The UK Government has proposed for water companies to be liable to compensating their customers by double the current amount for falling short of customer experience (CX) standards.
The list of actions and inactions that could result in increased compensation payments include failing to perform meter readings and installations and automatic payments for boil notices following drops in drinking water standards.
A ‘boil notice’ means customers have been advised to boil water before using it to ensure it is safe concerns or failing to perform meter readings or installations. This would have entitled Brixham and Bramley customers to compensation earlier this year when they endured outages earlier in the year.
In an unprecedented move within the CX industry, the first fines for water companies delivering substandard customer service were created by Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, in February this year.
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, spoke out against the perceived shortcomings of the UK water industry:
“Our water industry is broken. After years of failure, households and businesses have been let down by water companies time and time again.
“The new Government will clean up the water industry and turn the tide on the destruction of our waterways ensuring water companies protect the interests of their customers and the environment.”
‘Fair and Transparent Customer Service’
According to the related press release on the UK government’s website, the average annual water and sewerage bill is £440.
In this instance, water companies would have to shell out a minimum of £40, as much as £250 for low pressure issues, and sewers flooding could lead to compensation claims of up to £2000, if the latest proposals were passed.
The latest baseline for customer service expectations has been set out in the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS).
It also requires water companies to restore water supplies within a reasonable timeframe, reply to written complaints, and manage sewer flooding risks.
Until now the levels of reimbursement have not changed since 2000. The newly proposed reimbursement increase will, therefore, account for the shortfall in inflation and offer a fairer settlement for communities like Brixham and Bramley.
The UK government explains that latest regulations will bring “fair and transparent customer service at the heart of water company dealings”.
Jenny Suggate, Director of Policy, Research and Campaigns at Consumer Council for Water, shared her support for the government’s proposed changes:
“We’re delighted the government is fast-tracking efforts to improve the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, with the potential to boost compensation and support for hundreds of thousands of people each year when they are let down by their water company.
“Given that there has been little change to the standards since they were first introduced, an overhaul is long overdue, and we know it is a pressing priority for household and business customers.
“Demanding higher standards of service and improving levels of compensation when things go wrong will incentivise water companies to get things right the first time for all customers.”
This proposal lands on top of the recent bill designed to reduce sewage spills and attract investment in infrastructure, which increased accountability for water bosses and executives, added powers to dispense large fines, and more.
A consultation will now be ongoing from today until Monday 7th October, after which time the government will make its response.
The consultation is searching for stakeholder views within the sector and the opinions of those who may be affected by the changes proposed to the GSS.
Last month it was revealed that the UK government has been experimenting with GenAI chatbots.
As part of the overall strategy of exploring how AI can be adopted to “improve the user experience of GOV.UK,” the GDS confirmed that the implementation of a GenAI-powered chatbot was the first in “a series of phased experiments.”
