Independent service to help resolve complaints

Customers in England and Wales will soon have an independent and free-to-use service to resolve complaints with their water company, if their complaint cannot be solved by a company's internal complaints procedure or after the Consumer Council for Water's intervention.

Complaints against water companies have fallen for the sixth year in a row and in the majority of cases companies offer a remedy that satisfies the customer.

However, in a small number of cases, and after intervention from CCWater and Ofwat, the disputes reach deadlock. So the water industry, working with CCWater and Ofwat, is developing an additional alternative dispute resolution scheme that will mean that customers will have a final opportunity to resolve their complaint without having to go to court.

Scheduled to begin before the summer, the scheme will be funded by the water companies but overseen by a completely independent panel.

More information available here.