56,000 customers helped with financial support

In 2020 Yorkshire Water helped 56,131 customers to manage their bills by providing a number of financial support schemes.

The water company has five long standing financial support schemes, which provide bill assistance to low income households, customers with Yorkshire Water arrears, households that use a large amount of water for medical reasons, and those struggling to afford their bill - as well as additional support provided to its customers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

The utilities company also provided more than 10,000 payment holidays last year, which meant that customers received a break from paying their bill for three-months. The payment holiday was designed to be a quick, short term help to relieve customers of financial worries related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Angie Markham-Nock, customer support manager at Yorkshire Water said, “We know it’s a challenging time for everyone at the moment, and the last thing we want anyone worrying about is how they’ll pay their water bill.”

Yorkshire Water advised that receiving a higher bill than expected could be down to a number of causes – including unknown leaks or increased usage. Angie continued, “During the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been spending lots of time in their homes, using more water as a result. To aid customers with reducing their water usage, there are water saving packs and lots of tips available on our website.

“If customers are concerned about a leak, they can run a number of checks to see if they have one. If the property has a metered supply, check by turning off all taps in the house and making sure that no water is going into cisterns or storage tanks. Then read the meter. Leave the water turned off for between a quarter of an hour and an hour, then read the meter again. If the second reading is higher than the first, there may be a leak.

“Above all, if a customer is struggling to pay a bill, we don’t want them to worry. There are lots of ways that we are able to help, including a number of financial support schemes, so please do get in touch. For more information visit https://www.yorkshirewater.com/bill-account/help-paying-your-bill”