Help paying your bills

If you’re having difficulty paying your bills, it’s really important you contact us as soon as possible. Don’t leave it too long. We have a friendly, specialist team who will support you in the best way we can.

• Call our UK-based customer services team on 0333 777 3215

• Visit uw.co.uk/contact-us

There are a number of different ways we can help if you’re struggling with your payments.

• Consider if you are eligible for schemes which may be able to provide financial support, such as the Warm Home Discount.

• Explore our energy efficiency advice for simple, affordable ways to save energy at home and potentially make savings on your bills.

• Contact us to discuss moving you to a more convenient payment method that may be cheaper.

• Contact us to discuss reducing the collection rate, if you already have debt that you are paying back.

• We can direct you to independent third parties who can offer support on managing your debt (see Independent advice and financial help section below).

If you’ve fallen into debt, some of the ways we may be able to help include:

• We can agree on a repayment plan at an amount you can afford. This can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

• We can fit a prepayment meter, helping you to budget for your energy while you pay off any debt.

• If you’re getting income-related benefits, you may be eligible for payments to be deducted from your benefits and paid to us (sometimes known as Fuel Direct or ‘third party deductions’, if the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) agrees.

One of the best ways to lower the cost of your gas and electricity bills is to reduce how much energy you use at home.

Our energy efficiency advice page contains simple, affordable tips and advice to help you lower the amount of energy you use, particularly when it’s colder, and potentially reduce your bills. 

You can also give our energy efficiency team a call on 0333 003 5647. They'll be able to suggest ways that you can cut down on the amount of energy you use.

These organisations can give you independent, impartial and practical advice on managing your debt and payments. 

StepChange Debt Charity
Charity offering expert debt advice and fee-free debt management to help you tackle your debts.
Call: 0800 138 1111
Visit: stepchange.org 

Citizens Advice
This network of 316 independent charities offers free, confidential information and advice to assist people with money, legal, consumer and other problems.
Call: 0808 223 1133
Visit: citizensadvice.org.uk/energy

National Debtline
Free help and advice on dealing with your debt in England and Wales.
Call: 0808 808 4000
Visit: nationaldebtline.org 

PayPlan
Debt help and advice, with solutions including free debt management plans.
Call: 0800 280 2816
Visit: payplan.com 
 

MoneyHelper
MoneyHelper brings together the support and services of three government-backed financial guidance providers: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise providing fee money guidance online and by telephone.
Call: 0800 138 7777
Visit: moneyhelper.org.uk

• We are here to help if we can. But if, after writing to you to request payment, we do not hear from you, we may take the following steps:

• We will attempt to contact you either by telephone, email or post to discuss payment.

• If you have still failed to pay us (or agreed repayment methods) we'll put your account into the hands of a debt collection agency who will visit you to discuss options for the outstanding payment. If they have to visit you, you will be charged for this.

• If you have still not paid, or agreed a repayment method, we'll apply for a court warrant to exchange your meter for a prepayment meter.

• If we have to visit your property with a warrant, we'll give you at least seven days notice in writing. If you still fail to pay the outstanding debt, we may take action to recover the money owed and you may incur further costs. This may involve taking your case to court which may then affect your credit status.
   

Remember: we never disconnect a domestic customer who fails to pay their debt. But if you are having problems with your payments, please contact us as soon as possible so we can do everything we can to help.