Irish Water Customer Service

unblinkered optimist

Hi all, I've just spent a very frustrating half an hour trying to get Irish Water to fix a fault. They insisted I contact their service providers as that was not their role and that they had no responsibility as a utility to ensure that their asset is operating correctly. I have no problem paying for water, but they have seemed to have created a call centre with no technical expertise and no capacity to resolve any issues. Is anyone else having this type of problem with them or maybe I'm naive in expecting a modicum of professionalism from a monopolistic service provider.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

The repairs etc are outsourced. I phoned IW about a leak. They referred me to the local council and it was fixed by the end of the next day. No big deal at all.
It's not much different, in a way, to being a customer of Airtricity but you deal with ESB Networks for faults.

hdowney

except the local council a, don't work evenings, weekends etc and b, don't get any money for doing the work. iw get it and don't give it to the council when they do the work for them.

unblinkered optimist

But ESB networks own the network, so you would have to contact them to resolve actual faults on their assets. Whereas Irish Water are actually owners of the networks, and providers of the service, so why would I need to contact their subcontractors to resolve their issues, I would always think that was the service providers job. I guess maybe I was spoiled when I lived abroad for the last decade or so, when you contacted the water utility they resolved the issue without having to pursue it any further. It was very frustrating dealing with what I would consider "jobsworths", I suppose I may have been just unlucky.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

:rolleyes: It was just an analogy to dealing with a different repair unit to the supplier. I did not say it was an identical situation. Bottom line, I was referred quickly, made a call, and all was fixed. It would have been nice if IW just took a note and contacted the council but I did it myself in a couple of minutes.
I thought it was a consumer issue question rather than another anti IW thread.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

hdowney wrote: »

except the local council a, don't work evenings, weekends etc and b, don't get any money for doing the work. iw get it and don't give it to the council when they do the work for them.

The council here works out of hours if there are emergencies - flooding, fallen trees, burst mains etc.

They are paid to fulfill a Service Level Agreement. Councils do not do it all for nothing.

unblinkered optimist

Surely expecting good customer service is not an anti-iw thread. Your analogy was not in any way applicable to dealing with Irish Water, now if you removed the Airtricity example, and referred to a fault with ESB Networks and applied the example of how they handle the flaw, then that would be much more relevant. Do they expect you to chase their sub-contractors?

unblinkered optimist

unblinkered optimist wrote: »

Hi all, I've just spent a very frustrating half an hour trying to get Irish Water to fix a fault. They insisted I contact their service providers as that was not their role and that they had no responsibility as a utility to ensure that their asset is operating correctly. I have no problem paying for water, but they have seemed to have created a call centre with no technical expertise and no capacity to resolve any issues. Is anyone else having this type of problem with them or maybe I'm naive in expecting a modicum of professionalism from a monopolistic service provider.

Did you expect them to drop the phone and run out and fix it themselves? Sounds like they directed you to the correct department.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

OP I'm not here to, nor inclined to, defend IW. You asked if anybody had a similar problem and I answered it from my one piece of experience with them apart from signing up as a customer.

Slan!

unblinkered optimist

No, maryanne. I didn't. That would be ridiculous. However adequate customer service would have been nice... Their job is to act as a conduit for communications from the customer to client, rather like a water pipe is a conduit for drinking water, or not as in my case today...

hdowney

Tara Rapping Gun wrote:

The council here works out of hours if there are emergencies - flooding, fallen trees, burst mains etc.

Tara Rapping Gun wrote:

They are paid to fulfill a Service Level Agreement. Councils do not do it all for nothing.

it is a huge struggle to get OUR council to do anything out of hours - ALWAYS was. I was told they receive nothing from iw for the work.
certainly not an anti-iw thread. just personal dealings with needing something done out of hours.

hfallada

hdowney wrote: »

except the local council a, don't work evenings, weekends etc and b, don't get any money for doing the work. iw get it and don't give it to the council when they do the work for them.

Why should the council work out of hours? Unless its an emergency, they shouldnt work out of hours. Why should we waste tax payers money on overtime, when a minor leak can wait a few days. Its not ideal, but its cost effective.

There is obviously going to be some overlapping of services at first. But eventually Im sure IW will take control of all maintenance and repairs to the water network. IW is unique in the sense they are taking over an existing network from dozens of councils. Its not like the ESB taking over the electricity supply from day one

unblinkered optimist

Hi hfallada, that is a good point. But surely they should have contractors lined up to handle emergency repairs then. But the establishment of IW is not that unique, many major water utilities have taken over existing complex networks, i.e. Water Corporation (Western Australia), Severn Trent Water etc. Surely there are lessons learnt which can be applied to ensure a smooth transition. It just seems like we are patching things together as we go, rather that having an holistic plan of action.

hdowney

hfallada wrote: »

Why should the council work out of hours? Unless its an emergency, they shouldnt work out of hours. Why should we waste tax payers money on overtime, when a minor leak can wait a few days. Its not ideal, but its cost effective.

There is obviously going to be some overlapping of services at first. But eventually Im sure IW will take control of all maintenance and repairs to the water network. IW is unique in the sense they are taking over an existing network from dozens of councils. Its not like the ESB taking over the electricity supply from day one

Minor things - no they shouldn't work overtime. But I consider raw sewage all over the place as rather an emergency, and yet they didn't seem to.

delahuntv

How do I report a leak ?

To report a fault or seek an emergency repair, contact Irish Water at the details below. When reporting a leak, supply as much detail as possible. Details required include:

Location (including closest premises number or nearest junction).
Origin – footpath, grass, road or private property etc.
Nature of leak i.e. is water flowing or is it stagnant (in a puddle).
What happens after I report a leak?

Following a call to report a leak it is sent through to an Inspector in Dublin City Council for further investigation.

All leaks and breaks are inspected to determine their severity and to assess what equipment might be needed for repair work. In many cases what appears to be a leak can be a blocked drain. In such cases the job is passed to the Drainage Services Division for investigation.

If it is a mains water leak, a repair crew will be sent out. Leaks are prioritised according to:

Safety implications
Damage to property
Number / type of premises without water
Volume of water leaking
Traffic implications
The repair crew will then

Isolate the break
Redirect water if possible so the number of properties affected is minimised.
Excavate broken main
Cut out broken section
Replace the section of main
Recharge and flush the main
Provide interim or permanent reinstatement
Water may be redirected from other mains when a break occurs, to minimise the number of properties without water or with low water pressure.

If the water supply is expected to be off for an extended period a temporary water supply will be available from water tankers.

It may not always be possible to carry out the repairs straight away:

It may take time to locate the exact source of the leak.
For many major customers, water supply is critical e.g. hospitals. Where it is necessary to temporarily halt water supply to undertake repairs, this work is scheduled according to the needs of those affected so that impacts on customers are minimised.
The property owner is responsible for repairing leaks on private property
Access restrictions e.g. cars parked over a leak.
Permission will be sought if a main road needs to be temporarily closed to fix a leak of or if traffic restrictions need to be put in place.

delahuntv

unblinkered optimist wrote: »

I have no problem paying for water, but they have seemed to have created a call centre with no technical expertise and no capacity to resolve any issues.

I have never found any call centre for any service utility service to have technical knowledge. They are there to direct the issue to the correct area and to answer the more mundane queries.

This woudl aplly to everythign from phone companies to electricity.

Also, you don't say where the leak is. If its on your property, its your responsibility. The same if there was an issue with electrical connections on your property - you call an electrician, not ESB.

If the leak is outside your property, then you simply report it and it will get dealt with in time. The same if a phone fault / electricity fault was outside your property.

unblinkered optimist

Hi delahuntv, thank you for that information. The procedure you outlined is indeed the one that is followed for faults from 8am through to 5pm which is office hours. Once one is out of office hours, then the procedure is somewhat different. Also, you referred to DCC and their ability to resolve issues. I wish I was in an area managed by them to be honest, as they are one of the better LA in resolving these issues. Just to clarify, there were several hundred households without water supply, I don't think I mentioned a leak, I presume it was an airlock in the pipe, which needed to be bled off, essentially a 30 second job, but who knows. However even mundane information was lacking, as I was informed by the call centre that I was the only one to have called Irish Water about this breach of service, when I knew that my neighbour had called them twenty minutes previously.

delahuntv

unblinkered optimist wrote: »

I was informed by the call centre that I was the only one to have called Irish Water about this breach of service, when I knew that my neighbour had called them twenty minutes previously.

I simply copied and pasted from the first thing google showed up - similar procedures are in place in most councils.

As for "breech of service" - it depends on whether it would be classified as an emergency. Most houses have water tanks that give a decent back-up supply. Just the drinking water was affected and this probably would not constitute an emergency.

As for "presuming it s an airlock that would take 30 seconds to repair", unless you are an engineer specialising in infrastrutural plumbing, I don't think you can say - and soemhow I doubt if little airlocks stop water to "several hundred" households. (did you check them all, or is it another guess?)


Same servcie level is offered by ESB & Eircom. My electricity went last year - I was asked if there was medical equipment attached. As there wasn't they nformed me that it would not be classified as emergency and fixed within 48 hours. Eircom are currently 3-4 days in most areas and 7 days in Waterford (I have several business locations, and have had phone issues recently in 3 locations)

unblinkered optimist

Hi Delahuntv, thanks for your reply. You'd be surprised at what sized pipes an airlock can block. And we have found out subsequently that it was an airlock, one of my neighbours went out and bled an airvalve, he is involved in water infrastructure. Luckily that sorted out the problem. Last time our ESB went out, we called them and two hours later, they had it fixed. Excellent service from their Customer Service reps also in this case. Perhaps you live a more remote region that is inaccessible to ESB?

whiterebel

What does Irish Water actually do? They outsource the call centre and recruitment, billings have been done by local councils. Repairs are handed off to local councils who don't seem to be getting paid for it, despite handing over millions of euros to IW.They took on 4,000 people and yet don't seem to do anything themselves. And the great trick is, they want us to pay for it.

foggy_lad

I rang Irish water last November as my meter was full of water and obviously leaking. Weeks later a council van pulled up and three men with shovels and kango had the place dug up and leak repaired in two days. They set the new meter cover in concrete and covered that with an old door and 4 traffic cones and left.

A couple off weeks ago the door and traffic cones were finally removed by the council after several weeks of calling and tweeting both the council and Irish water!

Useless useless company!

delahuntv

whiterebel wrote: »

Repairs are handed off to local councils who don't seem to be getting paid for it, despite handing over millions of euros to IW.They took on 4,000 people and yet don't seem to do anything themselves. And the great trick is, they want us to pay for it.

No, the COUNCILS themselves are not paid one cent. But all water staff in the councils are now staff of Irish Water and paid by Irish Water.

A massive change from 40ish local services to one utility does not happen overnight. The councils couldn't just say to their 4000 workers - tough, your job is gone and then pay them massive redundancy and then IW would have massive recruitment costs to hire 4000 workers. - Imagine the furore if that hapened!

Does anyone actually read any IW news articles other than the tabloid ones?

If you lived in Boyle Roscommon, you'd be cheering fro IW - Roscommon CC built a water facilty next to a sewage facility! Yep, clean water right next to sh1t! Hence a total waste of money and 20,000 people on boil water notice for many years. Roscommon CC had no money to build a new water plant, so everyone i the area spent thouasds on bottled water. In April, the new water plant is commissioned and clean water will flow once again. (relatives live in the area and they are having a water party in April to celebrate)

whiterebel

delahuntv wrote: »

No, the COUNCILS themselves are not paid one cent. But all water staff in the councils are now staff of Irish Water and paid by Irish Water.

A massive change from 40ish local services to one utility does not happen overnight. The councils couldn't just say to their 4000 workers - tough, your job is gone and then pay them massive redundancy and then IW would have massive recruitment costs to hire 4000 workers. - Imagine the furore if that hapened!

Does anyone actually read any IW news articles other than the tabloid ones?

If you lived in Boyle Roscommon, you'd be cheering fro IW - Roscommon CC built a water facilty next to a sewage facility! Yep, clean water right next to sh1t! Hence a total waste of money and 20,000 people on boil water notice for many years. Roscommon CC had no money to build a new water plant, so everyone i the area spent thouasds on bottled water. In April, the new water plant is commissioned and clean water will flow once again. (relatives live in the area and they are having a water party in April to celebrate)

And the people that built that plant in Roscommon now work for? Probably similar to the numb nuts that situated the east cork supply over a limescale reservoir. Guess who they are going working for......john Tierney should fit in well having wasted €95M in his last job.

And when you're finished reading the unbiased ramblings of the Indo, who is going to pay for the redundancies of the 2,000 unnecessary workers that IW took on?

dudara

Posters - we are not going to get into political and/or biased discussions on Irish Water. There are other threads in other forums for that purpose. Stick firmly to the topic at hand.

dudara

unblinkered optimist

Hi Delahuntv, thats shocking to hear that about Roscommon. Its only when you lose the basics like clean drinkng water that you truly appreciate it. Its good to hear that its almost resolved.

Sully

Just to compare like with like. Vodafone home phone and broadband went down Friday. Reported it to Vodafone, who told me eircom won't fix it until the next working day. So it's not just IW that don't react on weekends etc.