www.depher.co.uk
D.E.P.H.E.R
Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Repair
Common Interest Community Company
C.I.C
www.northernplumbingandheating.co.uk
Free Plumbing and Heating Repairs
for the Elderly and Disabled
Hello all
My name is James Anderson as most of you will know and i am a heating engineer/plumber.
I own Northern plumbing which is from Burnley in Lancashire.
We have many customers that we have created a good friendship with personally and professionally.
I launched DEPHER last year because i was seeing the elderly and disabled in our town being left to struggle with the cost of Plumbing and Heating repairs that in most cases they could not afford to pay for.
These people were struggling with their health and/or disability as well as the prospect of old age taking a toll on their day to day mobility.
With very little help from the local and national governments they battle on and do the best they can, when they can with what they have.
In most cases they can go without heating or hot water and even without food or electric, these are things that we do take for granted because we are able to be mobile and without any disability are also able to work to earn the extra that we may need in an emergency.
DEPHER delivers a lifeline to these people so they can stop worrying about having enough money for food or gas and electricity, it is not that they want it for free or even ask for a free service, it is because i believe they deserve this service.
We will continue to push this and advertise this service to the elderly and disabled in our town, hopefully to every other town and city in the UK.
So please understand that this is for them, the vulnerable members of our family and community and together we can create a better town, a better city, a better community.
I am hoping to introduce the same service to LOW INCOME and SINGLE PARENT families before the end of the year.
This will give you all access to Reduced rates for plumbing and heating services including BOILERS and BATHROOMS, this is so you can save funds and use this money towards rents, mortgage, holidays, your children's future and any surprising bills that may come in.
I will be shuffling Northern plumbing and heating in the future and making it a community owned business so in reality you will be able to own shares within the company, this will give you a sense of pride in your town and community and also even lower maintenance and emergency costs.
The future is looking a lot brighter and i do hope that you join us and follow us on the journey, together we can create a better world.
Thank you for reading
The funds that are raised for DEPHER will be used to purchase materials and pay for the cost of travel and insurance,also we need to advertise this project in every city in the uk and this may not be achievable without your help.
The more we advertise to make people aware the better chance we have to getting to the people that need this before its too late for them.
We will contact local plumbers and heating engineers in all the towns and cities and ask them to help with, we will still need to cover insurance and fuel costs that they pay out, they will be asked to give their time for free or at a lower rate.
The safety of our elderly and disabled relies on funding and kindness, without it we may not be able to get to everyone that needs this lifeline.
From when this started in March 2017 we have helped over 90 people and familes with donations from the public and from ourselves at northern plumbing and heating ltd.
With this i know that we could make a difference to at least some of the 16.5 million registered elderly and disabled people in the uk and hopefully one day with your help them all.
We are very passionate about what we do and how we deliver this project, the residents that we help are in much need of support from organisations such as ourselves.
Our Contact Numbers are
01282 700102 or 07708620678
DEPHER will soon be introducing a national 0800 free phone number and we are advertising this community initiative in every city using social media and leaflets to get the message to everyone that needs this lifeline.
The calls come to a central office based in Burnley, Lancashire and we contact the local plumber or heating engineer in their area, the engineer then visits the resident and repairs the problem with materials coming from City Plumbing Supplies if any are needed.
Once the repair is carried out then we cover the cost of any materials used and fuel/insurance that the engineer or plumber may use.
The labour is free as the engineers and plumbers have given there time for free, if in any case there is a charge for labour ( only in extreme cases) then this will be negotiated at a low rate so we can keep the cost of fundings used to a minimum.
HOW D.E.P.H.E.R STARTED.................................... MY STORY
Over 12 months ago i received a call from an elderly man.
He had no heating or hot water and he was bed bound and worried about his health.
The property was a terraced home and kept in a good condition and tidy with the help of health visitors and home helps.
On arriving i was confronted with a nice man who could not move all that well and had to enter the property through him shouting " come in " .
The elderly man had a company out to check his heating and water as he said it was not working.
"YOU WILL NOT BELIVE WHAT HAPPENED"
So after introducing myself i commenced with the task of establishing what the problem could be.
He said that since the other company came the water had stopped completely and the radiator in the kitchen was banging loudly, i firstly looked at the radiator and found that the thermostatic valve was opened slightly and was humming.
The valve on the other end was turned down so the pressure was speeded up going into the radiator, it was set in place to stop the radiator working and to make it sound like a low banging noise.
I removed the valve and checked the pin and got the radiator working fully again?.
I then asked about the water and was told that no water was coming from the taps at all.
The water was a copper tank feed so in reality there should be water, even if it is cold there should be at least 60 gallons in storage.
I went to the tap in the kitchen and there was no water at all??.
I asked permission to go upstairs to have a look at the tank and was told by the customer this was fine.
THE CUSTOMER THEN SAID, THE OTHER COMPANY ADVISED IT WOULD COST HIM £5000+ TO HAVE A NEW BOILER PUT IN BECAUSE THIS ONE WAS NO GOOD ANYMORE.
I told him i would see what i could do first then we could talk about any help he could receive.
I went upstairs and checked the tank and it was full of water and so was the cold water storage tank that fed the water cylinder.
I opened the taps and no hot water came out in the bathroom??.
I then thought it could be an air block so i connected a small hose from the cold to the hot tap so i could feed cold water into the hot pipes and tested it.
This did not work as cold water went into the tank??.
I stood there for 5 minutes scratching my head and tried to think about the problem and a solution.
I got a pair of ladders and checked the cold water tank that feeds the hot water cylinder and at first it looked full, i thought " this is very strange " .
I then put my hand in to feel for any blockages and foung a MAGAZINE pushed into the hole to stop the hot water feed?????.
THE MAGAZINE WAS PRETTY NEW ???
I was mortified that this could happen and was really upset for the customer.
So with this problem now solved i fired up the boiler and got the heating and hot water working in half an hour.
The customer was over the moon and crying as he did not have the finances and time to replace the boiler or anything else that he got told he had to.
I gave him the invoice at the end with a full discount because i knew he was struggling and he deserved to be treated with respect and deserved it.
They even charged him £170.00 for the visit and the wrong advice.
What would you do it this was your grandparent or parent.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL
This is my story of how DEPHER came about.
As a community we all need to come together to help all our vulnerable residents and neighbours, together we can make a difference to someone that needs the support.
Our leaflets that get delivered every month in lancashire, 1000 a month.
Once this is established these will be delivered nationwide.
We have helped over 90 customers with free repairs and materials through this winter, imagine how many we could help in every city in the uk through winter and throughout the year.
How will this grow and work may you ask.
With our commitment and the support of our communities and buisnisess we can make it bigger and stronger.
We now have our funding partner aboard :
peoples energy company Ltd
The customer above has had a boiler fitted under DEPHER, as his and his mothers boiler was not repairable.
7 weeks without heating and hot water they then contacted us and we worked with the landlord to get the boiler installed and keeping them safe as well as warm.
The tennant was going to get a loan to install a new boiler because he did not want his mother to suffer no more, we did not accept that as a solution and worked closely with the local council and the landlord to get them a new boiler.
We are gas safe registered and fully qualified in our trade with over 20 years experiance.
Fully insured and protected with our public liability partener.
Can you do anything that can help?
If you do then please contact us on the numbers below or by email, any idea will be great.
01282 700102
07708620678