New research conducted by consumer watchdog CCW shows customers want greater transparency around their water company’s performance, including a single easily accessible information point.

The watchdog says providing more accessible performance data can help rebuild confidence and trust in water companies, which has been eroded across the industry.

The research suggests that consumers perceive the industry as:

• Under-investing in infrastructure (leaks, sewers, hosepipe bans)
• Taking insufficient action to prevent pollution in rivers and the sea
• Prioritising profits and shareholders

CCW says the research shows that consumers welcome increased scrutiny in order to understand how their water company is performing. However, while a number of different tools are available showing performance information, according to CCW this can often be hard to find or interpret.

The findings show that there is an appetite for customers to have a single point of easily accessible

information about how their company is performing, underpinned by the following three pillars:

• to reassure people that companies are doing what is expected of them;
• empower people to be able to use the information that is available;
• and guide them to the appropriate support and help.

It is anticipated that a dashboard would give consumers a greater understanding of their water provider, and where their money is being spent.

Consistent expectations of any performance dashboard include demonstrating what water companies are doing to get the basics right; showing consumers what they can use the data for; and helping consumers who might need it most to manage their water and keep their bills low.

CCW commented:

“There are sustained suspicions that water companies deliberately obfuscate the data and explanations: it is important that any performance dashboard is easy to understand and use.”

CCW is now aiming to revisit a number of different sources of information on water company performance to understand the information that people value and would find useful, with the overall ambition of moving to a single sector dashboard which meets the needs of customers.

The CCW research says that overall, views of the water industry are poor, fuelled by negative press and a lack of consumer control, including:

• continual negative press coverage of sewage spills, leakage and under investment in the industry
• financial challenges faced by Thames Water
• the feeling is there is nothing that people can do to improve customer experience
• coverage from the media perpetuates feelings of negativity cynicism in an industry which is perceived to prioritise profit and CEO salaries over customers

CCW is now working with the industry to ensure that published information is consistent and gives a clear and accurate picture of company performance. 

Click here to download the CCW research report