Customers in England and Wales will soon have an independent and free-to-use service to resolve complaints with their water company.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme currently being developed by Water UK, the body which represents the UK water companies at national and EU level, is scheduled to to be up and running before the summer.
Currently there is no ADR for customers in England and Wales to resolve disputes when companies and their customers are unable to reach agreement.
The scheme is specifically for customers in England and Wales. Separate arrangements apply in Scotland, where an independent dispute resolution service is provided by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman.
Complaints against water companies have fallen for the sixth year in a row and in the majority of cases companies offer a remedy that satisfies the customer.
However, in a small number of cases, and after intervention from CCWater and Ofwat, the disputes reach deadlock. So the water industry, working with CCWater and Ofwat, is developing an additional alternative dispute resolution scheme that will mean that customers will have a final opportunity to resolve their complaint without having to go to court.
The scheme will be funded by the water companies but overseen by a completely independent panel. The Panel members, The independent Panel members - who were appointed last year in an individual capacity and not as representatives of the organisations they work for are:
- Sandra Webber (chair) – former Director of Consumer Support at UK Civil Aviation Authority
- Jo Causon – CEO, Institute of Customer Service
- Adam Scorer – Director, Citizens Advice
- Richard Khaldi – Senior Director-Customers and Casework, Ofwat
- Sir Tony Redmond – Consumer Council for Water
- Phil Marshall – Director of Customer Services, Bristol Water
- Gary Dixon – Domestic Retail Director, United Utilities
The ADR will deal with disputes involving household consumers up to a maximum of £10,000 and £25,000 for disputes involving non-household consumers.
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