northumbrian water - brilliant today

paul66

paul66

Well-known member
i know water companies get a lot of stick, and rightly so when they dont come up to scratch, however today NW exceeded my expectations.

foul drain was backing up a bit, not clearing as it should be on wednesday, i rodded it and it was clear to boundary with next door, next door is empty and up for sale so contacted the estate agent, 48 hours later no contact

so i rang northumbrian water to see what my options were, took details down and dispatched a job request and advised theyd attend within 4 hours, 2 hours later engineer was en-route as advised by text and could be tracked live.

engineer lifted inspection hatch at next doors property which was full of **** and proceeded to plunge/jet to clear

no charge, apparently its a free service on shared drains

credit where credit is due
 
paul66 said:
mock all you like chaps, when your toilets operating in reverse youll appreciate this service :p
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On the evening I could have spent watching the Boro in the play off final at Wembley instead I spent my time digging **** out of the pit that houses the interceptor trap next to our septic tank.........I don't even get that service.🙄💩
 
They do provide a good service. I had a leaky toilet and they came out and fixed it free of charge. The appointment was booked a few weeks in advance as they are busy (which I suppose they will be, offering free services).
 
paul66 said:
no charge, apparently its a free service on shared drains

credit where credit is due
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That was proposed by the outgoing Labour government & made into a statutory instrument by the Coalition in 2011.

However the Coalition rowed back on the full proposal which would have seen water companies responsible for shared water supplies on private land as well.
 
paul66 said:
i know water companies get a lot of stick, and rightly so when they dont come up to scratch, however today NW exceeded my expectations.

foul drain was backing up a bit, not clearing as it should be on wednesday, i rodded it and it was clear to boundary with next door, next door is empty and up for sale so contacted the estate agent, 48 hours later no contact

so i rang northumbrian water to see what my options were, took details down and dispatched a job request and advised theyd attend within 4 hours, 2 hours later engineer was en-route as advised by text and could be tracked live.

engineer lifted inspection hatch at next doors property which was full of **** and proceeded to plunge/jet to clear

no charge, apparently its a free service on shared drains

credit where credit is due
Click to expand...
It wasn't free of charge and it's what they should be doing. It's their system that failed in the first place.
 
Prevention of sewer flooding is something all water companies must do. They get fined pretty big when it happens, so it’s in their interest to respond the way the OP describes.

That’s not to say it isn’t a good service of course. Northumbrian Water is full of really good people as well.
 
Gunslinger said:
Its not free, we all pay for it in our water rates
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True, a more accurate statement was that he was not charged for the work.

However the reason you get that sort of service without charge is the obvious health issues if sewers are blocked and overflow.
 
Northumbrian Water is concerned only with how much money can be extracted from the public.
The same as every other privatised utility.
 
Billyzin said:
Northumbrian Water is concerned only with how much money can be extracted from the public.
The same as every other privatised utility.
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You could always have your supply disconnected by Northumbrian Water, (free of charge) unlike the the other utility companies 😜
save yourself £45 per month too 👍🏻
 
paul66 said:
i know water companies get a lot of stick, and rightly so when they dont come up to scratch, however today NW exceeded my expectations.

foul drain was backing up a bit, not clearing as it should be on wednesday, i rodded it and it was clear to boundary with next door, next door is empty and up for sale so contacted the estate agent, 48 hours later no contact

so i rang northumbrian water to see what my options were, took details down and dispatched a job request and advised theyd attend within 4 hours, 2 hours later engineer was en-route as advised by text and could be tracked live.

engineer lifted inspection hatch at next doors property which was full of **** and proceeded to plunge/jet to clear

no charge, apparently its a free service on shared drains

credit where credit is due
Click to expand...
Had a similar issue, as in blocked foul drain. Rodded as far as I could and wasn’t sure what to do. Telephoned Northumbrian Water, for advice in the first instance. Not only did I get to speak to an actual person, very rare nowadays. They sent a van within two hours, subcontractors, cleared and tidied up within 30 minutes. No charge. It’s refreshing when something like that happens.
 
People slagging off the likes of Northumbrian Water probably haven't got a clue what the scale of the operation actually is , and I would say the actual amount we all pay to them is very cheap indeed for the service we get , for clarity I do not work for NW , but the company I work for supports the 3 main utility providers in the north , and I have a very good understanding of NW
 
Wez68 said:
People slagging off the likes of Northumbrian Water probably haven't got a clue what the scale of the operation actually is , and I would say the actual amount we all pay to them is very cheap indeed for the service we get , for clarity I do not work for NW , but the company I work for supports the 3 main utility providers in the north , and I have a very good understanding of NW
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But they have still managed to pay £1.7billion in dividends from 2011 to 2019
Value for us?
Opening paragraphs of article:-
“Hong Kong's richest family extracted £130million in dividends last year from one of Britain's biggest water companies.


Details of the payments at Northumbrian Water Limited can be revealed just days before regulator Ofwat announces a crucial decision on the company's strategic plans, including dividends.

Northumbrian Water Limited has now paid out a total of £1.7billion in dividends to its owners, the Hong Kong billionaire Sir Li Ka-shing and his family, since they bought the business for £2.4billion in 2011.”
 
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