Check if YOU are due compensation from your energy, water or broadband supplier

Consumer rights expert Martyn James rounds up all the rules you need to know for compensation from your utility providers

We don’t often get money back from the businesses that we have to use each day.

Yet with almost all utilities companies – gas, energy, water and broadband – you are entitled to automatic compensation if the business fails to “meet its service standards to you”.

What exactly are service standards, I hear you ask? Well, that varies according to each utility sector. But as a general rule, if a business doesn’t carry out promised repairs, leaves you without key services or doesn’t correct system problems on time, you could get auto-compensation.

Of course, nothing is ever simple! Some firms will argue over the money you’re entitled to, how long you were without services and how the credit will be given. Others mysteriously neglect to pay you.

So it makes sense to familiarise yourself with the rules – and always check to see if you’ve been paid what you are owed. Here’s my guide.

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How does auto-compensation work?

Compensation rules vary by sector, but there are usually two types. It can be genuinely automatic (applied to your bill in the form of a credit or a deduction from what you owe) or by application (you have to do the work).

Confusingly, different types of service failure can lead either automatic or application compensation.

There’s one other key distinction to make. Compensation is a payment for failing to provide a good service, while a refunds is the act of getting back money you’ve already paid.

To give you an example of how things can be confusing, the delay/repay system for train refunds can be automatic with some train firms or by application with others.

However, you usually still have to sign up for automatic compensation so it’s rare that you’ll just get paid without having to jump some hoops to get it.

Water compensation (automatic)

You are entitled to compensation automatically if your water supply is interrupted, depending on which part of the UK you live in.

Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS), water companies must ensure that “water pressure is consistent, appointments to fix issues are kept and supply interruptions must be dealt with promptly”. These rules apply to England and Wales.

In Scotland, Scottish Water has a consumer charter that lists the compensation payable under a range of different circumstances. In Northern Ireland, there is no automatic compensation as domestic customers do not pay water rates.

Some compensation is paid to you automatically, meaning you’ll either receive a payment directly, or as a credit on your water bill. Don’t assume though – lots of people tell me they haven’t been auto-compensated.

For these situations, you may have to make a claim to your water supplier. In my experience, the vast majority of people aren’t aware of water compensation rules so we don’t know how well water firms are performing with auto-compensation.

You can check out a table covering all of the payments that you’re entitled to on the Ofwat website. Here’s a brief summary:

• Appointments not made properly or not kept: £20
• Low water pressure: £25
• Not telling you about planned works that will cut off your water: £20
• Not restoring the water supply (first 24 hours): £20
• Not restoring the power (each subsequent 24 hours): £10
• Failure to sort out written queries and changes to how you pay: £20
• Written complaints not addressed on time (replies within 10 working days, payment changes within 5 working days): £20

Excitingly, there are also late payment charges if the compensation isn’t paid on time too. These timescales vary depending on the situation, but are between 10 to 20 days (no late payment for water pressure issues).

If there’s a problem with sewers that affects your property or business, the compensation increases. This involves a payment equal to your annual sewerage charges – ranging from £150 to £1000 if your property is flooded internally.

If flooded externally it’s 50% of the annual sewerage charges from £75 to £500. Your sewage charges are listed on your water bill. You should get the money by cheque, unless you owe the company money, in which case it will be deducted from your debt.

You’re also entitled to compensation for interrupted services during droughts – though for essentials, obviously, not filling up the hot tub. The payment is currently £10 a day (more for business customers).

If the business doesn’t cough up you can make a formal complaint. Failing that, go to the free Consumer Council for Water (CCW), who will look at your complaint in England and Wales. If the water company or the CCW can’t sort out the complaint, it can be referred to Ofwat.

Energy switching/missed appointments (automatic)

Problems with billing errors or faulty meters dominate my inbox. The good news is for the later, you can get automatic compensation thanks to new rules from regulator Ofgem. Let’s start with the old ones first though.

If you’ve reported a problem and your energy supplier misses an appointment, the rules say:

• Suppliers must offer an appointment within a “reasonable time”
• Faulty meter appointments should take place within 5 working days of notification.
• Faulty prepayment meters where the customer has lost supply should take place with 3 hours on a working day or within 4 hours on any other day.
• Customers who wait longer should receive £40 payment under The Electricity and Gas (Standards of Performance) (Suppliers) Regulations 2015.
• If a supplier fails to make these initial payments, customers should receive an additional £40 payment under regulation 8.3 of The Electricity and Gas (Standards of Performance) (Suppliers) Regulations 2015

Auto-compensation also applies if you are switched to another energy supplier without permission or delays occur. This happens more than you’d think, which is why regulator Ofgem introduced this payment in May 2020.

Here’s when automatic compensation rates should be paid:

• Failure to complete a switch within 15 working days. £40
• Failure to refund a credit balance with 10 working days of the final bill: £40
• Switching you to another supplier by “mistake”. £40 from the new supplier.
• Failing to acknowledge or rectify a mistaken switch within 20/21 days: £40 from the new supplier.
• Failure to issue a final bill (from the old provider) within six weeks: £40.

How you get the cash depends on the energy supplier. So this could be direct to your account, by cheque or as a credit to your bill or meter.

As of February 2026, you can also get automatic compensation for problems with smart meter fixes. You should automatically receive a £40 payment when:

• You have to wait more than six weeks for a smart meter installation appointment
• A smart meter installation appointment fails due to a fault within the supplier’s control
• You report a problem with your smart meter, but the supplier does not provide a resolution within five working days of your telling them about it.

Energy power/supply problems (by application)

If the power goes off it can be a really worry. Compensation does apply though, you have to apply for it. The payment also comes from your network provider, not your energy supplier. This is a crucial difference because it’s a little more complicated and there are time limits.

If there is a power cut here’s who to contact:

• Call 105 free. You will be connected to your local electricity network operator’s emergency line.
• Call the free National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.

If you’re making a claim, you need to find your network supplier. You can click the links here to track down the gas and electricity supplier by tapping in your postcode.

You’ll need to put your claim in within three months of the incident, or within a month if the power cut was planned but you weren’t given notice. What you get depends on whether the power cut occurred as a result of:

• Severe weather.
• Normal weather.
• Other reasons.

Storm category 1

• You can get £85 if your power has been cut-off for 24 hours.
• You will get an extra £45 for every 6 hours afterwards. The maximum amount you can claim is £2,165.

Storm category 2

• You can get £85 if your power has been cut-off for 48 hours.
• You will get an extra £45 for every 6 hours afterwards. The maximum amount you can claim is £2,165.

If the power cut is because of disruption to the national energy supply, you will not be entitled to compensation. This is because it is not due to a fault on the network.

If the power outage occurs during normal weather, the supplier has 24 hours to get the power back on. You get £95 after 12 hours and a further £45 for each additional 12 hours, capped at £390. Businesses get £190.

If your home or business is cut off more than four times in a year for at least three hours each time, you could get an extra £95.

If your gas supply goes off and it’s not as a consequence of a planned outage, you can claim £70 for every 24 hours without a supply (businesses get £120). If you’ve been given less than seven days’ notice before a planned power outage, you can get £50 (businesses get £120).

If you need to complain, usually you can only go to an Ombudsman or ADR scheme about a business you have a direct relationship with (a contract basically). But you can complain to the free Energy Ombudsman about both your gas and electricity supplier and the network provider when it comes to power outages and compensation.

Broadband and landline compensation (automatic)

In the telecommunications sector, there is an automatic compensation scheme for broadband… but not for mobile phone problems.

Automatic compensation is set by regulator Ofcom. Confusingly, it is opt in for suppliers but most are signed up. You can find a full list here.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of automatic compensation:

• Delayed repairs after you’ve lost service: £9.98 per day after two working days.
• Missed appointments: if the engineer doesn’t turn up or the appointment is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice: £31.19 per appointment.
• Delays with starting the new service: £6.24 for each day after the missed start date.

These payments should increase annually in line with inflation, which is handy as your bill will go up at the same time in April.

Compensation should be paid no later than 30 days after the incident and will be paid as a credit, though you can ask for an alternative method.

Of all the auto-compensation schemes, broadband payments seem to be the most abused, so be vigilant. Make sure you note down when the problem occurred. This could be through screenshots of service trackers like Down Detector, though calling and reporting the problem is best. You can also use free speed trackers like BroadbandUK to prove there’s a problem

If the complaint doesn’t work, then you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. There are two Ombudsman Services for the telecoms industry. I don’t see why this should be the case when one would do perfectly well – but leave this with me…!

Ombudsman services are free and are accessible fair and impartial alternatives to the court, with the Ombudsman’s decision ultimately being binding on the firm (but not you).

The largest of the services is the Communications Ombudsman and you can contact them here. Alternatively you can find CISAS here.

• Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist.