Perch Group’s Verify awarded full accreditation for temporary water disconnections from WIRSAE

Published 9th July 2024
Perch Group’s Verify awarded full accreditation for temporary water disconnections from WIRSAE thumbnail image

Verify, Perch Group’s ‘intelligent’ field services firm, has gained full WIRSAE (Water Industry Registration Scheme – Accredited Entity) accreditation for temporary commercial water disconnections up to 40mm.

Verify first gained WIRSAE accredited status when the company launched in August 2023 due to the management’s existing sector experience. Following a more comprehensive field-based audit, it is now one of only a few field services agencies to have full WIRSAE accreditation, passing with the highest mark possible.

Verify agents also have the EUSR ‘National Water Hygiene Registration’, which is mandated by the national water network. Known as the ‘Blue Card’, it allows them to enter and work on water sites for temporary commercial disconnections. Verify’s agents in Scotland also undertake the DOMS (Domestic Distribution Operations Maintenance Strategy) Certificate which allows them to work on the Scottish Water network.

Verify’s Director of Field Operations Karl Humphries, comments:

“Gaining full WIRSAE accreditation is an important milestone for Verify and we’re incredibly proud to have achieved it just 10 months on from our launch. The strong relationships we’ve forged directly with water wholesalers have ensured that the innovations we’ve developed – from our state-of-the-art field services app and case management system to our use of field audio and our revolutionary branded clamping solution – are approved by them and tailored to the nuances of working in the sector, significantly simplifying the process followed by other agencies.”

Andrew Bartle, Perch Group’s Chief Commercial Officer, adds:

“We launched Verify to fill a gap in the market for a data-driven customer verification and reconnection offering which would fit seamlessly with our wider services to offer clients a fully integrated approach to best-in-class, fit-for-the-future debt resolution that is ‘powered by technology, driven by people’. The insight gained in the field sheds new light on what good customer outcomes actually look like in the modern market and have enabled us to ensure we are ‘future fit’ across the board.”

Perch Group comprises debt purchaser Perch Capital, digital debt resolution agency ACI, and litigation firm TM Legal. Verify’s success has contributed to the Group’s triple-digit growth in acquisitions and estimated return on collections (ERC).