An emergency repair is something that needs to be fixed straight away, and to not deal with the issue could cause significant harm or death of a tenant, leaseholder of neighbour, as well as significant damage to the property or an adjoining property.
What to do in an emergency
| Emergency | Action to take |
|---|---|
| Gas leak | Leave the building, leaving windows and doors open, and phone Wales & West Utilities on 0800 111 999. |
| Carbon monoxide alarm | Leave the building, leaving windows and doors open. If there is any doubt of carbon monoxide poisoning, go to your accident and emergency department straight away. Report the incident to Barcud on 0300 111 3030. |
| Blocked drains | If the blockage is in a shared drain, serving more than one dwelling, contact your supplier: Welsh Water on 0800 085 3968 or Hafren Dyfrdwy on 0800 085 8033. If it’s a blocked toilet or sink, and you have another, this is not deemed to be an emergency. If it can wait until the morning, call Barcud in the morning. |
| Locked out | Ring a local locksmith if you have lost your keys. Ring Barcud if it’s a broken lock. |
| Boiler not working | Check that you have gas or oil, and that the gas or oil valve lever is turned on at the meter. Check the room thermostat — what happens if it’s turned up? Are the radiator valves closed? Turn those and wait for half an hour to check if there’s any heat. If it is after 5:00pm, ring Barcud on 0300 111 3030 in the morning. |
| No electricity | Check whether you have credit on the meter. Check the consumer unit — has one of the fuses tripped? If so, check which circuit it is, turn off all appliances, re-set the trip switch, then turn appliances on one by one to identify which appliance is faulty. Ring Western Power on 0800 096 3080 or Scottish Power on 0800 027 0072 to check that there is no power cut in your area. Ring Barcud on 0300 111 3030 in the morning. |
| All other issues | Ring Barcud on 0300 111 3030 in the morning after 9:00am. |
Vulnerable tenants
Here at Barcud, we are aware that some tenants may not be able to carry out the checks and actions requested when contacting our Out of Hours service due to a health condition, a physical or sensory impairment, a mental health illness, or other forms of disability.
We wish to assure our tenants that your health, safety, security and wellbeing are important to us, and that we will make every effort to help you.
People can be vulnerable at different times and for different reasons. For example, someone could be healthy and then fall and break their leg, which would make them vulnerable for a period until they recover. Others may have a condition that is more permanent and would be vulnerable all the time, for example, those who:
- have a physical or sensory impairment
- have a learning impairment
- have mental health issues
- are seriously ill
Others might have age-related ailments, be pregnant, or be families with young children.
When would we undertake an out of hours call?
- When there is a serious flood, after you’ve rung the emergency services on 999, then ring Barcud.
- When there is a fire, after you’ve rung the emergency services on 999, then ring Barcud.
- In some circumstances where the tenant is vulnerable, and the extent of the emergency requires an immediate visit, otherwise if left until the morning, this could result in injury or even the death of a tenant.
- If a vulnerable tenant loses their electricity supply at 5:00pm and has no means of checking the consumer unit for any tripped fuses. If there are tripped fuses owing to a faulty appliance, the tenant may still be liable for any costs associated with a faulty appliance.
When would we not undertake an out of hours call?
- When it’s 8:00pm and the heating has gone off.
- When it’s 10:00pm and the electricity has gone off.
- When someone has run out of credit on their meter, or for any other maintenance issue that could be dealt with the following day.
- Fewer than six slates blown off a roof during a storm. For health and safety reasons, we would not expect our colleagues to go onto a roof during a storm or in darkness. Such calls would be dealt with the following day, or once the storm has subsided, unless they could pose a danger to the public. In that case, the emergency services need to be called.
Rechargeable repairs
The cost of getting a tradesperson out outside of normal working hours could be up to four times the cost of undertaking repairs during normal working hours. If someone locks themselves out, for example, we recommend an emergency locksmith, as this could be cheaper than being recharged by Barcud.
If a tradesperson is called out during an evening or weekend to a call that could be done during the following working day, the tenant could be charged for the additional costs incurred to undertake these works during these premium periods. For full details of when you could be recharged, please refer to our Rechargeable Repairs Policy.