We've improved your water bill
We've made a number of improvements to your water bill and have explained the main changes below.
We also have easy-to-read guides which help to explain the layout of your new bill:
Guide for customers without a water meter
Guide for customers with a water meter
Q. Why have you changed my bill?
We think it’s really important to understand the services you pay for and this starts with our bills and statements. That’s why we’ve made a number of improvements to your water bill to make it as simple as possible. Our current design has been around for a few years. During that time our customers have told us that it is difficult to understand, overly complex and contains too much information. We’ve therefore listened to our customers and redesigned your bill to make it as straightforward as possible. We’re hopeful these changes will make it easier for you to understand exactly what you’re paying for and how your charges are calculated.
Q. What are the main changes?
We’ve redesigned every part of your statement to make sure the most important information is now shown simply and clearly on page 1. This includes our main contact number if you need to speak to us, together with colour blocks to clearly show your charges for our services together with what you need to pay. If you have a payment plan, the amounts you need to pay are now shown on page 2 alongside any specific information about the services you receive.
Q. As part of these changes are you switching to online payments only?
No - we think it’s really important that you have a range of payment options to make paying your bill as easy as possible. This includes online payments, paying by cash or cheque, or paying direct from your bank account. If you pay by Direct Debit we’ll also knock £5 off your water bill every year for paying in this way. We’ve also introduced a new smartphone app for those customers who would prefer to pay their bills in this way. You can download this from the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for 'United Utilities'.
Q. I normally pay via the Pingit app, is this option no longer available?
We've introduced our own smartphone app to make paying your bill as easy as possible and have therefore removed the Pingit QR code from our new bills. Our smartphone app is free to download for Apple and Android devices and enables you to pay your bill in a matter of seconds. We hope that you will prefer using our own app to pay your bill instead of Pingit, however if this isn't suitable we have a range of payment options to choose from including online payments, Payzone outlets and the Post Office.
Q. Why have you included a Direct Debit mandate with my bill?
Many of our customers prefer to pay by Direct Debit as it means that you can pay your bill in smaller chunks over the year rather than in one lump sum which really helps with budgeting your household bills. We’ll even knock £5 off your water bill every year for paying in this way. We’ve included the form if you would like to set this up or you can call us on 0345 672 2888 and we’ll do this over the phone. You can also set up a Direct Debit online if you wish.