Consequences of not paying your water bill in Scotland

The Scottish system of paying for water rates means that you receive notice of the amounts due within your council tax bill, if you don’t have a water meter fitted. Should you get behind with your payments for water/sewerage services, the council will let you know by letter initially. You’ll have seven days to bring your payments up-to-date, otherwise you become liable for the full amount of water charges for the year. If you don’t dispute the arrears, you could receive a ‘summary warrant’ from the sheriff’s court.

What is a summary warrant?

A summary warrant is a formal demand for payment of the full amount, plus an administration charge of 10%. If you don’t pay, the council can enforce their debt in a number of ways, known as ‘diligence’ measures.   

These can include:

• Taking payments directly from your benefits
• Taking payments from your bank account or earnings
• Attachment of property outside the home

If you’re in receipt of certain benefits

If it’s not possible to reach an agreement with the sheriff officers for repayment of the debt, and the summary warrant remains unpaid, the council can apply to take payments directly from your benefits. In this case, the ‘charge for payment’ mentioned below isn’t required.

If you’ve fallen behind with your water bill, and are worried about the potential consequences, our expert team can help. It may be appropriate for you to enter into a debt payment plan via the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS), a Scottish trust deed, or even apply for your own sequestration.

Scotland Debt Solutions has been helping Scottish residents to escape debt since 1989. We’ll help you apply for more time to pay if appropriate, and ensure you understand all your options.