Water rates - deductions from benefits

Bengeo

Good afternoon
Does anyonw know if a water company can instruct dwp to make deductions direct from benefits without my permission? The water company tell me they are a priority debt and will not accept my repayment schedule which has them a non-priority debt and therefore receiving a pro-rata repayment in amongst my credit cards, and provident loans.
Any help I'd be very grateful
Regards:cool:

Pink_fluff

Have you drawn up a financial statement and sent this to the water board? I don't know if there's much you can do, have you contacted dwp to ask them if they can advise you? without sounding harsh, at the end of the day, you owe them money and they will do everything in their power to get if off you!!!

Psykicpup

water is a utility & therefore IS a priority debt... who is your repayment schedule with?

samsmoot

Bengeo wrote: »

Good afternoon
Does anyonw know if a water company can instruct dwp to make deductions direct from benefits without my permission? The water company tell me they are a priority debt and will not accept my repayment schedule which has them a non-priority debt and therefore receiving a pro-rata repayment in amongst my credit cards, and provident loans.
Any help I'd be very grateful
Regards:cool:

I made a few posts in reply to the exact same question on another forum, but thought it worthwhile to repeat myself:


As someone who is currently involved (on a complaining basis) with this issue, I can tell you what the legislation and guidlines have to say about 'Third Party Deductions'.
Regulations 34 and 35 of The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 say that deductions can be made "...only if the authority is satisfied that the beneficiary or his partner has failed to budget for those [water] charges, and that it would be in the interests of the family to make the determination."

An application by a water company should be "...along the lines of" ..."Annex A to the ‘Joint statement of intent on the DWP Third Party Deductions scheme in respect of fuel and water charges’ – ‘Application for Water Direct’."

The ‘Application for Water Direct’ asks: "Has the customer failed two payment plans on this debt".

OFWAT says that Third Party Deductions should be a last resort.

So unless you have "failed to budget" - which would be shown by the water company ticking the "yes" box on the application, deductions should not be made. And it seems arguable that deductions should not be made if you have not got a family.

All water companies have a charitable trust set up to help people who are unable to pay their water bill, so you should write to the water company, telling them you wish to apply to the charitable trust for this help and to put all recovery action on hold until a decision has been made. You do not have to be on benefit.

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The Primary legislation is unclear about whether or not consent is needed for Third Party Deductions, but the DWP and the utility companies say consent is not needed, and that applications can be unilaterally made by a utility company. With regard to deductions for water charges the onus is on the 'adjudicating authority' (i.e. a DWP decision maker) to be satisfied of a failure to budget for those charges, hence the question on the application form asking if the customer has failed two payment plans.

If the answer is 'yes', then it is implicit that the customer has actually failed to budget, and it therefore seems deductions can then be made on the basis that the customer admits to owing money for water charges, has arranged to pay by installments (showing a willingness to pay), but is finding it difficult to keep making payments. Deductions would therefore be in the customer's interest. The avoidance of court action is also stated as being in a customer's interest, as it saves them from incurring further debt.

If, on the other hand, no (or only one) payment plan has been failed it seems the deductions cannot be lawful, and the only recourse would be to challenge the decision. The DWP has said that there is no right of appeal to get the deductions stopped, and once they are started you can bet that any amount of protest won't change their mind: you'll have to take it to the County Court. You would make a Part 8 claim against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, asking the court to order that the deductions be stopped. I can tell you that the same action is being taken right now by a friend of mine, and that despite the DWP's protests the judge has ordered a hearing on November 11 2008. He seemed well disposed towards the claimant's position, but in her case she had had no previous contact whatsoever from her water supplier - they just made an application and the DWP started making the deductions.

The claim should succeed, but having encountered the DWP' solicitors before I know they will try every trick in the book to win, and it's an ouside possibility that the claim will fail. In any event there will be a claim made against the water company due to their wrongdoing, and satisfaction may have to be gotten that way.

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Just thought I'd keep everyone advised on the outcome of the claim mentioned in the above post.
The DWP has decided to change its decision in advance of the hearing , and will no longer be making the deductions, which is the result hoped for.

olly300

Psykicpup wrote: »

water is a utility & therefore IS a priority debt... who is your repayment schedule with?

No it isn't.

Rent and council tax take prority over utility companies.

Rent because if you don't pay it you will be homeless so you won't be paying any bills.

Council tax because the council can put you in prison and there is a stipulated legal process on which councils must follow.

Utility bills follow afterwards.