Customers had to make more than 2 million calls to water companies last year to resolve problems with their service, according to a new report published today by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) Complaints to Water Companies, England and Wales April 2016 – March 2017.
Today’s annual report by the water watchdog shows that 12 of the 21 water companies in England and Wales saw a reduction in the number of written complaints from customers in 2016/17. Overall complaints made in writing fell by 11 per cent – down from 106,839 to 95,274.
However, CC Water said the improvement was dampened by a rise in the number of customers who had to pick up the phone to resolve an issue with their water company, with ‘unwanted contacts’ increasing by more than 40,000 to 2.14 million.1
Tony Smith, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said:
"The service customers receive from their water company has generally improved over the past decade, but that progress appears to have stalled.
“Water companies received more than 2 million contacts from customers last year to resolve issues which they should get right first time. We’ll be challenging all of the industry to deliver an even better service, but particularly the poorest performers.”
Billing and charges accounted for more than half (57%) of customers’ written complaints to water companies, ahead of concerns about water supplies (17%) and sewerage (12%).
The watchdog is particularly concerned about the performance of Cambridge Water which reported the largest rise in written complaints – up nearly 250 per cent - and saw unwanted contacts increase by over 37 per cent. The company has been asked to report back to the watchdog by the end of October to explain what steps it is taking to improve its service.
Other companies now facing closer scrutiny include Thames Water and SES Water, which both saw an increase in written complaints and unwanted contacts from their customers.
The water watchdog wants to see further improvements from Southern Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Affinity Water.
Southern remained the industry’s worst performer for written complaints and unwanted contacts, despite seeing the largest reduction in customers writing to it to complain.
Welsh Water and Affinity Water have also responded positively to pressure from CCWater to improve but the watchdog has warned they have more to do.
Three other companies reported some of the most impressive reductions in written complaints - Dee Valley Water (down 35%), South East Water (down 30%) and Bournemouth Water (down 33%) All of these companies also received fewer unwanted contacts from customers.
Water UK – despite slight increase, still a “considerable drop” from 6m calls in 2009/10
Water UK, the body which represents all the British water companies, said the latest complaints report reveals an all-time low in the number of written complaints made to water companies, and a significant fall in unwanted contacts by water customers since 2010.
The report shows that written complaints received by water companies had fallen by 11% on the previous year, down to 95,274. The number of unwanted contacts – when contact is unwanted from the customer’s perspective because they would not need to make the call if they didn’t have an issue with their bill or water or sewerage service – currently stands at 2,149,040. “This is a slight increase from 2015-16, but a considerable drop from the figure of more than 6 million calls in 2009/10,” Water UK said.
Responding to the findings, Water UK Chief Executive Michael Roberts commented:
“The many improvements made by water companies is making a difference, with written complaints falling below 100,000 for the first time and a significant fall in the number of issues having to be dealt with over the phone since 2010. But as an industry we want to keep getting better, and make sure the downward trend in complaints and the increase in customer satisfaction continues. That’s why companies are investing £billions over the next few years and increasing their focus on customer service.”
CCWater’s Water Matters Annual Tracking Survey (April 2016 – March 2017) confirms that customer satisfaction levels currently stand at 93% and 88% for water and sewerage services respectively.
Click here to download CCWater’s report Complaints to Water Companies, England and Wales April 2016 – March 2017
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