Water companies have been warned by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) to take “decisive action” to boost “unimpressive” levels of customer satisfaction with fairness and value for money.
The consumer group’s annual Water Matters survey found that although 9 out of 10 customers are satisfied with their water and sewerage services, only 6 in 10 customers agree that their charges are fair – a figure that has remained static for seven years.
The report found satisfaction with overall water and sewerage services in 2017 was high at 92 per cent, while 88 per cent of customers were satisfied with sewerage services.
However, just 61 per cent of customers in England and Wales agree that the charges they pay are fair, a slight decrease since 2016 (63 per cent).
CCWater’s head of policy and research Mike Keil said customers’ perceptions of fairness and value for money have remained “disappointingly static” for seven years. “It’s no surprise that the water sector is now coming under increased scrutiny,” he said.
“Just this year, service interruptions caused by March’s Beast from the East and the current spell of dry weather have led to frustration among customers. Unless water companies take action now, it’s unlikely that we will see a reversal of this trend anytime soon.”
The report found Welsh Water and Dee Valley Water were the top-rated water companies in terms of customer perception in 2017. Northumbrian, Anglian, Portsmouth and Hartlepool Water were also all namechecked as high-ranking companies.
Meanwhile, the lower-rated companies were Thames Water, Southern Water and South West Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, SES Water, and Affinity Water.
Customers were found to be significantly more likely to recommend their water/sewerage company in 2017 than they were in 2016.
The industry net promoted score (NPS) is +19, with customers in Wales significantly more likely to be classed as “promoters”, with a NPS of +39 compared with +17 in England. The highest-scoring company was Northumbrian Water.
Scores ranged from -7 to +40 across water and sewerage companies and from -5 to +40 across water only companies. Only four companies – South West, Southern, South East and Affinity – scored a negative NPS. The lowest-scoring was South West Water.