News

South West Water customer left out in the cold in the deregulated water market.

South West Water customers have the highest water and waste water charges in the UK so on the face of it you would think there is good scope for switching water supplier and making attractive savings.

The reality is switching water supplier for a large proportion of South West Water customers is a waste of time due to the low margins and other water retail companies cost to serve.

H20 Building Services can report a surge in inquiries for water consultancy advice, particularly in relation to switching water supplier.

With South West Water area charges being high, small to medium sized businesses are looking to reduce their water bills.

A customer recently commissioned H20 to go to the water retail market to obtain a better deal, the results of which you wouldn’t believe!

The annual water and waste water spend is £3,600, the water retail team nominated 3 water retail companies to quote for the water supply business. The water retailers were chosen based on excellent customer service, speed of response to pricing requests, clarity of the water retail contracts and price.

The results: –

2 water retailers could not quote stating “They cannot offer a deal due to so little margin available” with another offering a £50 cash back!

With a margin of £117 between wholesale and retail to play with there is no incentive to for the retailer to switch.

Since water deregulation just over a year ago H20 has been approached by numerous businesses who wish to switch water supplier not only to make savings but also to leave their existing water supplier due to poor service.

It is concerning that the South West Water area of the UK with the highest water charges has been let down and effectively precluded from water market deregulation.

The emphasis is now of water management and saving water strategies which is far more important than switching water supplier.