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Your Good Service Guarantee We operate a Guaranteed Standards Scheme for our customers which puts in writing the minimum standards we aim to meet. If we fail to meet the standards we will pay you compensation. The guarantee standards are also fully explained in our Code of Practice for Customers, and below.
Queries About Your bill If you write to us with a query about water service charges we will answer the query within 10 working days of receiving your letter. If you write to ask us to change the way you pay your bill and we find we cannot make the change we will let you know within 5 working days from the date we receive your letter. In 2006/07 the Company replied to over 174,000 billing queries. Of these, 99.98% were responded to within 5 days of receipt.
Telephone Calls We are continually striving to improve our standard of service. In order to help us to help you, it would be of assistance if you could telephone in the afternoon between 1.30 and 4.30pm which is outside our busiest period. During 2006/07 we recived over 172,000 calls. 78 Customers recived the engaged tone and 10,753 failed to get through.
Keeping Appointments If we have to visit your home we will make an appointment for before 1.00pm or after 1.00pm of a specific day, or if requested within a period of 2 hours in which the visit will be made. If we cannot keep the appointment we will let you know at least 24 hours in advance. During 2006/07 we made 2420 appointments.
Complaints About Our Service If you have a complaint concerning the provision of water services we promise to reply to your letter of complaint within 10 working days from the date we receive your letter. To view our Guide to Portsmouth Water's Complaint Procedure, click here. During 2006/07 only 156 written complaints were received and of these 100% were replied to within 10 days.
Interrupting Your Water Supply Occasionally we need to interrupt your water supply to undertake essential maintenance work. Usually this work is planned and we will notify you in advance of the interruption to your supply, tell you when the supply will be restored and turn the water back on when we said we would. Where the interruption as described is for more than four hours we will notify you at least 48 hours before the supply is interrupted. In an emergency, or unplanned interruption such as a burst pipe we guarantee we will restore your supply within 12 hours of our becoming aware of the problem, or 48 hours if the job involves repairing a major main. Our target is to ensure the proportion of properties served by us that experience an interruption to the water supply for more than 12 hours in any one day will be kept below 0.1%. We are pleased to report that during 2006/07 only 42 of the total properties served by us experienced interruptions during the period exceeding 12 hours in duration.
Internal Flooding Should your property suffer from internal flooding as a result of a burst from our mains we will pay you £30.00.
Meter Reading If we fail to read your meter when due, and provided access has not been denied, we will pay you £30.00.
Maintaining Pressure We will maintain a minimum pressure of water in a communication pipe serving premises supplied with water, of 7 metres static head. Where in any period of 28 days the pressure falls below 7 metres static head on 2 occasions each lasting more than 1 hour we will, except in certain circumstances, pay the sum of £30.00.
Exceptional Circumstances If we fail to meet the standards we have guaranteed because of events beyond our control such as strikes or extreme weather conditions we may suspend the scheme temporarily.
How to Claim The Guarantee payment, or credit, for failure to meet our standards in respect of your request to change payment arrangements, or complaints about our service or supply interruption is made automatically within 10 working days of becoming payable. If the Company fails to make an automatic £30.00 payment within 10 working days of it becoming due, a further payment of £30 will become payable in most cases. We hope you will never have cause for complaint but if you feel you qualify for £30.00 under one of the above standards and have not received it automatically, you should write within 3 months of the incident giving rise to the claim. If we fail to meet our guaranteed standard relating to an interruption to your supply you may be entitled to £30.00. Where your water supply is interrupted you may be entitled to a further £10.00 for each additional 24 hours, during which the supply remains unrestored. Furthermore, customers who suffer three or more unplanned interruptions exceeding twelve hours on each occasion during a twelve month period will recieve £30.00. Failure to meet our minimum pressure standard attracts a £30.00 payment. If you feel you do qualify you should claim in writing within 3 months of the failure having occurred. Business customers benefit from a higher payment for guarantee standards. The address to write to in respect of any claim is: Claims
Department, If we cannot accept your claim you are entitled to appeal to: The
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