Given both the energy crisis and cost of living crisis gripping the nation, providing a mechanism to assist a customer in their ability to meet their energy payments if a life event were to occur to them is crucial.
Utility Waiver is a simple concept and works to waive a customer’s normal direct debit payment (or an equivalent amount for receipt of bill customers) in the event of the customer suffering from a waiver event.
Payment Waiver is designed to protect the customer through a time of financial shock, protecting their energy usage and their credit rating. A customer who has Payment Waiver included within their energy agreement and who experiences a waiver event has not missed a payment, but contractually has had a payment waived.
The legal position of Payment Waiver as a contractual provision and not insurance is well founded and has been unequivocally confirmed by the FSA (now FCA) OFT, Competition Commission and the UK Courts. From as early as 2001, dozens of firms across mutliple sectors have Payment Waiver provisions built into their agreements to provide a safety net to their customers.
A report commissioned by RS Consultancy entitled ‘Ability to Pay’ states that losing one’s job, relationship breakdown and health problems can cause a sudden drop in income and also create emotional pressures, making it difficult to manage household finances efficiently; and that nearly four in five attribute their energy debt at least partly to a change in circumstances. When combined with Office for National Statistics (ONS) data that shows 35% of the population having zero savings and a further 13% have less than £1500 of savings, the likely outcome for the majority of the population who suffer a short term financial shock is arrears, energy debt and increased vulnerability.
Payment Waiver seeks to ensure those customers who experience a waiver event are not faced with the choice of self-disconnection or energy debt.
To discuss Utility Waiver contact us today!