Following the introduction of new regulations, water companies in Wales and England could now face fines of up to ten percent of their turnover for sub-standard customer service.
Put in place by Ofwat – the Water Services Regulation Authority – the fines are in response to diminishing customer satisfaction levels revealed in its Water Company Performance Report.
The findings highlighted a worrying trend for water providers, with customer satisfaction currently lower for all companies than it was in 2020-21.
These figures comprise a customer satisfaction and customer experience survey, with both scores having dropped by 3.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, in the past two years.
While these figures refer to the overall level, this is not a case of a few bad apples dragging the score down for everyone else.
Hafren Dyfrdwy is the only company that saw its customer satisfaction score increase in 2022-23, with none of the providers meeting Ofwat’s criteria to be named a top performer.
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Source: Water Company Performance Report 2022-23[/caption]
In discussing the decision to introduce fines to tackle poor customer service standards, David Black, CEO of Ofwat, commented:
We expect this new license condition to deliver real improvements in customer service across the sector. It is in the companies’ interests to put customers at the heart of their business and provide levels of service that increase customer satisfaction.
It's clear that Ofwat is taking this downward trend very seriously, but will the fines be enough to reverse years of inferior service? And will other organizations follow suit?