How to get up to £2,000 by complaining to your water company
The industry has come under mounting scrutiny, as bills have soared and firms have failed to invest adequately in ageing infrastructure. Leaking pipes, repeated sewage discharges into rivers and seas, and unfair executive bonuses have fuelled widespread public anger.
Following an investigation by Jon Cunliffe, former Bank of England deputy governor, the Government has announced that it is scrapping Ofwat, the current regulator. Instead, a new regulator will oversee all water functions across Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
The news comes as water bills are estimated to rise 30pc over the next five years.
Following reforms earlier in the year, as set out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and enforced by Ofwat, customers affected by poor service are entitled to significantly higher compensation.
Here, Telegraph Money explains how much you could receive and when, and what to do if your water company refuses to pay.
What can you be compensated for?
How do you make a claim?
How much compensation could you get?
What if your water company won't pay out?
What can you be compensated for?
Households are entitled to compensation if their water company fails to meet minimum service standards, as set out by the guaranteed standards scheme (GSS). These include:
Failure to provide at least 48 hours' notice of a planned interruption to a water supply lasting more than four hours.
Persistent low water pressure.
Sewerage flooding, both inside your property and outside (such as gardens and driveways).
Failure to restore a water supply on time.
Missed or delayed appointments by your water company, or changes to scheduled visits without 24 hours' notice.
Delays in dealing with complaints, requests for payment changes or account queries.
The Government is also working with water companies to expand the list of circumstances that will trigger compensation payments.
From October, customers will also be entitled to compensation if they are asked to boil their water due to a contaminated supply or their smart meter isn't read at least once in a 13-month period.
How do you make a claim?
In most cases, compensation payments should be automatic. If a company fails to meet the necessary minimum standards, it must make a fixed payment or credit the amount to your account.
Automatic payments should usually be made within 20 working days of the incident occurring. This is reduced to 10 working days for delays in dealing with account enquiries, payment changes or issues with appointments.
The exception is if you experience external sewerage flooding. In this instance, you will need to claim compensation via your water company.
Most companies have claims forms on their websites, or you can get in touch with your provider for more information.
How much compensation could you get?
The recent changes mark the first time compensation rates have increased in 25 years in recognition of the 'urgent need to bring payments in line with inflation and properly compensate households for poor service', according to Defra.
The table below outlines the amounts all water companies in England must now compensate households, and how they compare to previous rates.
There are separate rates of compensation for businesses.
What if your water company won't pay out?
If you believe you're entitled to compensation and haven't received it, or if your issue isn't covered by the GSS (such as billing errors), start by raising a complaint directly with your water company.
Currently, a water company must respond within 10 working days. If it doesn't, you can escalate the complaint, and the water company has a further 10 working days to respond.
If the issue isn't resolved or you're not happy with the outcome, you can take your complaint to Consumer Council for Water (CCW), which will investigate.
You can do this by email or letter, by filling in an online form or over the phone. Currently, there is no ombudsman for the water sector, although this could change as part of the planned overhaul, creating a new body with enhanced legal powers.
Be prepared to supply the relevant information, including copies of any communication with your supplier.
A spokesperson for CCW said: 'Where CCW cannot resolve disputes relating to GSS payments, the case can be referred to Ofwat, which has the power to make a final decision.'
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