Dissatisfaction rises among business water customers

Dissatisfaction with water suppliers among non-household customers more than doubled in 2021, according to an Ofwat-commissioned survey.

The annual poll undertaken Opinion Research Services (ORS) found 17% of the 700 organisations surveyed were unhappy with their service last year, up from 6% in 2020 and 8% in 2019.

The responses suggested large organisations were more likely to be dissatisfied, with 25% saying they were unhappy with their water and wastewater services.

The proportion reporting satisfaction with their supplier accordingly dropped to 73%, down from 78% in 2020 and 80% in 2019. Satisfaction levels have fallen every year since the retail market opened in 2017.

Billing issues were identified as the main cause of unhappiness, with 65% of dissatisfied customers citing them as a problem. The next most common grievances were customer service and metering issues, which were cited by 45% and 34% respectively.

The survey found awareness around switching remains low, with only 43% of participants being aware they could change water supplier. This proportion was higher in larger organisations, of which 75% knew that changing supplier was an option compared to 40% of micro businesses and 69% of medium organisations.

The Business Customer Insight Survey 2021 suggested this low awareness could be related to disruptions and changes to working practices as a result of the pandemic.

The number of organisations that had actively switched supplier or renegotiated with their existing supplier was 8.5%, which the report by ORS said was broadly in line with previous years.

Of the organisations that had been actively engaged with the market, 27% said they had used a price comparison website, 19% said they had gone to a consultant, 16% said they had used a broker and another 16% said they had made direct contact with an alternative retailer.

Among non-engaged respondents, 34% said they had not switched or renegotiated because they were happy with their current deal or supplier and 14% said they felt there was no point changing.

With regards to coronavirus pandemic, 43% of respondents reported a significant reduction in revenue or their ability to operation, whilst 20% experienced a moderate impact and 37% were able to continue as normal.

The impacts of Covid-19 meant 43% of customers reported a significant reduction in revenue or ability to operate and another 20% experiencing moderate impact and 37% able to continue as normal. More than half (55%) said their water consumption fell in 2021 due to the Covid-19, mostly among retail, hospitality and office-based industries.

Over the year, 7% of customers reported having difficulties paying their bills as a result of the pandemic, which was similar to the number (6%) who said they struggled with other utility bills as well.