Water companies will be forced to double compensation for bad customer service under Government plans to clean up the industry.
Households and businesses will get more generous payouts for a wide range of cases, including delays in fixing their water supply or responding to complaints, and failure to conduct meter readings as promised, while issues like internal flooding from sewers could fetch an additional £1,000.
It is the first time water companies have been forced to increase their compensation rates for basic water standards since the turn of the century.
Steve Reed, the environment secretary, said the changes, which are subject to an eight-week consultation, form part of the Government’s plan to “turn the tide on the destruction of our waterways”.
When firms do not take action on complaints on time or make appointments properly, payments will simply double from £20 to £40. For other issues, the increase will be more dramatic.
As it stands, households whose water supplies are not restored on time are usually entitled to payments of £20 for the first 24 hours and £10 for the subsequent 24-hour period they are made to wait.
Under Labour’s reforms, these rates will more than double to £50 for the first 24 hours and £50 for each subsequent 12-hour period.
Compensation will also rise for issues like low pressure, where customers will get up to five payments of £50 per year, up from £25 once per year. For internal flooding from sewers, the maximum payout will increase from £1,000 to £2,000.
Businesses will also see their compensation rise from £50 for the first day and £100 for each additional 24-hour period to £100 initially, followed by £100 for every 12 hours thereafter.
Payouts for missed appointments will increase from £20 to £50 for both households and businesses.
Customers will also be entitled to automatic compensation in a broader array of cases.
These include when people are served with boil notices – meaning they must boil their water before they drink it, cook with it, or brush their teeth, and when firms fail to conduct meter readings or installations as planned.
It means that recent incidents in Brixham – where people were told to boil their water after a parasite outbreak – and Bramley – where it was feared the supply may have been contaminated by a nearby fuel leak – would have automatically led to payouts for all customers.
Mr Reed said: “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.”
Labour said the proposals reflect the need to update payments in line with inflation and recognise the “significant impacts” of recent disruptions on communities like those in Brixham and Bramley.
“This will put fair and transparent customer service at the heart of water company dealings when basic services are compromised,” it said.
The plans come as water companies face criticism over the sewage crisis blighting Britain’s rivers and seas, with regulator Ofwat proposing £168 million of fines for three of England’s biggest firms.
The penalties include a £104 million penalty for Thames Water, £47 million for Yorkshire Water and £17 million for Northumbrian Water for failing to manage sewage spills.
The consultation on the compensation changes will run from Aug 12 until Oct 7, with a Government response following “in due course”.
Source Agencies
