Martin Lewis has issued an urgent alert to anyone earning under £23,000, highlighting that they could be entitled to thousands of pounds in assistance with their water bills. Speaking on his BBC Podcast, the money-saving guru revealed a staggering two million people are not claiming the reductions they’re eligible for.
The financial whizz pointed out that individuals need to be aware of two types of support available: they must either have an income below £23,000, be receiving certain benefits, or possibly have a medical condition to qualify. He highlighted two schemes designed to alleviate water costs – the social water tariff and Watersure.
Mr Lewis stated: “Now a couple more important updates about water bills. First of all are you one of up to two million homes on low incomes or universal credit missing out on saving hundreds of pounds with a social tariff.”
“These social tariffs are offered by all firms and they can reduce what you pay by up to 90 per cent by lowering or sometimes capping the cost of your bills or your water meter charges.”
“There are almost 2 million households missing out. It’s incredibly important if you are on a low income, and exactly what the criteria are depends, but let’s say less than £22-23,000 family income or you’re on Universal Credit, just get on to your water company’s website, see what it’s offering or call them and talk to them about it.”, reports Bristol Live.
Discussing the second scheme, which can be used alongside the social tariff, he explained: “There’s a separate scheme you could have as well which is called ‘Watersure’ which is typically worth about £160 a year. To be eligible for the Watersure scheme you need to have a water meter, receive benefits, and either have three or more children or a medical condition such as Crohn’s or eczema which means you need to use more water, You might be able to have your bills capped under the Watersure scheme and that can work in conjunction with the social tariff.”
In the same podcast, Mr Lewis shared what he termed his ‘three bedroom rule’, which could potentially save £500 or more a month. He clarified that it was based on the old rateable value of the house – and potentially they could make a change to save hundreds.
Anyone with three bedrooms, for example, should ask themselves how many people are in the home compared to the number of rooms. If the equation was less or equal then there is a good chance of saving some money.
He added: “Water is really important. The first thing I will say is England and Wales only this it works differently in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The first question you ask yourself is ‘do you have more or the same number of bedrooms in your property than people’? “
“Three bedrooms, two people, would count a yes. In that case you are likely to be better off on a water meter than having a bill. Because we talked about the bill is based on the value of your property. Very simply you’ve got a big house not many people living in it, it’s likely to be cheaper if they’re measuring your actual water usage. It’s going to make it a lot cheaper doing it that way.”
“If that sounds right get onto the Consumer Council for Water’s calculator. Just as an example Ursula got in touch with me and said ‘I got a water meter fitted as there’s only two of us in a three bed house we now pay £16 a month instead of £60 a month.’ That’s £500 a year cheaper – nothing to be sniffed at.”
“Now some people say to me ‘I wanted a water meter and they said I can’t have one.’ In some ways that is actually the sweet spot because if you can’t have a water meter because you might be shared pipes in flats, you can ask for an assessed charge.”
