Energy and water bills have become one of the most common debts people carry. The rules around them are different from other debts, and knowing that can matter.
Energy suppliers are regulated and must follow rules on how they deal with customers in arrears. They are expected to take ability to pay into account when agreeing repayment, and there are additional protections for vulnerable households. Where arrears continue a supplier may seek to install a prepayment meter or switch a smart meter to prepayment mode, with the arrears recovered through it. Disconnection of a home for debt is rare and subject to strict conditions.
Water companies cannot disconnect a household for unpaid bills, but the debt does not go away: it can be pursued through the county court like any other debt. Most water companies run social tariffs or assistance schemes for customers on low incomes or in difficulty, and these are worth knowing about.
Because losing supply, or being moved onto a more expensive way of paying, affects day-to-day life so directly, ongoing energy costs and arrears are generally considered before non-priority debts such as credit cards and catalogues.
Utility arrears rarely arrive alone. We listen to the whole situation, take the details, and, with your consent, introduce you to a regulated debt specialist who can look at all of it together and explain what options are available. It costs nothing to talk to us, and you decide whether to go any further.
Being upfront with you: Please Help My Debt is an introducer. We do not give debt advice or recommend debt solutions ourselves. Any advice comes from the regulated specialist we introduce you to, with your consent. Nothing on this page is advice about your own situation.
