United Utilities are extending support to people affected by COVID-19 who are having trouble paying their water bills. The following information has been provided by United Utilities themselves:
New scheme launched for people struggling to pay their water bill due to COVID-19
United Utilities has amended an existing scheme to appeal to more customers who have been affected financially by COVID-19.
Their ‘Back on Track’ scheme already helps customers on low incomes who receive benefits or tax credits to reduce their water bill.
However, due to the large number of customers who are struggling to pay their water bill due to their income being affected by COVID-19, they have now amended their existing criteria to also offer support to these customers.
Jane Haymes, affordability manager at United Utilities said: “The financial impact of COVID-19 has affected so many of our customers, many of whom are finding it difficult to pay their water bill due a change in their existing income. We’ve therefore amended our existing Back on Track scheme so that customers whose income has been affected can now apply to have their water bill reduced up to the end of March 2021.”
The scheme has a number of tiers and the amount customers pay depends upon their existing income and expenditure. Customers complete an affordability assessment as part of the application process and will also need to provide evidence such as a letter from their employer confirming they have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), confirmation from HMRC that they are benefiting from the Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), or a redundancy notification.
For further details about the scheme and eligibility criteria, please refer to the Back on Track scheme with the Hardship Hub.
You can also download the full application pack from the United Utilities website by following this link.
To apply, customers can either send back the application form included in the pack or compete the online affordability form at myaccount.unitedutilities.com/difficultypayingbill
Customers can also call the affordability team at United Utilities on 0800 072 6765 to apply.
