The trusts aim to make a long-term difference to customers by giving a new start to those who through an event, such as a personal crisis, have found themselves in debt to their water company.
As well as charitable trusts, many water companies offer payment matching or ‘restart’ schemes. These work in a variety of ways. For example, some water companies will match each payment the customer makes. So for every £1 that the customer pays, the water company will also pay £1 towards their bill. Other water companies ask customers to pay a certain amount for a specified length of time and will then write-off the remainder of the debt, in order to give the customer a fresh start.
Your water company should be able to give you more information on any schemes it operates. Contact your water company to get more information about schemes that may be available to you.