Residential Customer Charter Summary - Yarra Valley Water

RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERCHARTER SUMMARYRESIDENTIALCUSTOMERCHARTER SUMMARY

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUYarra Valley Water provides water and sewerage servicesto over 1.7 million people living and working in Melbourne’snorthern and eastern suburbs. We maintain and operate over19,000 kilometres of water and sewer mains, 53 water supplytanks and nine sewage treatment plants.We are committed to providing you with the highest qualitywater and sewerage services as well as offering responsivecustomer support. We are also dedicated to ensuring ourservices are delivered in a way that has minimal effecton the environment.ABOUT OUR COMMITMENTAs a valued Yarra Valley Water customer, your satisfaction withour services is important to us. This summary Customer Charterprovides information about our service commitments and outlinesyour rights and responsibilities as our customer.A community advisory group which comprises representatives fromour community, contributed to the development of our CustomerCharter. Any changes require the approval of the independent waterindustry regulator, the Essential Services Commission.A copy of our entire Customer Charter is available atwww.yvw.com.au/charters or by contacting us on 1300 304 688.

OUR WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGESERVICE COMMITMENTS TO YOUAs a customer you can expect:• a drinking water supply that meets regulatory healthrequirements established by the Department of Health andis clear and free from objectionable tastes and odours.• a water flow rate that meets minimum service standards.For a standard residential dwelling this is 20 litres per minuteto the property boundary.• continuous water supply and sewerage services that are notinterrupted more than a combined total of five times a yeardue to unplanned events.• a sewerage service that is not interrupted more than threetimes a year.• three working days written notice of any plannedinterruptions to our services (including when they will occurand for how long).• planned interruptions to your water supply will not occurduring peak hours (5am to 9am and 5pm to 11pm) and willtake no longer than five hours or as advised.• unplanned water supply interruptions will be restored withinfour hours of notification.• that where a burst water main threatens substantial ormoderate property or environmental damage, we will attendthe site within 45 minutes of being notified.• interruptions to your sewerage service will be restored withinfour hours of notification. If a sewage spill occurs inside yourhome, we will restore service within one hour.

RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER REBATESYarra Valley Water is commited to delivering high standardsof service.If we fail to meet this commitment to you by not meeting ourGuaranteed Service Levels, you will be eligible for a rebate (pricereduction) on your next bill.Sometimes though we need to turn off the water to replace a pipeor interrupt sewer service to unblock or replace a sewer pipe.A $50 rebate will be given if:• your water supply is interrupted for more than five hours• we fail to give at least three days’ notice of planned waterinterruptions• the interruption is longer than we said it would be• your water supply is interrupted between 5am and 9am or5pm and 11pm.In the case of an emergency where our water mains burst orsewers become blocked, we need to turn the water or seweroff without warning.We will give you a $50 rebate if:• your water supply is lost for more than four hours• you have a sewerage service interruption and we take longerthan four hours to restore the service. This does not includesewer service interruptions caused by your pipe work• you have experienced more than five unplanned water supplyor sewerage service interruptions in any 12 month period• you have experienced more than three unplanned sewerageinterruptions during any 12 month period• we enter your property without permission• we do not reply to your letter within four working days• we do not provide a minimum water flow rate.A $300 rebate will be given if:• we commence legal action or take steps to restrict watersupply without having taken reasonable steps to communicatewith the customer or if the customer informs us they areexperiencing financial difficulty.A $1000 rebate will be given when:• we fail to contain a sewage spill inside your house withinone hour• we fail to contain a sewage spill on your property withinfour hours.Customers do not have to claim a rebate as they areprovided automatically. Please note, the rebate will be madeto the customer responsible for the water usage account andwill not be given if an event is caused by, or the responsibility,of the customer concerned or a third party.

OUR MAINTENANCERESPONSIBILITIESWater supply and sewerage servicesYarra Valley Water is responsible for maintaining the propertywater meter, pipes and fittings from our water main to thewater meter on your property as well as the sewer and itsbranches up to the property connection point. Where there isno meter, we are responsible up to the first stop valve or tapinside the property boundary.In the case of an Owners Corporation or multi-residentdevelopments, we are responsible for maintaining the waterservice up to and including the main property meter. You and/or the Owners Corporation are required to maintain any pipework on your side of the property water meter, at your cost.We will maintain the property meters and individual metersthat are installed.Private water mainsWe are not responsible for maintaining any shared or singleservice private water mains, also known as trunk services.We will maintain individual water meters where they areinstalled on these services.

YOUR ACCOUNTYour quarterly account will generally include two types ofcharges. The first are fixed water supply system and seweragesystem charges, and the second are volumetric chargesrelating to water usage and sewage disposal, based on meterreadings which are taken four times a year. We also collectcharges on behalf of the Minister for Water for Parks Victoriaservices and Melbourne Water for waterways and drainagefrom customers who own a property within Melbourne Water’sWaterways Management District.If we inadvertently overcharge you, we will either give you acredit on your next bill or offer you a refund. If we underchargeyou, we will discuss any necessary adjustments and tailor arepayment plan to suit.If you are having trouble paying your account pleasecontact us on 1800 994 789. We will help you by:• providing information on government assistance that maybe available to you• arranging an alternative payment scheme that takes intoaccount your capacity to pay• providing access to free and independent financial counselling.Anyone holding a recognised concession card such as aPensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, Health BenefitsCard or Gold Card (for all conditions except Dependent) iseligible for State Government funded concessions on theirwater and sewerage charges.Our Financial Hardship Policy is available atwww.yvw.com.au or on request by calling 1800 994 789.

PAYING YOUR ACCOUNTWe request that you pay your account by the date shown onyour account. This will be at least 14 days after the date ofissue. Yarra Valley Water provides several options for payingyour account, which are outlined on the account itself.Payment methods include:• by direct debit• by BPAY• by mail to GPO Box 2753, Melbourne VIC 3001• by credit card online• by credit card on 1300 362 332• in person at Australia Post• by Postbillpay at www.postbillpay.com.au• by Australia Post Digital Mailbox at www.digitalmailbox.com.au• by Centrepay if you receive a Centrelink payment.For the latest payment methods, please refer to youraccount, visit our website at www.yvw.com.auor call 1300 304 688.COMPLAINTSYarra Valley Water is committed to providing excellentcustomer service. If you have a complaint please let usknow by calling our Customer Relations Team on1800 051 379. You can also write to us at Yarra ValleyWater, Private Bag 1, Mitcham, VIC 3132. We will respondpromptly to your complaint and will do our best to makesure the problem is resolved to your satisfaction. Our replywill give the reasons for our decision. If you are not satisfiedwith the reply, you may have the complaint re-assessed.You also have the right to seek external resolution of aproblem that cannot be satisfactorily resolved by othermeans. You may contact the Energy and Water OmbudsmanVictoria by phone on 1800 500 509 or by mail toGPO Box 469D, Melbourne, VIC 3001.A copy of our complaints and disputes policy maybe viewed at www.yvw.com.au/feedback or you mayrequest a copy by calling 1800 051 379.

PRIVACYWe recognise that your privacy is of greatimportance and are committed to ensuringyour personal information is protected.We collect personal information for the purpose of providingwater and sewerage related services. We must keep yourpersonal information confidential and comply with bindingprivacy laws such as the National Privacy Principlescontained in the Information Privacy Act 2000. To view ourentire Privacy Policy visit www.yvw.com.au/privacyCONTACT USAccount & General Enquiries 1300 304 688(Local call cost only within Australia)Emergencies & Faults 13 2762Hearing Impaired Service 13 3677For translating and interpreting services please call 13 1450GENERAL ENQUIRIES/COMPLAINTSPrivate Bag 1, Mitcham VIC 3132PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTSGPO Box 2753, Melbourne VIC 3001Email enquiry@yvw.com.auYarra Valley Water, Lucknow StreetMitcham Victoria 3132Private Bag 1 Mitcham Victoria 3132ABN 93 066 902 501www.yvw.com.auPrinted on Australian-made 100% recycled paper.