Regina Finn, Chief Executive of Ofwat, has written to the Managing Directors of all water and sewerage companies and water only companies to inform them of the outcome of the review of companies' systems, procedures and controls for compliance with customer service regulations and reporting of customer service data to Ofwat.
Ofwat required each company to undertake a specific review and document the systems, procedures and controls it uses to manage and report its compliance with the Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service Standards) Regulations 1989 (the GSS Regulations). In March each company submitted its findings, along with a report from its auditor. Each company also committed to an action plan to address the weaknesses or risks found during the review.
Regina Finn commented in her letter that
“It was disappointing that every company identified weaknesses or areas of risk and improvements which could and should be made to its processes. For example most companies found parts of their business where they were not properly tracking appointments to ensure that GSS failures were avoided or identified.”
Ofwat believes that the improvements resulting from the review mean that customers can now be more confident that companies will deliver the required levels of service or will pay the required amounts if standards are not met. The letter states that the review has highlighted how important it is that customers understand their rights under the GSS Regulations to enable them to claim payments where appropriate and to make informed judgements about the level of service their water company provides.
Ofwat expects as a minimum that each customer should be sent, unsolicited, a summary of the service standards they are entitled to and any payments due if these standards are not met and, where necessary, a clear indication where further detailed information may be obtained. It also recommends that each company should consider the best route to communicate with their customers and expects to see more and more innovative ways of informing customers of their rights.
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