Ofwat says that water companies must improve how they handle customer complaints about billing, with clearer and more effective communication being a crucial first step.
Billing is the most common cause of complaints in the water sector. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has raised concerns about the increasing number of complaints, reporting that more than 125,000 complaints about billing were made to water companies in 2023-24.
To help improve the experience of customers, Ofwat commissioned research to better understand experiences of billing issues. Ofwat’s report highlights the overall experiences of customers from five companies.
The water regulator has also published individual reports for each of the companies included in this first stage: Dŵr Cmyru, Portsmouth Water, United Utilities, South Staffs Water and Thames Water.
Gemma Rosenblatt, Head of Customer Insights, Ofwat, said:
“Billing issues can range from simple administrative problems, such as trouble registering for an online account, to substantial issues like incorrect or unexpected bills for large amounts.
“For substantial issues, there can be a sudden and immediate impact on a customer’s finances, including loss of, or threat to, funds. The emotional impact can also be significant, resulting in long term distress and worry.
“Our research has found higher satisfaction among customers with more straightforward issues. Those with more complex or financially significant issues are most likely to report lower levels of satisfaction with the service received from their water company.”
The research found that water companies could significantly improve customers’ experience by improving the communications customers receive.
The steps water companies can take include customers getting:
- quicker action from water companies on urgent issues, such as the customer losing money
- clear timeframes on when to expect responses
- compassion from customer agents
- help to address any knock-on impact of the billing issue
- clarity on who and where the customer can escalate their complaint to if they are not happy
