiving Pension Credit and struggling to make payments, you can apply to have your bill capped at an affordable amount based on your income and outgoings. This will include us looking at all possible ways of reducing your charges. |
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Payment Matching Plus – if you’ve built up a lot of debt, for every £1 you pay we’ll match it with £1 too. After six months, we'll increase our contribution to £2 for every pound you pay. If you continue to make regular payments for two years, we’ll clear any remaining debt. To talk about this scheme in more detail, please call us on 0800 072 6765. |
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Restart – if you’re in real financial difficulty, you could qualify for a one-off payment from our Trust Fund to help clear your debts and start afresh. |
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Water Direct – if you're on benefits, we can make it easier for you to budget for your bills by applying to the Department for Work and Pensions to pay your bill direct from your benefits. |
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Help for customers with a water meter – if you have a water meter and receive benefits, and use a lot of water due to ill health or having a large family, our WaterSure scheme (PDF 329 KB opens in a new window) caps your annual bill, regardless of how much water you use. |
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Payment break (PDF 754 KB opens in a new window) - If you’re struggling with your bill due to losing your job or having to pay out for an unexpected household emergency, our Payment Break scheme can help by delaying your payments for an agreed period of time. Call 0800 072 6765 to apply. |
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Applying for Universal Credit? We can delay your water bill payments for up to eight weeks until your first UC payment arrives. Call us on 0800 072 6765 to find out more. |
| What our customers say | |
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"Emma was amazing today, she managed to help me sort out a reasonable monthly plan that I can currently afford, she at no point made me feel embarrassed or an inconvenience, she simply managed it with great professionalism and understanding. I was rashly anxious about getting in touch considering how much we were in arrears, but Emma made this process seem more then manageable and I definitely won't hesitate to contact United Utilities in the future. Thank you very much." "Spoke to Jackie today, I am really pleased with how she dealt with my situation, she made me aware of the help that was available to me and my family which I was not aware of, it was so comforting to hear a friendly voice on the other side of the phone, well done Jackie you’re amazing." |
Are you a debt advisor providing help and support for people who are struggling with their bills? Then why not take a look at the North West Hardship Hub.
The Hardship Hub is a central online directory to give money advisors across the region access to a wealth of information to help people out of debt. The Hub contains details on almost 500 schemes from over 300 different organisations covering sectors such as electricity, gas, water, local authorities and housing associations.
Registered users are able to enter a range of search criteria and the results can be immediately accessed. No more Googling, no more phoning around, no more clicking on broken or expired links, no more chasing restricted or lapsed schemes. Everything you need is conveniently located in one place and registration is free.
To register please visit the North West Hardship Hub.
We're excited to be announced as a finalist in the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2020 run by the Institute of Customer Service for developing the Hardship Hub to help the debt advisor community support people struggling with their household bills.
