United Utilities - Really confusing call with Affordability Team!

ChrisJJ

I was signposted by a United Utilities person to their Affordability Team. He said that there was a possibility I could have my water bill lowered. He obviously couldn't say by how much, and there was obviously no guarantee, but certainly no harm in trying.

I was told to make a list of all income and outgoings so they could do an accurate assessment.

I received the call yesterday from the Affordability Team and after 30 minutes of going through my budget, the lady told me that I did not qualify as my income was too high. No notice was taken of my outgoings at all, and when I asked her, according to her calculations how much I had left at the end of the month, she said £-26!

So, in actual fact, there was absolutely no point in going through my budget AT ALL as my ineligibility was solely down to my income. That is, the very first figure I had given her. I can't quite get my head around why she was unable to tell me this the moment I stated my Universal Credit income.

Then, today, I go to the IE Hub, which is the company/place that they run their calculations through, and am aghast to find that the budge credited to me bears ABSOLUTELY NO relation to the figures I provided her with. According to this, my income is over £700 greater, and I am left with over £600 per month!! If these are the figures she was looking at it's no wonder I was not eligible for assistance!

Except that, she herself told me that I was in the minus figures at the end of the budget.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Has anyone dealt with the Affordability Team at United Utilities and have had a similar experience?

Obviously I will be calling next week in an attempt to clarify where on earth the drew these figures from but in the meantime….I am so flummoxed and annoyed.

Grumpy_chap

Are you certain that the figures you can see in the IE Hub are those entered by UU?

I find that surprising unless UU specifically gave you login details.

fatbelly

Do you know what scheme you were being proposed for?

https://www.unitedutilities.com/my-account/your-bill/difficulty-paying-your-bill/how-we-can-help/

ChrisJJ

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993004#Comment_81993004

They must be as I haven't dealt with anyone using this company before.

ChrisJJ

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993135#Comment_81993135

She mentioned the Back On Track scheme.

ChrisJJ

Right, I have looked further and can see why the figures on the hub are wrong. They've entered my UC amount and then ADDED the Housing Element to it, plus the Transitional Protection on top! No wonder I come out with that much left over cash!

How the hell she managed to do that, I don't know. She knew the rent was deducted from the initial figure, it was mentioned several times. She also knew that the Transitional Protection was included.

Will call them tomorrow.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993376#Comment_81993376

It is highly likely that the Call Centre Operative with whom you spoke genuinely did not know any of those things nor how the software worked. The UU staff will not be experts in how benefits are calculated but merely asking questions from a script and then inputting the data into a system.

So, first question - do you receive UC?

Second question - how much UC do you receive?

Third question - do you receive housing benefit? How much?

Fourth questions - do you receive TP? How much?

None of those questions would explicitly confirm that the UC includes the housing and TP elements. Each answer is simply input to the software and then an answer is produced.

While, in the ideal world, mistakes should not happen, at least in your case you have been able to calculate how the figure has been arrived at and can therefore explain the discrepancy and arrange for it to be corrected.

Is it possible that the similar type of error / duplication will have occurred for your expenses? It may mean that correcting everything (income and expense) results in the final position being the same. Particularly since you noted that the Call Centre Operative mentioned you have "-£26 each month" but the app indicates "left with over £600 per month".

When you do call in, please remember that the Call Centre Operative you speak to is only human, you will almost certainly speak with a Operative tomorrow than you spoke with last week, and the best way to a positive result is polite and friendly. I am not saying you would be anything other but there are too many people that would start off with ranting and raving and treat the Call Centre Operative poorly.

Really, this is just an example of why utility companies should not be the gate keepers to a form of financial support which can be better handled by Government Departments set up to do just that.

ChrisJJ

I finally got it sorted out, and a full apology and a good will payment. I received a call from a manager who said he could see straight away that I have been misinformed and that I should have been placed on the Level 1 Back On Track scheme. Plus the £50 low income discount. It's been incredibly stressful but persistence does pay off.

However, even after speaking to the Manager and having him rectify the figures, the IE Hub is still WILDLY incorrect. The figures are so out of whack that there is no way the details on there are fit to be submitted to any other organisation, and apparently that is the purpose of that site. So that you don't have to keep resubmitting your details to any other organisation that you may wish to hand over your budget details to.

The manager also confirmed that, as I suspected, your actual outgoings/expenditure has no bearing on the level of support at all. I know how unbelievable that sounds. It is indeed all down to your income. Which is one of the reasons he saw straight away that I had been misinformed.

And yes to the person who asked, it was United Utilities who put me through the IE Hub. I had no choice as that is the system/site they use for these calculations. It clearly is not fit for purpose.

ChrisJJ

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993430#Comment_81993430

I am well aware that a more positive outcome is far more likely if one is polite. Thank you for your input.