Scottish Water 'goes the extra mile' to ensure people in Berwickshire receive compensation following loss of supply
Hundreds of homes and businesses are entitled to payments of £45...
Last updated 17th Sep 2025
Difficulties accessing online forms is one of the reasons being given for many people failing to claim compensation after a burst pipe left thousands of homes and businesses in Berwickshire without water last month.
But Scottish Water, which has written to all the properties affected, has announced its staff will be going door-to-door in the county over the coming days to help.
An information hub, with staff who can help customers submit a claim, will also be visiting many of the communities affected.
Starting in the car park opposite the High School in Duns on Thursday and Friday this week (September 18th and 19th), it will also visit the primary school in Swinton (Saturday, September 20th); Main Street in Leitholm (Sunday, September 21st); Truck stop in Guards Road, Coldstream (Thursday, September 25th); the Jubilee Memorial in Foulden (Friday, September 26th); Paxton Village Hall (Saturday, September 27th); and A1 at Upper Burnmouth (Sunday, September 28th) - between 9am and 7pm each day.
Kevin Roy, Scottish Water’s General Manager for Customer Excellence and Resilience, said: “We've informed all affected customers of the compensation they might be entitled to and how they can submit a claim to us.
“But only a small number have contacted us so far so we are asking those who haven’t yet to check the letter, get in touch with us, and submit their claim as soon as possible.
“And we are going that extra mile by deploying more than 30 staff to work in these locations across the affected parts of Berwickshire between September 18th and 28th to help them submit compensation claims and so enable us to process their claim and ensure customers are properly compensated for the inconvenience.
“If we miss anyone on our door-to-door calls they can still apply for compensation using the instructions on the letter, going online or by visiting our customer information units. Our dedicated staff will be very happy to help them.”
A fault at Rawburn Water Treatment Works near Longformacus on August 26th affected normal supplies to around 6,000 properties across many parts of Berwickshire - causing loss of water supply, low pressure or intermittent supply and significant disruption and inconvenience.
A do not drink tap water warning was also issued to around 300 properties as a precaution and more than 100,000 bottles of water were distributed to customers until their supplies were restored.
But, as of last week, only around 900 households had applied to Scottish Water for compensation.
The areas affected included Duns, Eccles, Coldingham, Chirnside, Paxton, Coldstream, Burnmouth, Lamberton, Drone Hill, Birgham, Whitsome, Swinton and Leitholm.
A spokesperson for the water company said: "Scottish Water’s letter informed affected customers that, under the company’s Code of Practice, if the water supply is interrupted for more than 12 hours due to an unplanned interruption they might be able to claim a payment.
"The company added that, due to the inconvenience caused - and by way of an apology for the disruption - it is offering a payment of £45, which equates to £30 for the first 12 hours and a further £15 for the additional 12 hours of interruption to supply.
"To receive this payment, customers are asked to contact Scottish Water via [email protected] or www.scottishwater.co.uk/RawburnClaim on the company’s portal and to follow the instructions in the letter."
Scottish Water has stressed it will NOT ask for any customer’s bank details during the visits – and it's urging locals to report any suspicious visitors.
The spokesperson added: "When speaking to customers at their doors or at the information points, we will also be encouraging vulnerable customers to sign up to our Priority Service Register (PSR) so they receive additional appropriate support that might be required in the SW Public General future and to encourage all customers to sign-up for our Text Alert Service for alerts about any issues in the future."
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