NI Water Looking After Customers Over Christmas
18 December 2020 14:45
NI Water runs 24/7, delivering high quality drinking water and taking away wastewater all day, every day, including over the Christmas season. For us to help you, we are encouraging customers who may need that extra bit of help because of a medical condition or any other vulnerability to sign up to our Customer Care Register.
Carol Duffy, Head of Customer Services explains further, “We recognise that we all need a little extra help at some point in our lives. If you join our Customer Care Register, we can offer a range of free additional services if you need more support. You may be ill, have an underlying medical condition or are elderly or disabled. Sign up and let us help you.”
Some of the benefits of joining this register include:
Doorstep Service
If you have a hearing difficulty we will knock the door louder and speak clearly when we call with you. If you have a mobility problem we will allow more time for you to answer the door.
Password scheme
You can ask for a password to help you identify our staff. Please arrange a password with us. Our staff will always use this password when they visit you.
If someone claims to work for us but does not know your password, do not let them in. Instead, please get in touch with us and we will check to see if the caller is genuine.
Loss of Water Supply
You should always be prepared for an interruption to your water supply. We recommend you:
- Find out how your medical equipment operates. If you are unsure, ask your health professional.
- Have adequate water storage.
- Consider the possibility of staying somewhere else.
- If you are on our register and you don’t have water, we will prioritise you to receive bottled water if needed.
Carers Contact Service
You can name a carer or relative who:
- can contact us on your behalf
- we can contact if we need to reach you at anytime
- we can post information directly to
Flooding
If you have mobility or eyesight problems you may find it difficult to get out of your home safely if flooding occurs. We recommend that you have a planned way out of your home that you are familiar with. If you are on our register and flooding occurs, we will prioritise our response to ensure that we are with you as quickly as possible.
And don't forget, if you don't need these services, you might know someone who does. Family, friends, neighbours, spread the word, so we can help as many people as we can!
If you are not a vulnerable customer, don’t worry, we have a free text alert service you can sign up to.
Carol explains, “We already have a postcode search facility on our website where customers can check current service updates but we also provide a free text alert service; information will go straight to those affected so they can be instantly aware.
“Our aim is to have the ability to contact customers at our fingertips but we need them to sign up to this by registering their details online. The more details we have, the more informed customers will be regarding their water supply.
“NI Water owns over 40,000 kilometres of water mains and sewers - one and half times longer than Northern Ireland’s entire road network. The very nature of our service means sometimes emergency situations arise. For example, a burst watermain. However, with this service, once we know about it, you will know about it. We also encourage you to follow us on our social media accounts and to visit our website regularly to receive updates on our services.”
Text messages will be sent to customers who are thought to be impacted by an unplanned interruption. The message will include the estimated time of restoration as well as a link to NI Water’s website where the customer can find further details.
Customers can register for either service via online https://www.niwater.com/customer-care-register/ and https://www.niwater.com/register-for-keeping-you-informed/
Or alternatively, contact Waterline on 03457 440088.
ENDS
For further information, please contact press.office@niwater.com