Water firms reverse ‘alarming spike’ in complaints

Written complaints received by Southern Water, Bournemouth Water, Welsh Water and Affinity Water fell in Q3 2016

Written complaints to four of the water companies fell in the last quarter of 2016, reversing an “alarming” complaints spike during 2015/16.

Figures reported to the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) by Southern Water, Bournemouth Water, Welsh Water and Affinity Water show a drop in complaints to all four companies between October and December 2016, compared with the same period in 2015.

Southern reported a 53 per cent drop, Bournemouth stated a 35 per cent fall, Welsh Water curbed complaints by 18 per cent and Affinity Water showed a 13 per cent reduction.

CCWater welcomed the reduction in written complaints to the water companies, all of which have been under increased pressure to improve their performance since the consumer watchdog demanded action be taken to curb an alarming spike in written complaints made against them during 2015/16.

All four are now on track to reduce complaints in 2016/17, having introduced a range of measures to improve customer service or address problems arising from billing systems.

CCWater chief executive Tony Smith said: “The four companies have all responded positively to our challenge and taken action which appears to be making a marked difference. We remain concerned that some of the companies still have considerable ground to make up on the rest of the industry, so we want to see this downward trend in complaints continue for the foreseeable future.”

All four companies have been asked to provide CCWater with another update at the end of April on their complaint-handling to ensure their performance is continuing to improve.

CCWater’s annual complaints report will be published in September.