How it works

In autumn 2001 Northumbrian Water Property Solutions (NWPS) was launched providing only Drainage and Water reports to solicitors. Over the years NWPS has grown both its products and service to become the biggest search provider in the North East of England.

Property Solutions holds a unique position within the market place through its owner, a high profile, blue chip organisation, namely Northumbrian Water (NW). NW is a major employer that is known for and measured by its consistently high standards; as a result Property Solutions has a responsibility to continually deliver high standards of customer service, competitive pricing and efficiency.

To place an order through the NWPS website you will require a User ID and password which can be obtained by clicking on the register now option on our homepage or contacting 0370 241 7408.

Enter the website
Log in with your allocated user name and password – if you forget your user name or password you can contact the team on 0370 241 7408 for help.

Address confirmation and input reference
Input the property address using the address search or manual entry if the address isn′t recognised. Property Solutions is able to validate the address from property number and postcode if applicable. Input your unique client reference and if you would like to upload a plan.

Select searches
NWPS offer a wide range of conveyancing searches for both residential and commercial properties nationwide which you select at this point, for a full list of searches please visit the services page of the website.

Confirmation
After submitting the order the details will appear in a printer friendly format. As well as this you will be issued with a unique reference number in case you need to contact us to cancel the searches or for any other reason relating to the matter.

Payment
When placing orders online you have the added benefit of not having to pay immediately for searches. Instead we will send an invoice and itemised bill for all the searches ordered in the previous calendar month.

Receiving your requests
Once you have placed your order through our website the request is received by us within 30 seconds of you receiving your confirmation. We will begin to process the request on the same day and if we require further information such as a plan or clarification of the property address we will contact you by phone or e-mail. Once the request has been processed all reports will be uploaded onto our website for you to log in and download, if required searches can be posted out via the DX or Royal Mail.

We aim to provide a high standard of service and value your feedback. However, should you need to contact us to make a complaint please direct your comments to

Property Solutions Manager
Northumbrian Water Property Solutions
Boldon House,
Wheatlands Way
Pity Me,
Durham,
DH1 5FA.
DX 717042 Durham 21.

Or Email us propertysolutions@nwl.co.uk

Telephone number: 0370 2417 408

As a minimum standard Northumbrian Water Property Solutions will:

- Listen to you and endeavour to resolve any telephone complaint at the time of your call

- If sent in writing we will acknowledge this to you in writing within 5 working days from receipt

- Where possible your complaint will be responded and dealt with in full within 10 working days

- On occasions if it is a complex issue requiring more investigation time, we will still get back to you within 10 working days and notify you of progress and update you with new timescales.

- If we fail to contact you within 10 working days of your initial complaint, or fail to comply to our complaints procedure you are entitled to £10 compensation.

If your complaint is found to be justified, or we have made any substantive errors that change the outcome in your search result, we will:

- apologise for the mistakes made

- automatically refund your search fee

- provide you with a revised search and

also undertake the necessary action within our control, to put things right as soon as practically possible.

If you are not happy with our initial response please let us know in writing via email or by letter explaining the reasons why you are not satisfied and what action you would like us to take and we will refer the matter to Senior Manager/ Company Director. If you are still not satisfied then you can refer the issue to The Property Ombudsman of which we will co-operate fully. Contact details:

The Property Ombudsman Millford House 43-55 Milford Street Salisbury SP1 2PB Tel: 01722 333306 www.tpos.co.uk

We understand that from time to time you may find it necessary to cancel a search after it has been ordered. As soon as you realised that the search is no longer required, please let us know - email us at propertysolutions@nwl.co.uk or call us on 0370 241 7408 to discuss individual cases.

We will stop working on your search and the order will not be completed or dispatched to you.

Cancellations that are requested on the same working day as the order is submitted to us will not be charged.

Cancellation requests that are requested after one working day or more and have not been completed or returned to you will not be charged.

CON29DW Residential & Commercial Drainage and Water searches which have been completed and returned to you will be charged at full price.