Water company advice pages include references to various government-approved schemes or names of special tariffs. Definitions of terms are provided here.
EOS Foundation
Restart Scheme
Third Party Deduction Scheme
Vulnerable Groups Scheme
Water Direct
WaterSure
EOS FoundationIndependent charitable trust established in March 2004. It offers financial assistance to reduce or clear arrears of domestic water charges for customer. The charity considers applications from customers of donating companies who are in a condition of need, poverty, hardship or distress.
- Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water
Cambridge Water
Folkestone and Dover Water
Portsmouth Water
Veolia Water East (Tendring Hundred Water)
South East Water
Restart SchemeMany water companies offer payment matching 'restart' schemes. These work in a variety of ways. For example, some will match each payment the customer makes. So for every £1 paid by the customer the company will also pay £1. Some companies ask customers to pay toward arrears for a specified length of time and will then write off the remainder, in order to give the customer a fresh start. Contact the individual water company for details of restart schemes they operate.
Third Party Deduction SchemeSee Water Direct
Vulnerable Groups SchemeSee WaterSure
Water DirectWater Direct is part of the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Third Party Deduction scheme. It enables customers in arrears to their water company and in receipt of qualifying benefits (see below) to have their payments deducted from their benefits by the DWP and paid directly to their water company.
Qualifying benefits are:
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
The amount that may be recovered from arrears is a maximum of £3.20 per week (for 2009/10). Current water charges are recovered at 1/52 of the annual bill. There is a maximum of three Third Party deductions that can be made at any one time. Generally DWP will not deduct more than a quarter of the benefit or entitlement. Third Party deduction are only made when it is considered to be in the interest of the customer or the customer’s family
In 2008-09 there were around 154,000 customers repaying arrears through Water Direct.
Get further information from:
Consumer Council for Water
WaterSureWaterSure is the common name given to the special tariff associated with the Vulnerable Groups Scheme in England and Wales. It is intended to help customers who pay for their water charges via a water meter and experience difficulties as a result of high water usage or low income.
Application for WaterSure is via the water company.
To be eligible, customers must have a water meter and be receiving income-related benefits. They must also have either three or more children under 19 at home or a medical condition that requires extra water. Customers who meet these criteria can have their water bill capped at the amount of the average household bill for their water company.
To be eligible for the WaterSure tariff, the customer or a person residing within the premises must be:
a. Entitled to receive one or more of the following:
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Child Tax Credit (except families in receipt of the family element only)
• Pension Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
and either,
b. Entitled to receive child benefit for three or more children under the age of nineteen who reside in the premises or
c. Diagnosed as suffering from, or has a child under nineteen who resides in the premises diagnosed as suffering from one or more of the following:
• Desquamation
• Weeping skin disease
• Incontinence
• Abdominal stoma
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Renal failure requiring dialysis at home, unless a contribution to the cost of water consumed in the process of dialysis during the billing period is made by the health authority or...
• Any other medical condition as certified by a registered medical practitioner. This certification must include: the name of the patient, the diagnosis of the medical condition, the date of the certification, the name, address and signature of the registered medical practitioner.
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Who offers free independent advice on debt?
What help is available from water companies?
Introduction to the types of help available for customers who are in arrears, worried about falling into debt or who qualify for special tariffs.
Water companies
Veolia Water East
(Tendring Hundred Water)
Veolia Water Southeast
(Folkestone & Dover Water)
