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It’s not a gushing review. The first end-of-year report for the non-household water retail market shows there are some hard yards to go before it can claim to be working well – let alone offer a viable blueprint for opening up the domestic side of the sector.
With price margins low, customer service needs to be king. But, if anything, the figures offer more ammunition to those questioning the legitimacy of privatisation and calling for renationalisation.
No-one said it was going to be easy for a system finding its feet. Yet, even allowing for teething problems, the Consumer Council for Water cannot have envisaged complaints against retailers soaring by 237 per cent. Added to a deluge of 14,885 written grievances to suppliers and almost 47,000 direct calls to companies in the first quarter of 2018, the course hasn’t run smoothly.
As with all league tables, a disproportionate number of poorer performers – in this case around half a dozen suppliers out of 24 – skew the statistics.
And like any liberalised market, those delivering below-par service will see customers – many of whom here seem to be disputing the amount of water they have been charged for using – will vote with their feet.
But in April 2017, when the floodgates opened to this brave new water world where 1.2 million businesses and organisations – including national chains with multi-site operations – could choose their supplier, hopes for year one were considerably higher.
Ironically, the goal was to provide a better service. And, while noting the need for greater innovation and water efficiency, the regulator’s then CEO said improving on that service was probably the “biggest single driver for the reforms”.
This wasn’t uncharted territory either. Lessons were there from the opening of the energy market, with the regulator believing there were good reasons not to expect the same issues occurring here.
While a stream of problems has been blamed, including data and communication with wholesalers, it has been billing and charges that have accounted for 64 per cent of complaints. And it seems that those suppliers underestimating staffing for customer service have come off worse.
Increased expectations will also have played a part but, as one supplier ruefully reflected, it’s been “hard work”.
Customer service improvements, we hear, are happening, but they must surface quickly and throughout the whole market.
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