Should i phone united utilities?

[angryandy]

Alright people

 

Just a bit of advice would be great please so will try keep my thread short and sweet.

 

Me and my partner were on a very low wage and couldn't afford to pay the water bills.

 

In January we offered to pay £120 off a £300 debt to them which we thought was quite reasonable. They blatently refused payment as it wasn't the full amount and about a week later we got a letter off United Utilities stating they were passing it on to Intrum Justicia.

 

To this day we haven't recieved a letter off Intrum Justicia.

 

In April we recieved a letter off United Utilities saying we now owed around £650 (can't remember exact figure) for this years and last years water rates. We still waited for letters off Intrum Justicia but never got one.

 

In June we decided to write to UU stating that we wanted to pay the debt but we wouldn't be speaking to any DCA or third party. We would only be speaking to UU themselves. On the letter we stated that all our correspondence would be in writing as everytime we phoned them everything we said fell on deaf ears.

 

 

We recieved a letter back stating that we may be entitled to the hardship payments or something but we must call their number to arrange things.

 

I said i would keep this short and sweet sorry but my question is should i ring them up or write another letter. Might seem a silly question but just want to do what's best.

 

Thanks Andy...

[dx100uk]

hardship payments?

can you scan and post up the letter?

 

dx

[angryandy]

Hi dx

 

Can't scan as haven't got a scanner but here is the quote from it

 

'After looking at your account i feel that you may be eligible for our Arrears Allowance Scheme. The scheme has been setup in order to help customers who are experiencing financial hardship. To see if you are eligible can you please contact us on 0845 746 2034.'

 

Hope this helps.

 

What do you think i should do?

 

Thanks Andy..

[angryandy]

Anymore advice please anyone.

 

Anyone been in this situation before?

 

Please let me know if you have

 

Thanks Andy...

[PGH7447]

it cant hurt and you can always put the phone down

[PGH7447]

from their website

 

What if I am having difficulty paying?

 

If you are having difficulty paying, you should contact us on 0845 602 0263 or Minicom

0808 143 1195, as soon as possible. We can usually agree a payment arrangement, which will help. If you are in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or pensions credit we may be able to arrange for you to pay your bill direct from your benefit payments.

[angryandy]

Again PGH thanks for your advice.

 

Will phone tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

Will keep you informed on the developments

 

Andy...

[tumble]

United utilities customer relations are notoriously poor. However my dealings with them was on a business account. I was issued with court proceedings on a debt which I had initially offered to pay £100 per month along with clarification on how the arrears came about as this was not clear. My offer was refused and this was back in 2007. I put in a defence and attended the court a few weeks ago . I met with their representative prior to the hearing who stated that payment should not have been refused and that I had received poor customer service. She accepted my offer under a Tomlin order ( an arrangement to pay with no ccj ) and waived nearly most of fees. The biggest problem I found was trying to speak to somebody in the UK. I find their tactics quite bullying but the court papers did not intimidate as im quite familiar with them through using this site. I recently had another issue with them when they disconected a supply and then found they had to quickly reconnect at no charge.

Try the consumer council for water 0161-236-6112. ask them for a Uk no. thats not directed abroad.

Good luck