Around 250,000 people living in the Midlands are now receiving some form of financial support from Severn Trent, as the company is committed to helping its most financially vulnerable customers.
The company offers a wide selection of financial support – ranging from 70% off bills, to payment breaks or plans, to debt support, to help provide varied support for as many of its customers as possible.
In May 2022, it created an additional £30 million fund so it can help more customers - by 2025 it is expected to be supporting around 315,000 people.
By 2030, it is predicted to be helping around 700,00 people on what’s expected to be one of the biggest packages of customer support in the industry.
Speaking of the growth of support available from the Midlands water company, Andy White, Senior Leader for Social Policy at the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said:
“We’re delighted to see the growth in customers receiving help from Severn Trent and this support can be life-changing in some cases where crisis-hit households are facing impossible choices. Experience tells us that many customers are still missing out on untapped support because they either don’t know help exists or are too afraid to ask. We’d urge anyone in the Midlands who is struggling to stay afloat to get in touch with Severn Trent and allow them to ease some of the burden.”
Severn Trent’s External Relationships Manager, Mark Grice commented:
“Everyone’s situation is different, and no two people or families are the same and it’s why we’re constantly increasing the types of support, and why we’ve invested so we can help more of our customers who need us.
“A big part of our job is making sure not only our customers know we’re here to help, but all the local organisations like citizen advice, councils, money support groups and others – so we can really make sure that more and more people know of the support available, as people may unexpectedly need our support and be prepared should things change.”
“When I started here, the financial support was the only real support we had for people. But what’s great now is as a business, our support goes much wider than just money, which feels really rewarding. While we can help with paying bills, and understanding how we can make their water bill manageable - we want to make sure we’re doing what we can to help prevent people needing the help in the first place.”
Alongside Severn Trent’s,financial support schemes, the company has launched an ambitious 10-year programme committed to helping change the lives of 100,000 people living in the Midlands by tackling the underlying causes of poverty and helping them reach their potential.
Since launching, the company has been running jobs fairs, employability workshops and delivering skills training including cv writing skills, confidence building and interview practice to help more people feel job ready. The support goes side by side with the financial help it gives.
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