seethelight are committed to making our products easy and safe to use for everyone, including our customers with disabilities. We offer a number of services to customers with accessibility requirements.

Vulnerabilities

seethelight take our responsibility to customers with vulnerabilities very seriously and work hard to ensure we comply with current UK law and best practice guidelines where possible. We offer a number of services for customers with vulnerabilities.

We understand that vulnerability can come in range of guises, and can be temporary, sporadic or permanent in nature. As a company we aim to be as flexible as possible when dealing with our vulnerable customers by providing assistance that is tailored to their needs.

Our staff are also trained to identify customers who may not have previously told us of their vulnerabilities and to treat these customers accordingly.

These identifiers of a vulnerable customer can include:

  • Customers who have a disability (including mental health), or who are chronically sick.
  • Customers with a visual or hearing impairment
  • Customers using a lifeline
  • Customers experiencing financial hardship
  • Customers who are of pensionable age
  • Communication barriers
  • Customers who are isolated geographically

If you have a vulnerability, you can select this on your online account. Either contact us on 0800 331 7638, log into your online account or send us a contact form to update your vulnerabilities.

Battery Back-Up Units

For customers who are reliant on their landline, we may be able install a battery back-up unit in their properties. This can be provided free of charge, if you meet our eligibility criteria. This battery back-up unit remains the property of Open Fibre Networks (OFNL) who will be responsible for maintaining this device as necessary for as long as it is required.

Please see here for further information.

  • What is a battery back-up unit?

    A battery back-up unit (BBU) provides an additional supply of service to your ONT in the event of a power outage.

    This can be particularly useful if you rely on your phone for any reason, since in the event of a power outage, you would not be able to make calls from your landline – including to the emergency services. A BBU provides an additional supply of service for at least one hour.

    A BBU is not designed to be used with cordless phones. You will need to have a corded phone connected directly to your ONT in order to use this device.

    If you would like to enquire about a BBU, please contact our customer services team on 0800 331 7638.

    For more information on your BBU, please see here.

  • Am I eligible to have a battery back-up unit installed?

    In accordance with Ofcom General Conditions, seethelight can provide a free battery back-up unit for your ONT if you depend on your landline telephone for medical reasons or do not own a mobile phone. This will keep your ONT powered for up to 1 hour in the event of a power outage, which will allow you to continue to make and receive calls, including to the emergency services.

    Please note that the battery back-up unit does not provide power to cordless phones. You will need to have a corded phone plugged directly into your ONT to make any landline calls in the case of a power outage.

    If you believe you are eligible for a free battery back-up unit, please contact our customer services team on 0800 331 7638 or send us a contact form.

Our literature

If you would like to request any of our literature in large print (16 point font size) or Grade 2 abbreviated Braille, please contact customer services, or alternatively, log into your online account and request it there. We offer:

  • Braille Bills.
  • Bill reading service.
  • Large print bill and information.

Priority Fault Repair

At seethelight we do our best to keep your services up and running at all times, however, we cannot guarantee a completely fault-free service. For customers who are dependent on their phone line, we offer a free priority fault repair scheme. This includes enhanced support and faster fault resolution for eligible customers.

If you are registered as vulnerable with us, then you may be entitled to priority fault repair. To check your eligibility or if your have any questions about our priority fault repair scheme, please call our customer services team on 0800 331 7638, get in touch using web chat or send us a contact form.

Bill Payment

Disabled customers who are dependent upon the phone may nominate somebody who can help them deal with phone bills and their account in general. Specifically, this nominee can:

  • Be the person to whom your bill is sent.
  • Be the person to whom any enquiry will be made by us in the event of a bill not being paid.
  • Pay the bill on your behalf, although they will not be held legally liable for the bill.

Contracts

If you have problems reading the terms and conditions of your contract you can ask for our representative to explain it to you. If you would like to request the contract to be in Large Print or Braille, you can request this by logging into your online account or by contacting customer services.

Complaints

We strive to offer excellent value for money and the highest quality of service. If you are unhappy with our service please contact us and let us know. We welcome your comments and feedback as it plays an important part in our process of continual improvement.

If you have a complaint, our formal internal complaints procedure can be found here: www.seethelight.co.uk/complaints. We are fully committed to addressing all complaints fully and fairly within a reasonable time frame. We will respond to all complaints in the most appropriate way and we aim to provide a substantive reply to all complaints received within 10 working days. You can log a complaint by sending us a contact form here: www.seethelight.co.uk/contact, by calling our customer services line free of charge on 0800 331 7638, or by writing to us at our main address. Our office opening times are Monday-Friday: 8.00am-8.00pm and Saturday: 9.00am-1.00pm.

British Sign Language (BSL) 999

Using our internet connection, access the emergency services (999) using British Sign Language interpreters via a dedicated app or website called BSL999. More information can be found at www.999bsl.co.uk.

  • How it works

    You can download the 999 BSL app for iOS or Android or use their website to make a call to the 999 emergency services. This call will go to a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter first, who will appear on the screen. The BSL interpreter will then call 999 operators through a landline and will relay your conversation.

Next Generation Text Service (NGTS)

NGTS enables hearing and speech-impaired customers to communicate with each other using a relay assistant. If on telephone calls you can't hear the other person or they can't understand what you say, NGTS can help.

By using a smartphone, tablet, or computer to make a phone call, you can type to a relay assistant who will speak your words to the recipient. The relay assistant will type their response so you can read what they say.

Website: http://ngts.org.uk/
Telephone: 0800 7311 888
Textphone or NGT Lite app: 0800 500 888
c/o Internal Box 14
Telephone House
170 – 175 Moor Lane
Preston
Lancashire
PR1 1BA

Relay Assist

Relay assist is for callers who either need or would like help to make calls. To use this service, you will need to dial a relay assist access code.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired and use a textphone, dial 0870 240 95 98 to be connected to a Relay Assist operator.

If you are calling from an ordinary voice phone, dial 0870 240 51 52 to be connected to a Relay Assist operator.

Alternatively, if you have an internet enabled device, for example, laptop, smartphone or tablet, you may want to download the NGT Lite app. For more information on the NGT app and more about relay assist, please visit the NGTS website; www.ngts.org.uk.

Textphone User Calls To The Emergency Services

Textphone users needing to call the emergency services (police, fire, ambulance or coast guard) should dial 18000.

Free Directory Enquiries For Those Customers With Vulnerabilities (195)

A free directory enquiries service is available to any customer who cannot use a phone book. The free 195 directory enquiries service requires you to pre-register by calling 195. Textphone users can call 0800 838 363. You will be sent a form to complete which must be authorised by your doctor, or a qualified care worker, familiar with your disability. You will be given a personal identification number (PIN) after registration which must be quoted when using the 195 free service.