Beware Water Conmen

Bogus water officials continue to target Bristol Water customers – and we want to help you fight back.

To start with we offer a £4,000 reward to trap at least one of these cruel conmen. The reward will go to the first person who provides police with information leading to the arrest and conviction of anybody committing a criminal act while posing as a Bristol Water representative. These heartless criminals prey on the elderly in particular and we want to do all we can to try to stop them. Of course, not all visitors claiming to be water officials are conmen. But when a real one visits a customer, he/she will show a proper identity card.

This includes the caller’s:

• name
• photograph
• company markings
• freephone number to call if the customer wants to verify the caller’s identity.

Bristol Water also offers a password service. This enables customers to choose their own special password and register it with the company. Then, if a Bristol Water official needs to call at the customer’s home, he/she must give the correct password before being admitted.Bristol Water’s advice to customers is:

• Be on your guard
• Do not let anybody inside until you have checked his or her ID
  card carefully. Our staff know you might want to check and will understand when you ask them to wait outside
• If you have any doubts at all over the ID card, call the freephone number 0800 373 501 and check the caller’s identity
• If any caller claiming to be from Bristol Water does not show you an ID card, then do not let him/her inside – and call the police at once.