Yorkshire Water launches new interactive Internet services

06/01/2000

Yorkshire Water customers are set to benefit from the introduction of E-commerce in the new millennium as a range of new on-line services becomes available via the Internet.

In a major expansion to the company's Internet provision, customers are the first in the UK to be able to pay bills, sign up to direct debit schemes and change details, such as their address, on their account.

In a ground-breaking partnership with Planet Online, Yorkshire Water has seen its web site grow over the past 12 months from an initial launch site into a highly informative and interactive site.

The ability to pay bills via the Internet is a significant progression for the company and, more importantly, its 4.5 million customers.

The company strategy was to start simple, adding new technologies and services to meet long-term business needs.

As the web site has become more advanced, greater importance has been placed on security - sensitive financial details are transferred from the customer using a secure server and these are then encrypted to add further security before being transferred to Yorkshire Water.

It has been forecast that the number of Internet users will double in the next three years, giving thousands of water customers in the Yorkshire region the opportunity to benefit from these exciting new services.

Internet Services Manager from Yorkshire Water, Philip Mayo, said: "Yorkshire Water works hard to provide its customers with the best possible services and we believe that E-commerce is vital to the company's aim to be the best water company in the UK. It provides efficient communication channels for our customers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so that they can benefit from these technological advancements."

The Yorkshire Water web site - which includes company information, educational and environmental details, water quality reports and the new bill payment facilities - can be found at www.yorkshirewater.com.