Don’t Panic: Resources For When You Can’t Pay Your Bills 

With the cost of living rising and inflation pinching everyone’s pockets. It can be very difficult at times to keep up with paying debts, especially if there are other important needs that require your attention. 

It can become frustrating to not meet all your financial needs, and the stress of having expenses piling up can be overwhelming. 

But what happens when you aren’t able to pay your debts? Here are some resources and options you can use when you are unable to meet your payments. 

Methods To Help When You’re Struggling To Pay Bills 

These methods can help ease the load when it comes to paying your bills. You can visit UtilityBidder for a more in-depth resource on what happens when you cannot pay your bills and how to ease your financial struggles. 

Struggling to pay your rent/mortgage 

Depending on how many debts you have, there are some that have to be prioritised over others. Paying your utilities, rent and mortgage should automatically become the first thing on your list when paying your debts. 

If you are struggling to meet your rent or mortgage payments you can try to apply for housing relief to help reduce the amount of money that you are spending. 

To see if you qualify for housing relief you need to contact your local tenants office to find out. To get the process started, you need to submit the following documents to meet eligibility. 

• Proof of Income
• Eviction Notice 
• Copy of your lease 
• Utility bills and disconnection notices 
• Photo for identification 
• Written explanation of your hardship 

For people who are struggling to pay their mortgage, there are also resources available that you can apply for to help lighten the payments. 

There is also a welfare assistance/household support fund that can offer some assistance. 

If you are already on a housing benefit from your local council and it is still not covering your rent then you can try to apply for a DHP. This is a discretionary housing payment that is extra money allocated to help cover the rental fees; however, you need to be on a housing benefit to receive these extra funds. 

To apply you need to list the reasons why you cannot afford to pay your rent. The DHP will be either approved/rejected by the local council and they will estimate how much money you receive and when the funding will stop. 

You can reapply if the DHP stops and you are still in need of it.  

Struggling to pay taxes 

Depending on your circumstances, paying council tax can be stopped. Here are some ways that can assist you in paying your council tax. 

• You can get a council tax reduction if you are on a low income. 
• If you are able to show your severe hardship, you can get a discretionary reduction and a single person may qualify for a council discount. 

Struggling to pay your energy & water bills 

The Government has regulated the rates of household gas and electricity prices. This is known as the Energy Price Guarantee and affects all tariffs. 

If you are struggling to pay your energy bills, you can contact your supplier and they will help find a solution to help you manage your payments. They can suggest assisting you with a payment plan that can help reduce the amount of money you pay each month or assist in offering a much more affordable package to help minimise the costs. 

Since most water companies have schemes that are in place to assist clients with payment problems, the best thing for you is to speak to your supplier about the problem you are experiencing. 

They can either move you to a cheaper water package or allow the arrears to be paid off over a period of time. If you do not contact your water supplier to make any payment arrangements or stop making your monthly payments they can take you to court which results in court fees being paid. 

You might be able to qualify for the Watersure Scheme which assists people in capping their water bill to only pay the average fee of the total bill. To qualify for this scheme, you would have to already be receiving housing benefit or any other relief type schemes, have a water metre installed and use a high amount of water for either medical reasons or having a certain number of school children living in your house. 

Conclusion

There are many resources put in place by companies to help their clients afford the basic necessities of life such as electricity, gas and water. 

With the help of suppliers meeting consumers more than halfway, people can now still afford to keep their resources while gaining assistance. 

If you are struggling to meet your bill payments, try seeking help from your suppliers first and then move on to your local council to find a scheme that can assist with your debt.