Gas, Electricity and Water Bills: Help, Complaints and Your Rights

Do not ignore a utility bill or a debt letter. Unopened post does not stop charges, and problems are usually easier to sort out early. But receiving a bill you cannot pay does not mean you have no rights and no choices.

Contacting your supplier early can open the door to affordable payment arrangements, more time to pay, hardship funds and grants, reduced social tariffs and extra support for people who are ill, disabled, older or otherwise vulnerable. Suppliers deal with this every day. Asking for help is normal and it is not an admission of any wrongdoing.

Where these rules apply. The gas and electricity rules described here are those for household customers in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), regulated by Ofgem. The water rules described here are those for household customers in England and Wales, regulated by Ofwat. Arrangements are different in Northern Ireland, and household water charging in Scotland and Northern Ireland works differently again — see the section on Scotland and Northern Ireland below.

Contact your supplier as soon as you can. Suppliers must work with household customers who are in payment difficulty and consider appropriate ways of managing what is owed, taking your circumstances and your ability to pay into account.

Depending on your situation, support may include:

• A review of your current payments and any debt repayments
• More time to pay
• A temporary reduction or payment break, depending on your circumstances
• An affordable repayment plan based on what you can genuinely afford
• Supplier hardship funds or grants
• Advice about government support schemes you may qualify for
• A referral to free, independent debt advice

Not every customer is offered every form of help, and schemes differ between suppliers. Ask specifically what is available on your account and ask for the answer in writing.

Under Ofgem's back-billing rules, a supplier generally cannot charge a domestic customer for gas or electricity used more than 12 months earlier where the customer was not correctly billed because of the supplier's own failure — for example, where the supplier did not send accurate bills or did not act on readings it was given.

This is not an unconditional right to ignore any bill older than 12 months. Exceptions can apply, including where the customer obstructed accurate billing, prevented access to the meter, did not co-operate, or otherwise behaved unreasonably. It also does not apply to amounts that were correctly billed at the time and simply were not paid.

If you think back-billing protection applies to you, say so clearly in writing, quote the period concerned, and ask the supplier to explain why it believes it can charge you.

A supplier can review a monthly direct debit to reflect current usage, tariff costs, and any credit or debt on the account. Direct debits often rise before winter and are reviewed periodically.

You can ask the supplier to:

• Explain in writing how the new amount was calculated
• Recalculate it using an up-to-date actual meter reading
• Review an amount that appears excessive or that you cannot afford
• Explain what will happen to any credit balance on your account

Give a current reading when you ask, and keep the written breakdown. If the supplier will not explain or review the amount, that is something you can raise as a formal complaint.

This section is for people who:

• Cannot afford to top up
• Are at risk of self-disconnection — going without gas or electricity because there is no credit
• Need emergency credit or friendly-hours credit
• Are repaying a debt through the meter
• Believe the debt repayment rate taken from each top-up is unaffordable
• Are being considered for a move to a prepayment meter without their agreement

Protections and assessment requirements apply here, and there are additional requirements before a supplier moves a customer to a prepayment meter involuntarily, particularly where someone in the household is vulnerable. The rules in this area have changed several times, so check the current Ofgem and Citizens Advice guidance rather than relying on what was true in a previous year.

If you have run out of credit, contact the supplier straight away. Ask about emergency credit, additional support credit, and lowering the amount of debt taken from each top-up.

Water is billed and regulated separately from energy, and your rights are not the same. Contact your water company directly if you are struggling — you cannot switch household water supplier, so the company you have is the one that must help you.

Depending on the company, support may include:

• A social tariff giving a reduced bill for eligible low-income households
• Reduced or restructured payment arrangements
• Debt-support schemes
• Payment matching or debt write-off schemes, where the company offers them
• WaterSure for eligible metered households
• Water-efficiency help, such as free devices or a home visit
• Advice about switching to a water meter
• An assessed charge where a meter cannot reasonably be installed

Social-tariff names, eligibility rules and the size of the reduction vary considerably between water companies. What one company offers, another may not. Always ask your own company what its scheme is called and what the criteria are.

A meter saves money for some households and costs more for others. As a rough guide, a meter is more likely to help where there are fewer people in the home than bedrooms, but this is not a rule. Use a proper water-usage calculator before deciding, and check what the rules are for changing back if you are unhappy.

If the company cannot reasonably fit a meter you have asked for — for example because of the plumbing in a flat — ask whether an assessed charge is available instead. An assessed charge is an alternative bill based on an estimate rather than rateable value.

WaterSure can cap the bills of certain metered customers who receive qualifying benefits and who either have a large family or someone in the household with a medical condition that requires significant additional water use. Qualifying benefits and medical conditions are set out in official guidance and can change, so check the current criteria rather than relying on a list you have seen elsewhere.

You normally have to complain to your supplier first. Under the current process, an unresolved complaint can then be taken free of charge to the Energy Ombudsman after eight weeks — or sooner if the supplier issues a deadlock letter or a final response saying it will take no further action.

The Energy Ombudsman's decision is binding on the supplier if you accept it. Using the service does not cost you anything.

Note, correct at August 2026: complaint timescales and escalation rules can change. Check the Energy Ombudsman's current rules before you submit.

The route for water is different, and the Energy Ombudsman does not handle water complaints.

1. Complain directly to your water company.
2. Work through the company's own complaints procedure to the end.
3. If it is still unresolved, ask the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) for independent help.

CCW takes up unresolved household complaints on customers' behalf, free of charge. Some types of dispute follow a different escalation route depending on the issue, and CCW will tell you which applies to your case. Ofwat regulates the companies but does not usually handle individual billing complaints directly.

You are not responsible for a debt simply because a previous occupier owes money at the same address. Debt follows the person who used the energy, not the front door. Do not pay a previous resident's bill to make the letters stop.

• Contact the supplier and explain the position calmly.
• Give the exact date you became responsible for the property.
• Supply a tenancy agreement, completion statement or council-tax evidence if reasonably required.
• Provide opening meter readings, with photographs and dates.
• Keep any personal information about the previous resident private — do not forward their post or share their details beyond confirming they no longer live there.
• Make a formal complaint if the supplier keeps pursuing the wrong person.

When you move, take final meter readings on the day you leave and opening readings on the day you move in, and photograph both. This single habit prevents most move-in and move-out billing disputes. If you rent, check your tenancy agreement to see which bills are yours.

Scotland. Gas and electricity are regulated by Ofgem in the same way as in England and Wales, so the energy sections above apply. Household water and sewerage are provided by Scottish Water and charged through the council tax bill, with different reduction schemes.

Northern Ireland. Energy is regulated separately by the Utility Regulator, and the consumer body is the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. Household water is provided by NI Water and domestic customers are not currently charged directly for water. The Ofgem, Ofwat and CCW guidance on this page does not apply in Northern Ireland.

• Ofgem — Get help with your energy bills
• Ofgem — What to do if you get a back bill
• Ofgem — Priority Services Register
• Ofgem — Complain about your energy supplier
• Energy Ombudsman — Our process
• Ofwat — Customer assistance
• Consumer Council for Water — Help with bills
• Consumer Council for Water — Complaints
• Citizens Advice — Behind with your energy bills
• Citizens Advice — If you do not pay your water bill
• GOV.UK — Warm Home Discount Scheme
• National Energy Action — Get help — an independent charity, not part of government.
• National Gas — Emergency contacts

This page provides general information about household utility bills and consumer support. It is not legal, financial or debt advice. Rights, schemes and eligibility rules can change and may differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Check the linked official guidance or obtain independent advice for your circumstances.