Non-domestic water sector ‘still not getting basics right’

Complaints in the non-household water retail market fell in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the previous period.

However, year-on-year the figures increased and watchdog the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has insisted suppliers are still failing to get the basics – such as clear and reliable bills – right.

There were 931 complaints in the first quarter of this year, compared to 1,073 in the final quarter of 2018 and 769 at the start if last year.

CCWater highlighted three companies out for particular criticism, including two of last year’s worst performers – Clear Business Water and Everflow – with SES Business Water completing the bottom three based on complaints made to CCWater from April 2019 to the end of June 2019.

This performance was in stark contrast to Yorkshire Water Business, Water2Business and Affinity for Business, which topped the rankings with the lowest levels of complaints among the larger retailers.

There was also a marked improvement for last year’s worst performer – Water Plus – with complaints down more than 16 per cent compared to the last three months of 2018/19. However, CCWater said the market’s largest retailer was still attracting more criticism that the industry average and would continue to be monitored.

Dr Mike Keil, head of policy and research at CCWater, said: “Some retailers are still not getting the basics right by providing clear and reliable bills, which is the very least any customer should expect.

“Shining a light on the three best and worst performing retailers for complaints each quarter is just one of the ways we hope to improve service across the market and empower customers to make a well-informed choice if they opt to switch.”

More than seven out of ten non-household complaints handled during the quarter related to billing and charges, with the bulk of these customers disputing accuracy. Other key areas of dispute included the payment of leakage allowances or inaccuracies on accounts.

CCWater has had its own struggles with getting the basics right – admitting last month that it had failed to hit its satisfaction targets for resolving customer complaints.

Andy Hughes, chief executive of Water Plus, said: “We’re pleased to see a sharp drop in business complaints about us made to the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) – which mirrors what we’re seeing in the overall written complaints we’ve received. This shows the investments we’ve been making in our business to help our customers is having a substantial difference.

“We’re not standing still – as one complaint is one too many – and we’re continuing to drive these down further through our focused improvement programme and the combined efforts of all our people.

“Following the significant investments we made in 2018, we’ve seen complaints drop by 36% in the first quarter of this financial year (19/20), compared to the same time the previous year. We’ve also seen our number of complaints fall significantly from Q4 in the last financial year to Q1 for 19/20.

“This reduction in complaints has also continued in Q2 for July and August this year, compared to last year, which shows we’re improving and helping more customers.

“We’re also actively working with wholesalers and other retailers to make the market work better for customers, helping speed up resolution of complex issues as well as working across our industry to improve data.”