Not Every Caller Is As Welcome As Santa

23 December 2009 11:20

Not every visitor to your home this festive season is going to turn up in a red suit and be easily identifiable. Unwanted visitors may appear at your door pretending to be from NI Water, but are in fact bogus callers.

Bogus callers often claim to need access to your home to check your water, or claim you have a leak on your property. However, do not let these people in unless you have checked their ID first.

All NI Water ID cards should have a photo of the person carrying it, their name, a unique serial number and our logo. Attach your door chain, if you have one, and if not, ask the caller to hold the ID up to a window or put it through your letterbox so you can read it properly without opening your door. Remember, if you are unsure, do not let them in.

Celine Rodgers, Head of External Communications at NI Water gives this advice:

“It is very rare that someone claiming to be from NI Water calls at your door unexpected. However, if this happens, simply call our customer helpline on 08457 440 088 where staff will be able to confirm whether the person is genuine and should in fact be there.

“To give customers an extra piece of mind, I would advise them to sign up to NI Water’s Doorstep Password Scheme. This scheme is designed to help customers identify our staff by arranging a password with us, a password NI Water staff will use when calling to your home.”

When you are phoning to clarify the ID, our Customer Service staff will check:

· Name
· Serial number
· Date of issue

Don’t be afraid to check the ID, genuine callers won’t mind waiting while you do, and NEVER allow anyone access to your home unless you are sure of who they are.

The same message applies to phone calls from people claiming to be from NI Water and asking for bank details. Do not give this information out over the phone. Simply hang up and report the call to the police or NI Water customer service helpline.