Money expert Martin Lewis says households can save up to £1,000 a year by making a change to a household bill he calls ‘the forgotten utility’.
Returning on the ITV1 Martin Lewis Money Show Live this week, Martin ran a ‘bill buster’ special episode in which he took his viewers through the changes they could make to reduce their household bills.
Martin urged his viewers to look at what he called the ‘forgotten utility’ – water bills.
The Money Saving Expert founder said that whether you’re a single person, you’re on benefits, you’re on a low income and/or you have children, you could potentially make big savings on water bills.
Martin heard from a woman who had taken his advice and switched from bills based on estimated water rates to an actual water meter, which tracks your exact usage.
She said: “I’m a single person living in a 3 bedroom house and my water bill was £42 a month. I switched to a water meter and now I’m only paying £11.50 a month, a huge saving of over £30 a month.”
Martin Lewis then said: “That’s why I call it the forgotten utility, I’ve had people save over £1,000 a year by switching to a water meter.”
Martin went on to add that 5.7 million homes are missing out on water discounts from social tariffs.
He added: “These are for people on low incomes under £21,000 a year or benefits.
“There’s another scheme, the Water Sure scheme, for people who have medical conditions like Chron’s Disease and need to use water a lot or you’ve got three or more children, and you’re on benefits, you can have your bills capped.”
Martin then heard from a woman called Louise who said: “I looked into social water tariffs, I’m now on a low income and live alone with two teenage girls.
“I also have Chron’s Disease, I work full time and I’m on certain benefits.
“I was paying £40 a month and now I’m paying £29 a month.”
