Consumer watchdog CCWater is anticipating having to deal with new ‘national’complaint issues when the competitive water retail market opens for business in England in April 2017, according to its Annual Review for England and Wales 2015/16 published today.

The watchdog's achievements during 2015/16 included:

• Helping more than 18,000 consumers resolve complaints or questions about their water and sewerage services.
• Returning nearly £5 million in compensation and rebates for aggrieved water customers – including negotiating a higher level of compensation for customers affected by a boil water notice in Lancashire during August 2015.
• Clawing back £730,000 for business customers in England and Wales through challenging water companies on issues like backdating of charges and rebates.
• Working with water companies to increase the range of support offered to customers who are struggling to pay their water bills.
• Making sure the concerns and priorities of businesses and their representative bodies influence the rules that will govern the new non-household market in England.

All of these achievements were  secured against the backdrop of a major restructure at CCWater, including a reorganisation which saw the closure of six regional offices and the centralisation of complaint handing teams into Birmingham and Cardiff. The watchdog also took steps to strengthen its regional presence by appointing 19 new Local Consumer Advocates (LCAs) in April 2015, bringing the team to 22 across England and Wales.

Looking ahead, CCWater is anticipating having to deal with new ‘national’complaint issues which it expects to surface after the opening of the competitive water retail market for non-household customers in England in April 2017.

During the course of the year CCWater helped to secure nearly £5 million in compensation and rebates for aggrieved water customers,  including the higher level of compensation it negotiated for more than 300,000 customers of United Utilities who suffered lengthy disruption after a ‘boil water notice’ was issued in Lancashire during August 2015. This takes the total amount CCWater has secured for customers to more than £25 million since 2005 when it was set up.

Tackling the affordability challenge is another key issue - during 2015/16 the organisation worked with water companies to increase the range of support offered to customers who were struggling to pay their bills – according to the report, nineteen out of 21 water companies in England and Wales now have one of these schemes in place.

During the course of the year over  18,000 customer complaints and enquiries were dealt with about water companies in England and Wales,  bringing the total number of complaints and enquiries CCWater handled to more than 350,000 since it was formed in 2005.

Commenting on the issue of sewer flooding, CCWater said it had continued to keep a close eye during 2015/16 on how effective each sewerage company was at responding to sewer flooding incidents. CCWater described itself as disappointed to see Yorkshire Water and Southern Water slip below the average, adding it will be monitoring both companies closely during the next 12 months to ensure this fall in satisfaction does not continue.

CCWater was also involved in the Water UK-led ‘21st Century Drainage Programme Board’ during the period.  The group is made up of all 12 sewerage companies from across the UK, along with representatives from governments, regulators and environmental groups. During 2015/16 the group looked at how drainage systems could be built, developed and managed in a more sustainable way to cope with an evolving climate over the next century.

Commenting on the report, Alan Lovell, Chair of CCWater, said:

“It is a testament to the skill and commitment of my colleagues that we have remained an effective consumer advocate, helping thousands of households and business resolve their complaints and shaping a water industry that is more committed to listening to the needs of consumers.”

Click here to download CCwater’s Annual Review