United Utilities on hand to offer water bill advice

The United Utilities advice roadshow is heading to Oldham

United Utilities is taking to the road to offer help and advice on how the residents of Oldham can lower their water bill.

The water company will be at Spindles Shopping Centre on February 22 and 23. 

Specialist advisors will be on hand with tips on how to reduce your water costs and ways to help with budgeting of household bills, help to pay and additional support from its Priority Services.

United Utilities’ customer services and people director Louise Beardmore said: “We know that many people in our region are just about making ends meet, and many more are struggling with real financial hardship and don’t always know where to turn for help or what help is available to them.

“With water bills starting to land on doormats we have a lot to offer people and want to make it as easy as possible for them to get the help they need.

"We’re hoping that by being more visible out in the communities we serve we can do more to highlight the support that is available.”

At the roadshows, which are taking place around the north-west, people will be able to find out more about what their water bill covers and ways in which they can save water and knock pounds off their bill at the same time.

They can also find out how to spread payments into manageable instalments with a payment plan, or if they are eligible for capped bills or grants.

Advice on water meters will be available. While meters are not for everyone a general rule of thumb is that if you have more bedrooms than people in your household, you will save money by being on a meter.

There will also be information about United Utilities’ Priority Services scheme which provides extra help for customers when they might need it most, for example if they are coping with ill health, disabilities, mental health problems or language issues.

Louise added: “We offer a wide range of financial assistance schemes and only a few weeks ago introduced two new schemes.

"One which guarantees to help customers behind with their water bills to be debt-free within two years. 

"And in response to the roll-out of Universal Credit, we are offering customers a suspension or delay in their payments for up to eight weeks, giving them time to manage their budgets in the event of a short-term reduction in their household income, due to the transition over to Universal Credit.”

This year United Utilities will be putting more than £25m into financial assistance schemes which are already helping around 90,000 customers.