News
CCWater Orders Suppliers To Improve Customer Service
If you get your water from Bristol Water, SES Water or Southern Water, you may well soon see a step change in their customer service processes and procedures, as water watchdog the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has warned them that they need to make improvements in this regard.
The three firms have now been asked to provide the organisation with quarterly reports showing what action they’ve taken to reduce complaints. An annual CCWater report showed an increase in calls from customers looking to resolve issues, known as unwanted contacts.
Although complaints were down during the year, there was a ten per cent hike in the number of queries regarding water supply, with some suppliers finding it difficult to deal with the disruption caused by the thaw after the Beast from the East in March.
Disputes over billing and charges accounted for 53 per cent of written complaints received, although there was a 22 per cent drop on the previous year. The other main complaints related to water supply issues (22 per cent) and sewerage services (11.5 per cent).
Commenting on the news, chief executive of CCWater Tony Smith said: “The frustration felt by thousands of customers after March’s cold weather disruption to supplies should have reminded the industry that it cannot afford to be complacent.
“Some water companies still have a lot to learn when it comes to communicating effectively with their customers and ensuring that when something goes wrong they put it right quickly and with the minimum of fuss. The poor performers highlighted in our report can expect to come under considerable pressure from us to improve this year.”
The best performer for unwanted contacts was found to be Anglian Water, which also reported a 26 per cent fall in written complaints. Bournemouth Water, meanwhile, delivered one of the biggest drops in written complaints at 40 per cent.
If you’re unhappy with the performance of your current company, as a business you may well be able to switch water supplier to take advantage of better deals and customer service.
The water retail market in England opened up in April 2017, which allowed 1.2 million business customers to choose who supplies their water and waste water services. This new market works alongside the Scottish water retail market, which has been open since 2008.
There are all sorts of benefits associated with being able to select your own water company, including discounted water supply contracts.
But it can be difficult to navigate this new landscape, particularly for smaller businesses which may well lack the proper resources in order to look into it fully. We here at H2O Building Services can lend a helping hand to make sure you’re on the best deal possible for your business, so get in touch with us today if you’d like to find out more about how you could benefit from switching today.