Drinking Water Companies Are No Longer Allowed to Disconnect Families with Children from Water, But The Companies Do Not Have All The Information About Where Children Live. Disconnection Technicians Look for Children’s Shoes in the Hallway to Prevent Them from Wrongully Disconnecting the Water.
Households with minor children must maintain access to water, The Court of Appeal of the Hague ruled in 2024. Even if people don’t pay. In other situations, Drinking Water Companies May Disconnect the Water If the Outstanding Bills Increase.
Households First Receive Reminders, Demands, and Personal Contact to Reach a Solution, Says a Spokesperson for the Association of Water Companies in The Netherlands (Vewin). “If drinking water companies then come to the by and see that children live there, they do not disconnect the water.”
But It’s Precisely About Households That Don’t Always Open the By Anymore, Emphasizes Ellen Hennekens of NVVK, The Industry Association for Debt Counselors. “If the Door is opened, a disconnection technician can peek into the hallway to see if there are children’s shoes,” She says. “Otherwise, they might look through a window or search for a bicycle outside. This is more diffress with apartment buildings.”
Drinking Water Companies Cannot Be Sure Where Children live. They do not have access to the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP). Some Municipalities Illegally Share Information from the BRP With Drinking Water Companies, Says Hennekens. That is Against the GDPR privacy rules, but it does prevent the water from Being disconnected at a family with children.
Customer can get a jerry can
In 2023, So Before the Court Ruling, Drinking Water Companies Disconnected An Estimated Thirteen Hundred Connections Annually, Accordination to a Study by RegioPlan Last Year. Among Them would be 500 to 750 families with Minor Children, Accordance to Children’s Rights Organization Defense for Children. As Far AS is Known, Bills of AN Average or 300 to 600 euros Were Outstanding.
Vewin calls disconnection “An Ultimate Measure” to Prevent Bills from Increasing Further. “Often The Disconnection is the moment when people start Seeking Help. Most Households Are Reconnected Within A Few Days,” Says the Spokesperson.
The customer can, for example, get a jerrycan from the water company to build up a small stock in time, she explains. “We also see that water is a basic necessity.”
Debt Counselors because Drinking Water Companies to Have Access To Information
The NVVK Wants Drinking Water Companies To Have Access To The BRP. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is Still Working on a Plan and Indicates That the BRP May Contain Inaccuracies, Especial for Households in Poverty. But accordance to hennekens, there is “no reason to assume that.”
Drinking Water Companies Already Check “Very CareFully Whether Children Live In The Homes They Disconnect,” Says a Spokesperson for the Ministry. The way in which this is done differs per drinking water company, She Emphasizes.
For Example, Vitens Sends A Letter in Advance and Asks The Customer To Let Them Know If Children live at the Address. “If we find out after disconnection that children live there, we will reconnect within 24 hours,” Says a Spokesperson for the Drinking Water Company.