Elderly disabled mother left without water – unacceptable service and lack of care
My 73-year-old mother, who has osteoporosis and is currently on crutches following a fractured ankle, has been without running water at her home in Northbourne, Bournemouth since Friday 17 October 2025.
Within the last ten days, Bournemouth Water carried out works outside her property (new tarmac laid around the water meter). Since then, her water supply has been cut off completely. This means she cannot safely return home — she is unable to use the toilet, bathe, or even make a cup of tea.
Despite reporting this immediately, Bournemouth Water have failed to attend all weekend and have offered no temporary assistance (no bottled water, no engineer visit, no emergency support). When contacted, their staff stated that because she was “not currently resident in the property,” the job was not a priority. The only reason she is not resident is because she has no water due to their own works.
This morning (Sunday 19 October), Bournemouth Water confirmed an engineer would attend at 9:30 a.m. I travelled seven miles from my home address to meet them as my mother is unable to walk or drive, only to receive another call at 9 a.m. cancelling the visit on the same grounds — that “no one was at the property.”
My mother is elderly, disabled, and clearly vulnerable. It is deeply distressing that a utility company entrusted with an essential service can show such disregard for duty of care and basic compassion. There has been no apology, no urgency, and no understanding of the impact this has had on her physical and emotional wellbeing.
At the very least, Bournemouth Water should:
Urgently restore her water supply;
Offer a written apology for their handling of this incident;
Review their procedures for identifying and assisting vulnerable customers.
This experience has completely destroyed our trust in Bournemouth Water’s ability to treat elderly or disabled customers fairly and with dignity.
19. Oktober 2025
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