Customer Hardship Policy

If you join the program, the Bill Relief program can support you:

• Negotiating flexible interest free payment plans;
• Providing customers information regarding available concessions, relief schemes and utilities rebates;
• Referring customers to free, confidential and independent financial counselling and support services;
• Providing customers with educational resources to assist them in how to reduce their power and water usage;
• Not charging late payment fees or interest charges for the duration that the customer honours the payment arrangement made;
• Removing the worry of debt collection or legal action being taken against the customer;
• Providing customers with the security of knowing that while participating in the Bill Relief program, Power and Water will not:
  • Have water restrictors applied due to non-payment;
  • Have power disconnected due to non payment (if the Power and Water is the retailer);
  • Take legal action against the customer for unpaid debts;
  • Charge late payment fees;
  • Charge additional recovery costs.
• We use account authentication and code word protection to ensure a third party cannot access your account without your permission

Acceptance into the Bill Relief Program

Customers will be eligible to join the Bill Relief Program if they:

• Are residential customers; and
• Have
  • been identified as a hardship customer by an independent financial counsellor, or
  • an outstanding overdue account balance over 2 or more consecutive bills, or
  • in exceptional circumstances, have received a significantly higher than normal bill due to a water leak; and
• Are willing to pay their outstanding debt through
  • the negotiation of a flexible payment plan and,
  • seeking available assistance and support from free financial support services (when applicable); and
• Are willing to actively engage with the Power and Water.

Customers will not be eligible to join the Bill Relief program:

• For debts relating to Commercial customers;
• If they have been removed from the program due to non-compliance on two or more occasions in the last 12 months

We will tell you about our Bill Relief program if:

• you tell us you are having trouble paying your bill
• you are referred to our program by a financial counsellor or other community worker
• we are concerned that you may be experiencing financial hardship
• you inform us, or we become aware, that you are experiencing family or domestic violence.

We will recommend you speak to a staff member to help you join our Bill Relief program if you have:

• a history of late payments
• broken payment plans
• requested payment extensions
• received a power disconnection warning notice
• received a water restriction warning notice
• had your power disconnected for non-payment
• had water restrictions applied due to non-payment.

We will work with you

If you have joined our Bill Relief program, we will not:

• apply water restrictions due to non-payment
• disconnect your power due to non-payment (if we are your electricity retailer)
• charge late payment fees
• require a security deposit
• make changes to your personalised payment plan without your agreement. For example, we will not put you on a shortened collection cycle unless you agree first
• take legal action.

Personalised payment plans

We will offer your a payment plan to suit your situation. This will include payments to cover:

• what you owe, plus
• an amount to cover your ongoing water/power use over an agreed period of time.

Once we agree to a payment plan, we will send you information including:

• who you can contact for more help
• how long the payment plan will go for
• the amount you will pay each time
• how many payments you need to make
• when you need to make your payments
• how we worked out your payments.

What we will do

When you are in our Bill Relief program, we will offer you a personalised flexible payment options to suit your individual situation. To make your payment plan, we will consider:

• how much you can pay
• how often you can pay (this is also called the frequency of the payments)
• how much you owe
• how much water/power we expect you will use in the next 3-12 months, based on the length of your plan.

This will help us figure out a payment plan that is right for you.

What you must do

As part of the Bill Relief program it is important that you tell us if your situation changes and you can no longer make the payments in your plan. We can then review your payment arrangements. It is also important that you tell us if your contact details change.

You may be removed from the Bill Relief program if you:

• stop making payments under your agreed payment plan, or
• if you do not tell us when your contact details change.

If you have had two payment plans cancelled in the last 12 months because you did not follow your plan:

• we do not have to offer you another plan;
• we might apply water restrictors or disconnect your power (whichever is relevant to the overdue account);
• we may list your debit with a credit reporting agency and proceed with legal action.