Understanding Water Direct
Water Direct can help you pay your water bill direct from your benefits.
Payments are automatic, making it easier for you to pay and budget.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) deduct an amount from your benefits payment. That is then credited to your Severn Trent account.
Eligibility for Water Direct
You can apply for Water Direct if you or anyone you live with gets any of the following State benefits:
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Employment Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
You must also owe at least £50 on your Severn Trent account.
Applying for Water Direct
If you're eligible, you can apply online to pay by Water Direct.
After you submit the form, we'll send your application to the Department for Work and Pensions.
It usually takes up to four weeks for them to process your application.
We'll write to you once we know the outcome of your application.
Apply offline
If you would rather complete a paper application form, you can call 02477 716 585. One of our team will post an application form to you.
Reporting to credit reference agencies
Your Water Direct payments are reported to Credit Reference Agencies.
We won’t take action to reclaim any debt
We won't attempt to recover any debt on your account while DWP assess your application.
If your application is successful, we won't try to recover any debt while you're on the Water Direct scheme.
Continue to pay while the Department for Work and Pensions assess your application
The application process can take up to 4 weeks.
You should carry on making small payments to help reduce your current bill while you wait for a response.
Change in your circumstances
If your circumstances change, you may no longer be eligible for Water Direct.
If that happened, the DWP might remove you from the scheme. DWP will contact you if this happens.
If you’re declared insolvent
If you're declared insolvent, we'll need to set up a new account for you.
If you continue to pay your old account, we'll transfer any payments you make to a new account.
Transferred payments will be credited against charges from the day after your insolvency.
We'll contact the DWP and give them your new account number so payments can continue.
Getting help from our other financial support schemes
There are other ways we can help you if you can't get help through the Severn Trent Trust Fund.
Help with money
If you’re in debt or struggling to pay your bills, you can get help and support from many independent charities.