Information on Compensation Payments relating to the burst water main at Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works, Dolgarrog.
We are sorry for the impact that the burst water main at our Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works, Dolgarrog.
Household customers
To recognise the inconvenience being experienced by customers whose supplies have been disrupted, each eligible household will receive £30 compensation for every 12 hours their supplies have been affected. This will automatically be paid to customers bank accounts, or their water account if their balance is more than the compensation payment. Cheques will be issued over the coming weeks to customers who do not have registered a bank account with us.
Frequently asked questions
Household customers are entitled to £30 for each 12 hours you were without supply. This payment will be made automatically.
We will only be paying the current named account holder i.e. the person named on the bill and who receives the bill from us.
Anyone else who may be living in the same household as the named account holder (e.g. spouse, partner or children). There will only be one payment per household.
Our Water Operations Team will provide us with the full list of the properties affected. We will then identify those properties to check if the property was fully connected during the incident. Customers do not need to contact us as we will do this automatically.
Customers who pay their water bill through direct debit will usually be paid through a direct credit to their bank account. This can take up to 5 working days for the credit to reach the bank account.
If the customer doesn’t pay us by Direct Debit, the customer will be sent a cheque in the post. This can take up to 7 working days for the cheque to be delivered to the property.
If the balance on your Welsh Water account is higher than the compensation payment, we will apply the compensation to your water bill.
If a customer does not pay Welsh Water for its services and pays an intermediary (i.e. customer pays Registered Social Landlord), Welsh Water will be reimbursing the intermediary who will be responsible for reimbursing the customer.
No, compensation will only be paid to the customer who pays the water bill. The account holder who is not the occupier will be required to pass the compensation payment onto the occupier.
The compensation payment amount isn’t negotiable and is governed by industry guidelines.
Business Customers
Each business customer will receive compensation of £75 for every 12 hours their supplies were affected.
In addition, Welsh Water has also agreed to make goodwill contributions for each business customer towards certain costs/loss of gross.
The eligibility, criteria and process for applying for a goodwill contribution towards costs/loss of gross profit is detailed in this guidance and should be read in full before making an application for a Goodwill Payment.
Affected businesses have a duty to take all reasonable steps to minimise its costs/loss of gross profit.
If, after reading these guidance notes in full, you believe that you meet the eligibility criteria for a goodwill payment over the payment already being issued, please complete the application when available providing the information detailed in this guidance and the Goodwill Application webforms.
Eligibility criteria
The following criteria must be met for your business to be eligible to apply for a goodwill contribution payment.
- You are a business customer who has directly affected by the burst water main at our Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works.
- You must be a business permanently based at the location of the application e.g. not a mobile/visiting business including taxi services.
- Your business must be registered with the HMRC.
Eligibility for a goodwill contribution and any contribution made is at the discretion of Welsh Water.
Goodwill Application Process
We note that many business customers will have business interruption insurance in place. Where this is the case, claims for any costs/loss of gross profit incurred should be made using your insurance. Where customers have insurance and have used their own insurance, Welsh Water is willing to consider a contribution towards any policy excess with adequate evidence. There is a specific webform to apply for this goodwill contribution, further details below.
All costs/loss of gross profit must be supported by the evidence requested in this guidance and the Goodwill Application webform. Please have the relevant evidence ready before starting the webform.
Following receipt of your application we may invite you to produce additional evidence to substantiate your application or request additional information to support our assessment.
Not Eligible
Please note that the costs/loss of gross profit being considered exclude professional fees, including any associated with completing the application, and any increases in insurance premia. No payments will be made in respect of these two categories.
The below outlines the different Goodwill Application webforms you may complete. You are only permitted to complete one webform per Business Customer.
Goodwill application forms
Completing this webform will allow goodwill payments towards Loss of Gross Profit incurred by your business affected by the burst “water main” on Wednesday 15 January - Sunday 19 January to be considered.
You will be required to provide the following information:
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period Wednesday 10 Jan - Sunday 14 Jan 2024 (inclusive),
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period Wednesday 15 January - Sunday 19 January 2025 (inclusive),
- A copy of the last set of year end accounts including a detailed profit and loss.
If your business has been trading for less than 12 months, as a minimum, please provide daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for a comparative period.
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards additional costs of operating because of the ‘burst water main” to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of relevant invoices/receipts.
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards Loss of Gross Profit and additional costs of operating incurred by your business due to the burst water main from Welsh Water between 15 January 25 to 9 January 2025 to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of the following:
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period Wednesday 10 Jan - Sunday 14 Jan 2024 (inclusive),
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period Wednesday 15 January - Sunday 19 January 2025 (inclusive),
- A copy of the last set of year end accounts including a detailed profit and loss.
- Provide evidence of all invoices/receipts.
If your business has been trading for less than 12 months, as a minimum, please provide daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for a comparative period.
Note: Applications are not permissible for the same dates for both ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ and ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ (you can either apply for ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ or ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ for any given day). It is envisaged that applications for ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ and ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ will only take place where a customer stayed open and incurred extra costs but subsequently had to close.
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards the insurance excess incurred following settlement of an insurance claim your business has made relating to the ‘burst water main” to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of the excess and that a claim relating to this 'burst water main' event has been successfully paid.
Declaration
A declaration must be completed and signed by an authorised signatory of your business, e.g. the business owner where a sole trader; a partner of a registered or unregistered partnership; or an officer of a limited company.
What happens next
Upon receipt of your application and supporting documentation, you will receive an acknowledgement by email.
We aim to assess and make a decision on your application within 20 working days from receipt.
These timescales may be longer depending on the value and complexity of your application as well as the speed of response from you in replying to requests. If this is the case, we will let you know.
Welsh Water may appoint third parties to assist or complete the assessment of any applications. Appointment of third parties will be made without prior notification. These costs will be met by Welsh Water.
Form