Our team of water experts can answer any questions you may have about switching supplier. Just fill out the form below and we'll get back to you with some sound advice at the very least.
If your non‐domestic premises is receiving services from Scottish Water, you need to pay for those services through a Licensed Provider. A Gap Site is where a premises is receiving services and has not been registered correctly. The Scottish water industry ‘Market Code’ describes a Gap Site as:
“any Eligible Premises which is in receipt of Water Services and/or Sewerage Services where no Supply Points are Registered in relation to such Eligible Premises in the Supply Point Register”
‘Pure Utilities’ is a trading name of ‘Pure (CGV) Limited’ (Company registration number 09548345). We incorporated 17-Apr-2015 and entered the Scottish water market on 26-Feb-2016, after our license was granted by the industry regulator ‘Water Industry Commission for Scotland’ (WICS).
The ‘Water Industry Commission for Scotland’ (WICS) is the regulator for all water and Waste Water services in Scotland, including domestic and non-domestic premises. Their website is www.watercommission.co.uk
The ‘Rateable Value’ (RV) of your premises is determined by your local Assessors’ office. The RV, along with other details about the premises is then published on the ‘Scottish Assessors Association’ website.
The ‘Scottish Assessors Association’ (SAA) works with the various Assessors’ offices throughout Scotland. They publish the details of non-domestic properties on their website www.saa.gov.uk
Each individual entry on the SAA website is deemed to be a separate Premises. Premises listed as non-domestic on the SAA website that receive any Scottish Water services require a ‘Supply Point ID’, in the ‘Supply Point Register’.
You can find the listing for your premises by using the various search functions on their website.
A ‘Supply Point ID’ (commonly known as a ‘SPID’) is a unique 12-digit reference used within the water industry to identify specific services, at a specific premises.
Premises can have a SPID for Water Services (if received) and a separate SPID for Sewer Services, such as Waste Water, Property Drainage, and Roads Drainage (if received).
Before a SPID is registered in the ‘Supply Point Register’, Scottish Water will confirm which services are applicable to the Gap Site. This will consist of either:
A site visit may also include a meter feasibility test. Remote desktop surveys are used when Scottish Water consider a site visit is not required.
If your premises benefits from a Mains Water supply, it is the preference of Scottish Water and Scottish Government to install a meter wherever possible. Through the Gap Site process the meter is installed free of charge and ensures that any charges are based on actual consumption through the meter. Alternatively you will be charged based on the Rateable Value (RV) of your premises, which has the potential to be disproportionate to the amount of water actually used.
Scottish Water operate an internal Gap Site identification project and issue letters to Gap Sites, requesting occupiers to choose a Licensed Provider within 15 Business Days. If no Provider is selected within the time-frame, Scottish Water allocates a Provider to the site automatically.
When PURE identifies a Gap Site, we are duty-bound to report it to Scottish Water. Occasionally, an occupier will be contacted by Scottish Water and PURE at the same time, as these two processes are independent of each other.
In such scenario the customer may still choose a Provider, but should inform PURE of their decision at the earliest opportunity, to prevent registration errors.
A ‘Deemed Contract’ is where no formal agreement has been made between the Customer and their Licensed Provider of the premises. Under Scottish Law, Customers under a Deemed Contract are required to pay for services they receive.
You may be on a deemed contract if:
Further information on Deemed Contracts can be found on the WICS website here
Yes, but limitations apply in certain situations. Under market rules:
A request should be made to your chosen Provider to submit a Transfer Request to the current Licensed Provider of the premises. You will be billed up to the agreed transfer date by your current Provider.