Water cut off? Compensation you're owed in England
Water off for 12 hours? Your company must pay you automatically. Ofwat's payment table for England, the exemptions, and how to claim if the money never comes.
If your water supply is cut off and not restored within 12 hours, your water company must pay you compensation automatically. You do not have to ask. In England the amount has more than doubled since July 2025, and it keeps rising the longer you are without water. Winter makes burst mains and frozen pipes more likely, so here is what you are owed, what the company can use to avoid paying, and what to do if the money does not turn up.
This guide covers England. Wales has older, lower payments (Ofwat lists £20, for example, for a missed appointment), and Scotland has a separate scheme through Scottish Water.
The Guaranteed Standards Scheme
Every water company must meet minimum service standards set out in law. Miss one and you get a fixed payment. These are Ofwat's current minimum payments for households in England, and some companies pay more:
| What went wrong | Payment |
|---|---|
| Supply not restored on time | £50, plus £50 for each further 12 hours (capped at twice your annual water supply charge) |
| Low pressure | £50, up to five payments a year |
| Less than 48 hours' notice of planned work cutting you off for more than 4 hours | £50 |
| Appointment missed | £50 |
| Appointment not made properly | £40 |
| Written complaint, account query or payment-plan request not dealt with on time | £40 each |
| Sewage flooding inside your home | Your annual sewerage charge, minimum £300, maximum £2,000 |
| Sewage flooding outside (materially affecting your property) | Half your annual sewerage charge, minimum £150, maximum £1,000 |
| Failure to look after a customer on the Priority Services Register during an incident | £100 |
| Water quality notice, supply not restored within 48 hours | £40, plus £20 for each further 24 hours |
Internal flooding that happens more than once in 12 months pays more each time. The company must also pay you £40 if it fails to make an automatic payment on time.
When the money should arrive
Payments for most failures should be made automatically within 20 working days of the failure. For missed appointments, complaints, account queries and payment arrangements, it is 10 working days. If nothing arrives, you can claim in writing.
How the company can avoid paying
The scheme has exemptions. The ones that come up in winter:
- Exceptional circumstances. An unplanned interruption where it would be unreasonable to expect the supply back in 12 hours. Companies lean on this after severe weather. Ask them to say in writing which exemption they are relying on and why.
- Drought.
- Industrial action by the company's own employees, or the act of someone else that prevented restoration.
- Disconnection for non-payment, or at your request.
- Where the company could not identify you as affected and you did not claim within three months. This is the reason to claim in writing if you hear nothing.
A burst pipe inside your property is your plumbing, not the company's supply, and does not trigger these payments.
If you were without water
- Write down the times. When it went off, when you reported it, when it came back.
- Keep receipts for bottled water, takeaways or a hotel. They are not part of the fixed payments, but they are good evidence if you ask the company for more.
- Check your account in 20 working days. Payments usually show as a bill credit or a bank payment.
- Claim in writing if it has not arrived. Quote the standard, the dates, and the amount from the table. Our response deadline tracker works out when your window ends.
If the company refuses or ignores you
Complain formally and give the company 8 weeks. Then:
- Consumer Council for Water (CCW) is free. It can look at your case after a final response or 8 weeks, and it recommends and mediates but cannot bind the company.
- The Dispute Resolution Ombudsman is the binding step in England and Wales. You need a deadlock letter or to have completed the company's process, and you must apply within 6 months of the deadlock letter. The old WATRS scheme has been replaced, so ignore pages that still point to it.
Find your company's route on its page: Thames Water, Southern Water, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Wessex Water. The ombudsman finder checks the rest.
FAQs
Do I get compensation if my water is cut off for planned work?
Yes if the supply is not restored by the time in the written notice, or if you got less than 48 hours' notice of a planned cut of more than 4 hours.
Is it per household or per person?
Per household account.
Can I get my bill reduced as well?
Separately from the scheme, you can ask for a reduction or credit for the period you had no service. Our water bill checker helps you check you are not overpaying.
Waiting on a payment that never came? Start a complaint and we will draft the letter, with the standard and the amounts named and a deadline for them to answer.
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