UK household water debts 'total 1.6 billion'

The Mirror reports that British households owe around £1.6 billion to water companies, and water debts have grown by an eye-watering 130% over the last 10 years.

It's estimated that 5.7 million households are at least three months behind on their water bills and around 700,000 are a minimum of four years behind. Since 1999, water companies cannot cut off non payers. This might encourage some families to not treat their water bill as a priority debt, but they could be risking their credit rating - and non payments mean £15 on average is added to the water bills of the people who do pay on time.

It's reported that water companies had to write off around £328 million in water debts last year alone, which is £168 million more than the year before.

Those at least a year behind with their water bill owe around £400 each on average.

A spokesperson for Gregory Pennington commented: "Anyone struggling to pay their water debt should contact their water supplier, as it's often possible to arrange a repayment schedule based on what you can afford. It's important to deal with any kind of debt as soon as possible, as unpaid debt can have a serious impact on your credit record.

"A debt adviser could help you to work out which debts are a priority and how you could go about repaying them at a rate you can afford."

Lucy Bower