What support is available if you are struggling with bills?

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If you’re struggling with your bills, then you’re probably trying to work out what support is available to you.

The bad news is that many households are struggling financially through this cost of living crisis.

The good news is that there is some support out there. There are schemes, grants and benefits that you might be entitled to depending on your personal circumstances.

But there are also things you can do if none of the above is available to you.

Table of Contents

What to do if you are struggling to pay your bills

First of all, if you are struggling to make payments to any supplier – whether it’s your mortgage or energy bill or something else, you should contact your supplier directly.

Just stopping payments with no communication to the provider will do more harm than good – even if you can’t physically get the funds together to pay it, you need to contact them and explain that you can’t.

Most suppliers will be understanding as you certainly won’t be the first customer to contact them in hardship.

But they may be able to offer you some support.

The support they offer will vary from supplier to supplier but you might be able to agree a payment plan, have interest charges frozen or be pointed in the direction of a relevant grant.

Whatever the outcome, direct communication is necessary to prevent any missed payments or black marks against your file and further action being taken against you to recover what is due.

What support is available if you are struggling with specific bills?

Energy Bills

In addition to the support payments available as part of the cost of living package, there are support funds that can help customers with energy bill arrears.

The following suppliers have their own support funds:

If your supplier is not listed above, you can get support from The British Gas Energy Trust, regardless of whether you’re a British Gas customer or not.

Water Bills

If you are on a low income, you may be able to access a social tariff with your water supplier.

There is also a scheme called ‘Water Sure’ that allows people on a water meter with certain medical conditions (requiring high use of water) to access a discount on their bill.

In addition, many water companies offer free water-saving kits that help you to reduce your household usage.

For financial hardship support, contact your supplier directly – they may be able to offer payment holidays, payment plans or an alternative solution to help you pay:

Council Tax

Each council has it’s own reduction scheme for low income households – contact your council directly to find out how to apply and if you qualify.

You can find your local council website by putting your postcode in here: Gov.uk

If you are a single adult household, you could be entitled to a discount.

If you are two-adult household but one of you is in full time education, you might also qualify for a reduction.

Telecoms

If you’re struggling to pay your phone and broadband bills, you can contact your supplier and explain your situation.

They may be able to offer a payment plan or to downgrade your package.

If you’re on benefits, you might also be able to access a social tariff – essentially a cheaper package for low income households.

Here is a full list of social tariffs available.

What support is available if you are struggling with bills in general?

Household Support Fund

Local Councils have access to a fund whereby they can issue grants to households in most need to help with bills and living costs.

You have to apply directly to your local council.

You can find your local council website by putting your postcode in here: Gov.uk

Cost of Living Support Payments

Earlier this year, the government put together a cost of living support package to help ease the financial pressure on struggling households.

Payments you are entitled to depend on circumstances.

For a more detailed look at the support available, check out this post: Understanding the Cost of Living Payments

Benefits Entitlement

If you’re struggling to meet your financial commitments, it’s worth checking to see if you’re entitled to any benefits.

Even if you haven’t been eligible in the past, that doesn’t mean you won’t be now.

It’s worth taking the 10 minutes or so to put your details in to a benefits calculator like Entitled To.

Free Financial Advice

There are charities and organisations out there that offer free advice to those in need.

Here are a few that might be able to offer assistance:

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offer free advice online, over the phone or in person on a variety of areas including benefits, employment and debt.

Visit the website here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

StepChange

StepChange are a debt charity that can offer advice on debt and provide a range of debt solutions such as Debt Management Plans (DMP) and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA).

Visit the website here: https://www.stepchange.org/

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

CAP are another charity offering money and debt advice.

Visit the website here: https://capuk.org/

What else can you do if you’re struggling to afford your bills?

In addition to seeking external financial support, there are ways you can improve your own financial wellbeing.

Save Money

Here are some articles to help you save money:

Make Money

Here are some articles to help you make some extra money:

Final Thoughts

The most important thing to do if you’re struggling to pay your bills is to seek support.

Burying your head in the sand will not make the problem go away, it’ll just create further issues down the line.

It is not your fault that you are struggling and you are certainly not the only one.

But you do need to take action and ask for help.