Water retailer scolded by watchdog for poor performance

A water retailer which employs 400 people in Staffordshire is one of three companies that have been criticised after complaints from business customers increased for the second year in a row.

The water watchdog has rapped the poor performance of the water market’s biggest retailer, Stoke-on-Trent-based Water Plus, along with smaller suppliers – Clear Business Water and Everflow – for their part in fuelling a 20% increase in written complaints during 2018/19.

The report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) shows that many retailers have failed to stem the flow of complaints, which have risen rapidly since non-household customers in England were given the freedom to switch supplier two years ago.

Eight retailers in England and one water company in Wales – where the market does not apply – saw complaints increase, with CCWater carrying out 58 investigations, more than double the previous year.

Overall, business customers had to make almost 18,000 written complaints to retailers and water companies during 2018/19 – meaning they are now 52% higher than before the launch of competition. Inaccurate bills and disputes over charges also sparked a 43% increase in complaints from businesses to CCWater.

A recent study by CCWater also found that satisfaction with water services and trust in water companies had fallen among non-household customers in England since the market had opened.

Robert Light, chair of CCWater, said: “Choice promised to improve service for business customers, but instead we are seeing complaints rising while customer satisfaction levels head in the opposite direction.

“Poor performing retailers and water companies have had long enough to iron out these problems and the excuses won’t wash with us or customers. We want to see the regulator take action where companies are not fulfilling their obligations.”

Water Plus saw the complaints it received rise by more than 70%, based on the number of customer supply points.

CCWater said it investigated 21 complaints against the retailer  as it struggled to resolve billing problems.

CCWater said the company has implemented an action plan for improvements.

Andy Hughes, chief executive of Water Plus, said: “For us, one complaint is one too many and we’re continuing to drive these down through our focused improvement programme and the combined efforts of all our people. These figures are historic and, following the significant investments we made in 2018, we’ve seen complaints drop by around 40% in the last three months.

“As we worked through some older and more complex account activities in the last year, we unfortunately expected – and planned for – complaints to increase in the short-term and then for these to reduce. We’ve also been working closely with the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), providing regular updates on the strong progress we’ve made.”