UKDP

Beyond the transfer of private sewers to Water and Sewerage Companies, WaSCs and their suppliers will be tasked with the repair and maintenance of domestic sewers, the extent and condition of which remains largely unknown. There are many existing damage hot spots across England and Wales, in which multiple properties share sewers that have suffered from years of problems, and within which there are currently several areas of damage. In addition, the prevalence of defective pitch fibre pipe work will create significant challenges in the management of customer expectations and the control of costs in sewers requiring multiple repairs over time. Proactive management of communications and repair schedules in these complex scenarios will be crucial to ensuring that these hot spots do not create a real headache for WaSCs and their contractors.

Click here for examples of the types of issues UKDP can resolve

Who are UKDP?

Prior to the transfer of private drains and sewers, UKDP managed shared drainage hot spots on behalf of Councils across England and Wales, as local authorities previously had legal powers over homeowners to enforce the repair of defective shared sewers causing a threat to health. We worked under the drainage protocol, a set of guidelines established by the insurance industry to overcome the problems associated with resolving defects within sewers serving multiple properties. Our process involved:

• face to face meetings with residents on both group and individual level
• full survey and investigation of the damaged system, including grading of defects and recommendation for repairs
• liaison with loss adjusters and insurers to ensure individual claims are covered
• overseeing repair projects and reinstatements to ensure customer satisfaction, ensuring expectations are managed and risk of complaint is minimised

We are now utilising this unique experience to assist WaSCs and their contractors in managing hot spots of damage, as well as individual cases requiring insurer liaison. Through proactive management of customer communications, we can ensure a reduction in customer contacts and complaints, as well as a focus on cost control. We also work closely in partnership with contractors undertaking repairs to ensure that they are able to complete repairs swiftly and efficiently, with very little downtime and safe in the knowledge that customer communications and liaison has been managed by UKDP.

What makes us unique?

As we are not a contractor, we are free to focus on what makes us unique – our proven ability to manage customer expectations and communications. We have managed relationships with thousands of individual homeowners spanning hundreds of projects involving anything from four to three hundred properties. We have also worked on projects referred to us by over seventy local authorities. In particular, our ability to successfully manage face to face communications, in group residents meetings and on an individual level, and our success in pre-empting and resolving complaints means that we are uniquely positioned to assist the water industry beyond the transfer.

How can we help?

UKDP can assist the water industry in handling complex drainage cases, to ensure that the risk of customer complaints are minimised and costs are controlled. If you would like more information on the services we can provide, please call our office on 0845 519 5033 or complete the enquiry form.