Help & Support

At ThamesWey we prioritise emergency maintenance requests.

A heating emergency is;

• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, there is a young infant living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available or;
• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, there is a vulnerable or elderly adult living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available or;
• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, you have signed a vulnerable customer registration form and are living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available.

For other other non-emergency issues including heating issues not covered above, please follow our help and support advice in the first instance, and/or contact us using the forms. We will respond to form submissions during normal working hours.

We prioritise emergency maintenance requests. Our ThamesWey customer service team will ensure that emergency maintenance issues are dealt with before our other non-emergency issues that may be in process. For emergencies that we believe may result in injury or damage to property, we will attend site at the earliest opportunity.

If you have checked that it is an emergency (see ‘What is an Emergency’) and have contacted our customer services team, we will arrange for an emergency engineer to visit your property.

All ThamesWey staff will carry photographic identity cards. If you are unsure about the caller, DO NOT LET THEM IN YOUR PROPERTY. Please call our customer services team to verify the identity of the caller.

If you would like us to discuss providing your visiting engineer with a ‘safe word’ to access the property, please call our customer services team on 0345 601 5515. If you are a vulnerable customer, your request can be added to and returned via the Priority and Vulnerable Customer Registration Form.

If you are not sure if your issue is an emergency, don’t worry. Our customer services team will guide you through a few questions to find out.

We prioritise emergency maintenance requests. Our ThamesWey customer service team will ensure that emergency maintenance issues are dealt with before our other non-emergency issues that may be in process.

An emergency is;

• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, there is a young infant living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available or;
• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, there is a vulnerable or elderly adult living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available or;
• If it is the ‘in heating season’ (winter) or a period of extremely cold weather, you have signed a vulnerable customer registration form and are living in the property and there is no heating or hot water available or;
• If the HIU unit is leaking continuously and the leak cannot be contained.
• If the maintenance issue puts you at risk of an electric shock or injury, such as exposed wiring that is of no fault of your own/ not due to accidental damage.

Firstly, don’t panic! Try our Heating & Hot Water guide below for help on how to solve the issue without a call out. If this does not work, call our ThamesWey customer service team who are available between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday on 0345 601 5515 or at Customers@ThamesWeygroup.co.uk. If you have a heating or hot water emergency outside of these hours, our customer services helpline will automatically divert the call to our Out of Hours emergency call handling contacts that are available outside of office hours.

You will either be directed to an engineer or a future booking made for you depending on the urgency. The engineer will let you know when they will be arriving directly. If the issue has been identified as an emergency by the engineer, they will be back in contact with you on the day that you call and will visit at their earliest availability.

Sudden failure of a HIU is considered unlikely. Where leaks are reported they can typically be contained until a repair can be arranged. Where leaks cannot be contained, engineering support is available.

Please note that if the issue is not an emergency, the maintenance issue may be booked in as soon as an engineer is available within the hours of 8.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

If you experience an electrical outage you should carry out the following checks as the issue may not be with the supply from ThamesWey;

• Check if you have any electricity to your lights and wall sockets. If you have electricity to one or more of these then your property is being supplied and the issue is within the property and you will need to contact a suitably qualified professional (electrician).
• Check your circuit breakers to confirm that they have not been tripped. If they have been tripped then the electrical fault is most likely within your property and you will need to contact a suitably qualified professional (electrician).
• Check if your neighbours are affected. If the whole building is affected please contact ThamesWey on 0345 601 5515 to report the issue.

If you don’t have an energy account number, then you will need to set up an energy account online. This won’t generate an energy account number immediately but it will start the process.

We ask that you fill in the Domestic Supply Contract form and read the documents. By signing the Domestic Supply Contract form, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.

If you are entering the following information correctly:

1) Your Energy Account Number. You can find this on a bill or letter from us and will be clearly identified
2) Your email address – the one you provided when you set up your account and you are still finding it difficult to register, then contact the customer services team using the contact us form.

When you register for a MyEnergy Account you will receive an email from us containing an activation link to create your first password. Please note: this link is only valid for 30 minutes. If your activation link has expired, and you have already registered for a MyEnergy Account, you can still set your first password by clicking the ‘reset my password’ link. This will generate a new email with an activation link.

Before you start, you will need:

Your Energy Account Number. You can find this on a bill or letter from us and will be clearly identified.

Your email address – the one you provided when you set up your account.

Using this information you will follow the steps to Register for MyEnergy portal.

If you don’t have an energy account number, then you will need to set up an energy account online. This won’t generate an energy account number immediately but it will start the process.

Set up but can’t locate your number? Then contact customer services via the contact us form.

My Energy allows you the customer to take control of your energy by managing your account online. You will find everything you need at your fingertips.

My Energy allows you to:

• Gain 24/7 access to your account
• View your energy consumption
• View your bills
• Make payments

MyEnergy is a web portal providing ThamesWey customers with access to their energy account. The portal is provided by our billing provider Ista Energy.

Setting up and paying by direct debit is the simplest way to pay your bills. We have a page dedicated to helping you set one up here.

To ensure that there are no disputes later, we ask for the exact dates that you became responsible for the property. This means;

• The date of the beginning of your tenancy if you are renting or;
• The date that you bought the property if you are the recent owner or;
• The date that you took over responsibility of the property if you are looking after it on somebody else’s behalf or;
• If you are a landlord, the dates between when your previous tenants’ tenancy agreement ended and when your new tenants’ tenancy agreement began (the interim period).

This is unless a management company look after the bills for you.

At times, we may ask for a letter of sale from your solicitor or a tenancy agreement to ensure that we have the necessary details to close your account and avoid billing disputes.

We accept direct debit, bank transfers and card payments. Visit our Ways to Pay Your Energy Bills to find the best one for you.

The supply that you receive from ThamesWey is provided over a Private Wire (electricity) and District Heating (heat) network. This is a private network owned by ThamesWey and does not form a part of the national grid.

Electricity: There is a mechanism to switch suppliers set out in supply regulations. Further information on this process can be found in the Guidance on Third Party Access to ThamesWey Energy Networks document here.

Heat: Your property is supplied heat energy by ThamesWey via a series of insulated pipes. Currently it is not possible to switch heat suppliers.

If you are struggling to pay your bill, it is important that you contact ThamesWey to discuss payment terms.

Failure to pay your bill could lead to suspension of your supply and/or legal action being taken against you for any amounts owed.

We will issue you with a quarterly utility bill which can be delivered via email or by post. Your utility bill is calculated by applying the current tariff to the amount of energy used and the bill will also include fixed charges. Your current tariff can be found by logging into your My Energy account.

If you’re currently a ThamesWey customer and you are moving out, we’ve made it easy for you. Visit our Moving Out page where you will select your property from the list, fill in the form and we’ll get things moving.

Some things that you may need to have in place to complete the process:

• The date your responsibility for the bill ended
• Your forwarding contact details for any final bills and at times other details to ensure that our records are up to date.
• We may ask for your end of tenancy details in writing and may need confirmation from a landlord, managing agent or other secondary contact to ensure that you are only paying for the energy that you are responsible for.

After you have left the property and have supplied us with all of the information, we need to close the account, you will receive your final bill within 6 weeks. On occasion, we will ask for additional information such as the managing agent of your property, an email of agreement from a landlord to show that that they will be paying for the interim bill or a notice of sale. If this is the case, you will receive your bill within 6 weeks after we have received all the necessary information and we will let you know if this is happening within 31 days of receiving notice that you are closing your account with us.

ThamesWey collects automated meter readings, received daily from your electricity meters and monthly from your heat meters.

If you are moving out mid-month, we recommend that you take a reading from your heat meter (which is located within the utility cupboard within your property) on the day that you cease to be responsible for the property. Simply include this when notifying us through our Moving Out page or email this reading to us and we will start the process.

If you don’t have an energy account number, then you will need to set up an energy account online. This won’t generate an energy account number immediately but it will start the process.

We ask that you fill in the Domestic Supply Contract form and read the documents. By signing the Domestic Supply Contract form, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.

At ThamesWey, we aim to update our system within 15 days of receiving all the information we need to set up your account.

If you do not have a UK registered telephone number, please email customers@thamesweygroup.co.uk or call our customer services team on 0345 601 5515.

ThamesWey aim to provide heat to your property all day, every day. You can, of course, choose to turn this down or off at any point using your thermostat and/or programmer. If the heat supplied through the HIU or Plant Room heating system (if applicable) is not available for your use and no maintenance work has been planned, please look at the advice and guides in this Help & Support section. If that doesn’t work then give our Customer Service Team a call on 0345 601 5515 and we will advise on how to get this up and running.

We produce the energy locally in our Energy Centre and then supply each property with heat and hot water through a network of pipes which make up our District Heating Network. As the heat and energy production is centralised it means that individual properties do not need individual gas boilers.

Within every home an HIU (heat interface unit) delivers the heating and hot water, allowing the temperature to be adjusted and for each home to be metered for its own heat and hot water use.

Within every home an HIU (heat interface unit) delivers the heating and hot water, allowing the temperature to be adjusted and for each home to be metered for its own heat and hot water use.

HIUs are designed to provide hot water to your taps and heating to your radiators on demand by use of the standard timer controls, like those you would find on any heating system.

Secondary water temperatures have been set by our installers to a standard 52 degrees C.

We do not recommend that this is increased or decreased to ensure that;

• You are not wasting energy and
• Your hot water is never too hot to use
All HIUs operated by ThamesWey Energy work in the same way, even though some may have a different appearance or method of installation. Your HIU may have a casing, which allows you to see inside the HIU or the casing may be secured to the unit.
• Typically, the HIU will be installed in a utility cupboard either inside or just outside your property
• The pipes supplying and within the HIU may be hot: you should always avoid touching them
• You should not under any circumstances alter the settings of internal valves, fixtures or fittings and always maintain free, unobstructed access to the HIU.

You should use your thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to control the temperature of each radiator. Areas of your property which are not occupied frequently should be set lower than those which are occupied more frequently to ensure that you are not over heating a room not in use.

TRVs will have a simple temperature scale, typically based on numbers ranging from 0 to 6. If set to 0, the radiator will be isolated from the heating system. In the event all the radiators are set to the 0 setting and the heating system is switched on, this may have an impact on the supply of hot water to your property.

Therefore, we recommend that in rooms you do not wish to heat, the TRV is set to either 1 or the * symbol to allow a small flow when the heating system is on.

Your programmer/timer or programmable room thermostat will be a small box mounted on a wall with a digital display and push button controls. A user manual will be provided to each property at the time of installation. Should you not have a user manual, these can be downloaded using the links below:

• Danfoss TP4000 User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss TS715 Si User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss TP5000 Si User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss WT-D Digital User Instructions.pdf

The programmer/timer works in much the same way as those for a conventional gas boiler heating and hot water system. You will be required to set the time and date on the programmer before you start using it. The default settings are set to standard ‘on’ and ‘off’ times.

You should set your central heating ‘on’ and ‘off’ times to suit your lifestyle to avoid heating your property when you do not need to.

Your heating and hot water system has been designed to operate very efficiently with minimal potential for anything to go wrong if correctly used. We recommend that you test the heating system by turning on for a few minutes every month to ensure that it is functioning as expected. Any issues can then be addressed prior to the peak heating season, allowing you to enjoy your heating when you need it most.

If you are experiencing an issue with the hot water or heating in your property, the following checks should be made before you contact us. Please check:

• That your HIU electrical supply is switched on at the wall (in the utility cupboard there is an on/off switch on the wall next to your HIU)
• That you are receiving electricity to the property and that your consumer unit circuit breaker for the HIU supply is switched on.
• That your programmer/timer or programmable thermostat is working (if the display is blank it may be necessary to replace the batteries installed in the device).
• The TRVs are open to at least setting 1 or the * symbol
• That you have a supply of cold water (should you not have a cold-water supply then you will also not receive hot water. ThamesWey do not supply the cold water to your property, you will need to contact the building landlord or managing agent).

As with any system, you may occasionally experience a problem, or you may notice that your system is not operating as you believe it should. Do not worry, ThamesWey customer services are on hand to help you with any issues you may have, and where necessary, can arrange for an engineer to visit your home.

Please note that if ThamesWey find evidence that the HIU has been tampered with or damaged by you or someone acting on your behalf, you may be liable to pay costs associated with repairing the HIU.

Should you still experience issues after checking the above, please contact ThamesWey customer services on 0345 601 5515.

On a district heating network, heating and hot water from a local energy centre is delivered to homes and businesses through a network of insulated pipes. On a communal heating network the energy centre is within the same building that uses the heat, whereas district heating generally distributes to more than one building. Both are types of heat networks.

The key difference between heat networks and a conventional heating system is that there is no need to have a separate boiler in each home. Repairs and maintenance of the local energy centre are also taken care of by the heat energy supplier.

Heat networks can operate with a range of fuel sources including gas, renewable heat (e.g. biomass) and even waste heat (e.g. from a factory).

Using a heat network to heat homes can lower costs and also lower carbon emissions.

Modern heat networks are fitted with heat interface units (HIU) and heating controls, so that each customer has as much control as they would experience with an individual boiler – from setting the temperature, to metering their individual usage.

If you are experiencing an issue with the hot water or heating in your property, the following checks should be made before you contact us. Please check:

• That your HIU electrical supply is switched on at the wall (in the utility cupboard there is an on/off switch on the wall next to your HIU)
• That you are receiving electricity to the property and that your consumer unit circuit breaker for the HIU supply is switched on.
• That your programmer/timer or programmable thermostat is working (if the display is blank it may be necessary to replace the batteries installed in the device).
• The TRVs are open to at least setting 1 or the * symbol
• That you have a supply of cold water (should you not have a cold-water supply then you will also not receive hot water. ThamesWey do not supply the cold water to your property, you will need to contact the building landlord or managing agent).

As with any system, you may occasionally experience a problem, or you may notice that your system is not operating as you believe it should. Do not worry, ThamesWey customer services are on hand to help you with any issues you may have, and where necessary, can arrange for an engineer to visit your home.

Please note that if ThamesWey find evidence that the HIU has been tampered with or damaged by you or someone acting on your behalf, you may be liable to pay costs associated with repairing the HIU.

Should you still experience issues after checking the above, please contact ThamesWey customer services on 0345 601 5515.

Firstly, don’t panic! Try our Maintenance Guide for how to solve the issue without a call out. If this does not work, and your issue meets the emergency category (see, ‘What is an emergency?’ in the Emergencies section) then call our usual Customer Service number on 0345 601 5515 and your call will be diverted to our out of hours call handling service. They are available from 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

If the issue does not meet the emergency category please visit our Report a Fault page and using the form report your issue. The customer services team will then pick up on the next working day.

In the first instance, please call us on 0345 601 5515 and advise us of what has occurred. If damage has been caused by customer misuse or accidental damage, or if the products are outside of their warranty periods, you may be liable for the cost of replacement. We will send you a quotation that shows the complete cost and we assure customers that the cost of the HIU unit will be sold to you at cost price. The quotation will also include the labour required for the engineering works and additional materials necessary. Further information can be found in your Standard Terms and Conditions.

Unless the issue is an emergency or if you have asked for us to attend as soon as possible, we will give you at least 48 hours’ notice that an engineer will be attending. The engineers for non-emergencies are available Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Our engineers have had great training and are polite, courteous, respectful and helpful. They will explain the reason for their visit and what they will be working on. They are very knowledgeable on the systems that they are fixing and will let you know any next steps if they need to collect parts or if any further visits are needed. Our engineers all have a photo ID card which they will show you. If you have requested for the engineer to greet you with a ‘safe word’ or agreed password, they will greet you with this.

Your meter readings are automatically recorded by your meter and sent to us electronically. This enables ThamesWey to bill customers for the actual energy they consume. The meter readings that are obtained are viewable via your MyEnergy portal.

Should you wish to read your meters then these can typically be found in the following locations;

Electricity: the meter will be located in a building riser cupboard. To access this meter you may need to contact the buildings concierge or management.

Heat: the meter will usually be located in a utility cupboard either inside or just outside the property.

Use the links below to download our thermostat guides:

• Danfoss TP4000 User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss TS715 Si User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss TP5000 Si User Instructions.pdf
• Danfoss WT-D Digital User Instructions.pdf

HIUs are designed to provide hot water to your taps and heating to your radiators on demand by use of the standard timer controls, like those you would find on any heating system.

Secondary water temperatures have been set by our installers to a standard 52oC.

We do not recommend that this is increased or decreased to ensure that;

• You are not wasting energy and
• Your hot water is never too hot to use
All HIUs operated by ThamesWey Energy work in the same way, even though some may have a different appearance or method of installation. Your HIU may have a casing, which allows you to see inside the HIU or the casing may be secured to the unit.
• Typically, the HIU will be installed in a utility cupboard either inside or just outside your property
• The pipes supplying and within the HIU may be hot: you should always avoid touching them
• You should not under any circumstances alter the settings of internal valves, fixtures or fittings. Always maintain free, unobstructed access to the HIU.

Your home is equipped with the controls you should need to use your heating system and hot water supply. To ensure you are using your heating and hot water system efficiently (and not using more energy than you need) you should be aware of the controls you have, how they work and how best to use them to suit your needs.

Your property will be equipped with either;

• Central Heating programmable room thermostat, thermostatic radiator valves (installed on each radiator), or
• Central Heating programmer/timer, thermostatic radiator valves (installed on each radiator)
You should use your thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to control the temperature of each radiator. Areas of your property which are not occupied frequently should be set lower than those which are occupied more frequently to ensure that you are not over heating a room not in use.

TRVs will have a simple temperature scale, typically based on numbers ranging from 0 to 6. If set to 0, the radiator will be isolated from the heating system. In the event all the radiators are set to the 0 setting and the heating system is switched on, this may have an impact on the supply of hot water to your property.

Therefore, we recommend that in rooms you do not wish to heat, the TRV is set to either 1 or the * symbol to allow a small flow when the heating system is on.

Your programmer/timer or programmable room thermostat will be a small box mounted on a wall with a digital display and push button controls. A user manual will be provided to each property at the time of installation. Should you not have a user manual, you can download the thermostat guides from our website.

The programmer/timer works in much the same way as those for a conventional gas boiler heating and hot water system. You will be required to set the time and date on the programmer before you start using it. The default settings are set to standard ‘on’ and ‘off’ times.

You should set your central heating ‘on’ and ‘off’ times to suit your lifestyle to avoid heating your property when you do not need to.

Ways that you can save energy;

• Turn Your Thermostat Down; Simply reducing your thermostat temperature setting by 1C could save you £’s per year. This is an easy way to lower your bill without noticing a difference in your heating.
• Understand Your Heating System; We advise that you take some time to learn how your heating system works. Familiarise yourself with all the controls so your heating is used in the most cost-effective way. For example, an average home takes 30 minutes to cool down (longer in a well-insulated property), so consider turning off the heating half an hour before bedtime.
• Move Furniture Away from Radiators; The foam in upholstered furniture absorbs heat, which will prevent the rest of the room warming up.
• Manage Temperature; Lower your heating bills by keeping the temperature of your home between 18C and 21C;
• Don’t Dry Clothes on Radiators; Drying your washing on radiators makes your heating system work harder. This wastes energy and causes condensation, which can lead to damp problems.
• Turn off any unused electrical devices and sockets; Leaving devices in standby mode will consume electricity.

It is important that you contact ThamesWey in the first instance should you experience any issues paying your energy bills. Our credit control team can discuss with you your circumstances and work with you to agree a sustainable payment plan.

If you have other debts we recommend that you contact a registered debt advisory service to access any available financial assistance.

Private wire systems are localised electricity grids connected to the local distribution networks but linked to privately-owned central plant which produces electricity.

On a district heating network, heating and hot water from a local energy centre is delivered to homes and businesses through a network of insulated pipes. On a communal heating network the energy centre is within the same building that uses the heat, whereas district heating generally distributes to more than one building. Both are types of heat networks.

The key difference between heat networks and a conventional heating system is that there is no need to have a separate boiler in each home. Repairs and maintenance of the local energy centre are also taken care of by the heat energy supplier.

Heat networks can operate with a range of fuel sources including gas, renewable heat (e.g. biomass) and even waste heat (e.g. from a factory).

Using a heat network to heat homes can lower costs and also lower carbon emissions.

Modern heat networks are fitted with heat interface units (HIU) and heating controls, so that each customer has as much control as they would experience with an individual boiler – from setting the temperature, to metering their individual usage.

ThamesWey are aware that some of our domestic energy customers may require a little extra help. Additional services are available for people living in properties we supply who are of a pensionable age, have a disability or are chronically sick, blind, deaf or depend on electricity for medical reasons.

The Priority & Vulnerable Customer Register (PVCR) is a scheme offered by ThamesWey to provide certain free services to people who need extra help. These include:

• Protection from cold callers with a password protection and identity card scheme.
• Bills in talking braille or large print if you’re blind or your sight is impaired.
• Arrangements for your bills to be sent or copied to someone else, such as a carer, who can help you read and check them.

Please see the question below for details of how to apply to be added to the register.

Customers can apply to be added to the The Priority & Vulnerable Customer Register by completing the online ThamesWey Priority Services Register Form.

Alternatively you can use the link below to download this form which you can then print, fill out and return to us by post:

• Download ThamesWey Priority Services Registration Form

If you require any further assistance, please contact us or call our Customer Services team on 0345 601 5515.

If you would like to authorise someone to speak to ThamesWey on your behalf, please complete the online Letter of Authority Form.

Alternatively you can use the link below to download this form which you can then print, fill out and return to us by post:

• Download Letter of Authority Form

If you require any further assistance, please contact us or call our Customer Services team on 0345 601 5515.

The most efficient way to contact us is via our contact form and, if it’s during business hours, we’ll be in touch with you very soon.

For urgent issues, please call us on 0345 601 5515. Our emergency lines are open 24/7.