The Consumer Council for Water is warning that poor performing water retailers could face a backlash from their business customers if they fail to address the causes behind a high number of complaints during the first year of switching in England.

The warning comes from the CCWater) comes as it today reveals some of the best and worst performing water retailers for customer complaints since businesses in England were given the freedom to switch their supplier in April 2017.1

A new report from the water watchdog shows non-household customers made 14,885 written complaints to their supplier during the first 12 months of the water market in 2017/18 – up about 26% on the previous year. Customer complaints made to CCWater about retailers also more than tripled – up over 230%.

Both increases were driven by a small number of poor performing retailers who were responsible for a disproportionate share of the rise in complaints. Almost two-thirds of complaints made to CCWater related to bills, with many of these business customers disputing the amount of water they had been charged for using.

However most of the market’s retailers appear to have adapted well to competition and avoided many of the service problems encountered by the poorer performers.

Tony Smith, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said:

“We had expected complaints to rise as the market finds its feet but it’s now time for poorer performing retailers – including Castle Water, Wave and Water Plus – to get their act together.”

“Retailers who routinely deliver a poor service could start to see a backlash from businesses as their awareness of the market and right to shop around for a more reliable supplier continues to rise.”

CCWater’s report focuses on written complaints – and complaints it received directly. The watchdog says these provide the most reliable way of comparing each retailer but they only tell a small part of the story. Non-household customers also had to make over 46,500 telephone calls to resolve an issue with their supplier between January and March 2018.

Of the larger retailers, Castle Water received the most written complaints from customers based on the total number of supply points and was also the worst performer for complaints made to the Water Watchdog. Castle Water received the most written complaints per 10,000 supply points for larger retailers. Three Sixty Water received only one complaint but appears as the worst performer in the comparison chart because of its very low number of supply points.

The relatively poor performance of Anglian Water Business – now part of Wave – and Water Plus also resulted in both retailers being challenged by CCWater.

Commenting on the findings, Andy Hughes, Chief Executive of Water Plus, said:

“The level of complaints is higher than we want and, in response to the challenges and changes in the new market in England, we have increased investment in our systems, processes and people, significantly increasing the number of people in our call centre, to reduce any delays for customers and enhance the services for our new and existing customers.

“There is still a lot of work to do for all participants to make the market more effective for customers but we continue our efforts to improve processes that impact our customers. Customers should start seeing the benefits of our investment in the next few months.

“We are actively working with other retailers and wholesalers to make the market work better for customers and we continue to work and liaise with the Consumer Council for Water on customer complaints. Water Plus is leading the way in setting up forums, engaging directly with the Wholesale Retail Group and UK Water Retail Council to progress specific key issues to help speed up responses to customers and better and quicker resolution of complex complaints.”

All three poor performers came under increasing pressure from CCWater during the year to address the root causes of complaints, and although Wave’s performance has now improved, Castle Water and Water Plus still need to make further improvements.

Among the best performers were SES Business, Water2business, Affinity for Business and Dee Valley Water, which is based in Wales where there is currently a limited competitive market.

The report reveals that water2business is one of the top performing retailers and the best performing of the larger retailers with over 20,000 SPIDs, having almost four times fewer complaints than the worst performer.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Charley Maher, managing director of water2business, said:

“Ensuring customers receive high levels of customer service was top priority for us when the market opened a year ago, and remains a core part of our strategy today.

“When our customers get in touch, they speak to someone straight away and we aim to resolve any issues quickly. Key to our success are our employees who are passionate about what they do and are on hand to provide expert advice.

“Of course we are human and don’t always get things right, but what’s important is learning from this to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“While we’d like to reduce complaints further, we’re delighted with our industry-leading performance which I am sure will be important when it comes to customers switching their water retailer.”

CCWater said it will use the report’s findings to continue to press poorer performing retailers to come into line with the rest of the industry, commenting:

“The water company ‘wholesalers’, who continue to provide water and wastewater services to non-household customers, must also play their part by improving their own service and working relationship with retailers.”

Click here to read the report in full.