WaterSure scheme - Terms and Conditions

Our WaterSure scheme is intended to help vulnerable customers with a water meter or who pay based on an assessed charge (only where a meter cannot be fitted) and have a low income and use higher than average amounts of water due to a large family or for essential purposes as a result of a medical condition. 

Eligibility criteria

1. The property MUST be on a meter or fixed assessed volume charge (only where there has been a failed meter application)
2. The customer, or a member of their household MUST receive one of the qualifying benefits stated:
   • Universal Credit;
   • Employment and Support Allowance;
   • Income Support;
   • Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance;
   • Housing Benefit;
   • Working Tax Credit;
   • Pension Credit;
   • Child Tax Credit

The table below shows the benefits required for the WaterSure scheme and where to contact if you need to obtain replacement copies of the evidence required for your application.

And either:

3. Have three or more children under the age of 19 living at the address (the person who meets the qualifying benefits criteria as specified in clause 2 must also receive child benefit for all those children).

Or:

4. The customer, or a member of their household, has one of the specific medical conditions which means they use a lot of water:
   • Desquamation (flaky skin disease);
   • Weeping skin disease (eczema, psoriasis, varicose ulceration);
   • Incontinence;
   • Abdominal stoma;
   • Crohn's disease;
   • Ulcerative colitis;
   • Renal failure requiring home dialysis (except where the health authority contributes to the cost of the water used in dialysis);
   • Other medical conditions can be accepted if the condition uses significant amounts. Medical evidence is required to support application.

If applying on medical grounds, evidence of one of the following is required:

1. A recent letter from your GP or consultant
   This should confirm the name of the patient, medical condition, and the reason for the increase in water usage.
   
   
2. An official hospital, surgery, or clinic stamp
   This can be provided by your consultant, doctor, nurse, or health visitor. They will need to sign and date the stamp and confirm why the medical condition requires increased water usage.
   
   
3. A copy of the most recent repeat prescription
   This can be provided by your consultant, doctor, nurse, or health visitor.

In addition:

• The applicant must occupy the premises as their only home;
• water supplied to the premises is not used for:
  • Watering a garden (other than by hand) by means of any apparatus;
    or
  • Automatically replenishing a pond or a swimming pool with a capacity greater than 10,000 litres.

To be accepted onto the scheme the customer must:

(i) Complete an affordability assessment;

(ii) Give permission for us to validate their benefit receipt and if requested provide evidence of current benefit entitlement; and

(iii) Customers must be happy to provide supporting evidence to complete their application.

Wherever possible, customers will be expected to pay their water bill by Direct Debit or via application to the Department for Work and Pensions to pay their water charges direct from their benefits. Where this is not possible, we will set up an alternative payment plan for you.

If you stop making payments you will be removed from the scheme and automatically go back to the way you were charged before you qualified for the scheme.

United Utilities’ decision in relation to a person’s eligibility for the scheme will be final.