Subject: Re: Welsh Water - Mail reference: 92994223/01
From: Sion Buckler
Direction: sent
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:35 UTC
Institution: Dwr Cymru Welsh Water
Refs: 92994223/01
Archive id: gm-1a068fc03c051fa6
------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel,

Thank you for your detailed response and for carrying out the further
searches.

I appreciate your confirmation that searches have been undertaken across
the available operating systems, including customer registration and
billing records and records relating to site visits and supply adjustments
or alterations.

Your response does, however, raise some further questions which I would be
grateful if you could clarify.

Most importantly, you state that following the migration to the current
billing systems in 2015:

“historical call notes, emails, webforms and other communications that may
previously have been associated with a customer or property account, were
not transferred and are therefore no longer available through our current
operating systems.”

This appears to establish that historical records of precisely the type I
am seeking may previously have existed, but were not migrated to the
current systems.

I am therefore not asking Welsh Water to speculate about what happened in
1988. I am asking whether there is any surviving documentary record
concerning the historical records themselves and their subsequent disposal
or migration.

Could you please clarify the following:

   1. *Pre-2015 records*

Were records relating to Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough held on any
legacy customer, property, works, engineering or billing system before the
2015 migration?

   2. *2015 migration*

Were historical records excluded from migration because they had already
reached their retention period, or were they excluded irrespective of their
age?

In particular, was there a defined cut-off date or retention rule
determining which historic property/account records were migrated?

   3. *Disposal*

If historic records relating to the property were destroyed or deleted
rather than migrated, is there any surviving disposal schedule, destruction
log, system-retirement record, data migration specification, audit record
or other documentation showing what categories of historical records were
removed?

   4. *Property records*

You state that you have been unable to identify surviving archived indexes,
work orders, engineer reports or other records relating to the property.

Could you please confirm whether these categories of records were
historically maintained separately from the customer billing/account
system, and whether searches were made for legacy engineering or works
records using the property name, rather than solely a modern customer
account number?

   5. *1988 supply alteration/disconnection*

I am particularly interested in whether the records show any historic
supply alteration, disconnection, meter removal, site visit, engineer
attendance, works order or instruction concerning Great House Farm during
1987–1989.

If no such records survive, please confirm whether this means:

a) no such record was ever created;
b) such records were created but subsequently destroyed under the
applicable retention policy; or
c) it is impossible to determine which of those possibilities applies
because the relevant historic records are no longer available.

   6. *Historical property/account identifiers*

If your systems retain any historic property reference, account number,
supply point reference, meter reference, works reference or other
identifier associated with Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), I would be grateful
if you could provide it. Even if the underlying records no longer survive,
such an identifier could assist in tracing the historic record elsewhere.

   7. *Records predating the current systems*

Finally, could you please confirm whether Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water has any
central archive, historical records repository or retained legacy data from
before the 2015 system migration, and whether the searches undertaken
included those holdings?

I appreciate your statement that you cannot confirm what happened in 1988
where no records remain. I am not asking you to make such a determination
without evidence.

Rather, I am trying to establish the documentary chain: whether a record
existed, where it was held, whether it survived the transition to the
current systems, and, if not, what happened to it.

Your response has provided useful information in that respect, particularly
the confirmation that historical communications associated with
property/customer accounts were not transferred during the 2015 migration.

I would therefore be grateful if the above points could be answered so that
I can accurately record the extent and limitations of the surviving Welsh
Water records.

With regard to the £20 Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment, thank you. I am
happy to provide a forwarding address for that separately if required;
acceptance of that payment should not be taken as resolving or withdrawing
my substantive request for clarification concerning the historical records.

Regards,


Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)

Royal Signals Cyber/Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

On Thu, 3 Sept 2026, 11:59 CustomerCareTeam, <[email redacted]>
wrote:

> Mail reference: 92994223/01
>
>
>
> Your email of: 13th August 2026
>
>
>
>
>
> Hello Sion,
>
>
>
> Thank you for your email in which you request a further review of any
> records relating to Great House Farm (Ty Mawr) and the disconnection which
> you believe took place during the 1980s.
>
>
>
> I can see that our Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) team responded to
> your previous email on 13 August 2026 and advised that we hold no records
> relating either to yourself or the property in question.
>
>
>
> *My Review*
>
>
>
> I appreciate that your latest enquiry is intended to establish the
> circumstances surrounding the water supply to Great House Farm (Ty Mawr) in
> 1988, rather than seeking access to your personal data.
>
>
>
> As previously advised, we have been unable to locate any records relating
> to the property following the searches undertaken. Our enquiries indicate
> that the property was demolished during the 1980s and any operational,
> customer or property records that may once have existed would fall well
> outside our retention periods and are no longer held.
>
>
>
> As we do not hold any surviving records relating to the property, we are
> unable to confirm whether any request was made to disconnect the supply,
> who may have made such a request, whether supporting authority was
> provided, whether works were undertaken, or whether any associated
> correspondence or operational records were created.
>
>
>
> Equally, we have been unable to identify any surviving archived indexes,
> work orders, engineer reports or other records relating to the property. As
> no records have been located, we cannot provide further information
> regarding the circumstances of any destruction beyond confirming that
> records are retained in accordance with applicable retention schedules and
> legal requirements.
>
>
>
> Whilst I appreciate this may be disappointing; Welsh Water can only
> provide information that is currently held. We are unable to speculate on
> events or actions that may have occurred where no records remain available
> to verify them.
>
>
>
> In response to your request for clarification regarding our retention
> periods, these vary depending on the type of data or information held. For
> example, telephone recordings are retained for 12 months, whereas account
> notes may be retained for significantly longer periods depending on the
> nature of the information.
>
>
>
> We are generally required to retain customer correspondence for between
> six and seven years. During this period, correspondence may remain
> accessible through a customer's online account before it expires and is
> removed in line with the relevant retention schedule.
>
>
>
> That said, following the migration to our current billing systems in 2015,
> historical call notes, emails, webforms and other communications that may
> previously have been associated with a customer or property account, were
> not transferred and are therefore no longer available through our current
> operating systems.
>
>
>
> *Outcome*
>
>
>
> I am sorry that we have been unable to provide the information you
> requested regarding the property and any actions that may have been taken
> in 1988. However, using the details provided, our DSAR team has been unable
> to locate any records relating to either the property or yourself.
>
>
>
> For clarity, this has included searches across our available operating
> systems, including customer registration and billing records, as well as
> records relating to site visits and supply adjustments or alterations.
>
>
>
> Lastly, I have identified that our response falls outside our 10-working
> day target for responding to written communications, and I would like to
> apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
>
>
>
> To address this, a £20.00 Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) payment can be
> paid to you. To allow this to be processed, please confirm a suitable
> forwarding address so that we can arrange for a cheque to be issued to you.
>
>
>
> If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in
> touch by replying to this email, or by calling Customer Care on 0330 041
> 3307, available Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 4:00pm. Alternatively,
> you can contact our Billing Department on [phone redacted], available Monday
> to Friday between 8:00am and 6:00pm, and Saturday between 9:00am and 1:00pm.
>
>
>
> Kind regards
>
>
>
> Daniel
>
> Customer Services
>
> Web: www.dwrcymru.com
>
>
>
>
>
> We take compliance with Data Protection seriously at Welsh Water.   For
> more information on how we use your Personal Information please click here
> for our Privacy Notice www.dwrcymru.com/legal-privacy or call us on 0800
> 052 0145 to ask us to send you a copy in the post.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________________ Dwr Cymru Welsh
> Water is firmly committed to water conservation and promoting water
> efficiency. Please log on to our website www.dwrcymru.com/waterefficiency
> to find out how you can become water wise. Mae Dwr Cymru Welsh Water wedi
> ymrwymo i warchod adnoddau dwr a hyrwyddo defnydd dwr effeithiol. Mae
> cyngor i' ch helpu i ddefnyddio dwr yn ddoeth yn
> www.dwrcymru.com/waterefficiency
> ________________________________________________________
> ********************************************************************** This
> email and any file attached is confidential. If you are not a named
> recipient or believe you may have received this email in error please
> delete from your system and promptly inform the sender. Dwr Cymru Cyf
> (trading as Welsh Water) is a company registered in England and Wales,
> number 02366777, registered office Linea, Fortran Road, St Mellons,
> Cardiff [postcode redacted]
> [map link redacted].
> Mae’r neges e-bost yma ac unrhyw ffeil sydd ynghlwm wrthi'n gyfrinachol. Os
> nad chi yw’r derbynnydd a enwir, neu os ydych chi’n credu eich bod wedi
> derbyn y neges yma ar gam, dylech ei dileu o’ch system ar unwaith a
> hysbysu’r anfonwr. Cwmni sydd wedi ei gofrestru yng Nghymru yw Dwr Cymru
> Cyf (yn masnachu fel Dwr Cymru), ei rif cofrestredig yw 02366777, ,, ac mae
> ei swyddfa gofrestredig yn Linea, Heol Fortran, Llaneirwg, Caerdydd, CF3
> 0LT. **********************************************************************
>
>
> _______________________________________________________ Dwr Cymru Welsh
> Water is firmly committed to water conservation and promoting water
> efficiency. Please log on to our website www.dwrcymru.com/waterefficiency
> to find out how you can become water wise. Mae Dwr Cymru Welsh Water wedi
> ymrwymo i warchod adnoddau dwr a hyrwyddo defnydd dwr effeithiol. Mae
> cyngor i' ch helpu i ddefnyddio dwr yn ddoeth yn
> www.dwrcymru.com/waterefficiency
> ________________________________________________________
> ********************************************************************** This
> email and any file attached is confidential. If you are not a named
> recipient or believe you may have received this email in error please
> delete from your system and promptly inform the sender. Dwr Cymru Cyf
> (trading as Welsh Water) is a company registered in England and Wales,
> number 02366777, registered office Linea, Fortran Road, St Mellons, Cardiff
> [postcode redacted]. Mae’r neges e-bost yma ac unrhyw ffeil sydd ynghlwm wrthi'n
> gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw’r derbynnydd a enwir, neu os ydych chi’n credu
> eich bod wedi derbyn y neges yma ar gam, dylech ei dileu o’ch system ar
> unwaith a hysbysu’r anfonwr. Cwmni sydd wedi ei gofrestru yng Nghymru yw
> Dŵr Cymru Cyf (yn masnachu fel Dŵr Cymru), ei rif cofrestredig yw 02366777,
> ,, ac mae ei swyddfa gofrestredig yn Linea, Heol Fortran, Llaneirwg,
> Caerdydd, [postcode redacted].
> **********************************************************************
>