Thames Water receives 139 complaints for every 10,000 customers – the worst in the country
Thames Water has been labelled the worst when it comes to customer complaints, receiving more than any other supplier in the country.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) says it saw the number of complaints that needed to be escalated rise by almost a third and is at its highest level for a decade.
Across England and Wales, there were 222,956 complaints made by households, with more than half (57 per cent) related to billing issues such as charging, methods of payment and affordability.
Complaints were also received about water meters and environmental issues such as storm overflows and pollution in rivers.
Thames Water and Yorkshire Water were poor on both performance measures – the only two water and wastewater companies to receive this rating, with the Reading-based firm the worst performer overall.
With 139 complaints per 10,000 customers, CCW said Thames received more complaints than any other supplier.
By contrast, Wessex Water and Portsmouth Water, the only two companies to receive top marks on both measures of performance.
The report compiled by CCW notes that they visited the offices in January to undertake a two-day complaint assessment and have been working with them since.
“The causes of complaint and handling issues we saw were myriad and diverse, but CCW sees no excuse for Thames Water not to be able to address them,” they note, adding that they are heartened by the firm’s willingness to take action and hoped to see the number of issues fall over the course of the year.
Dr Mike Keil, chief executive of CCW, said households were wasting time and energy resolving complaints that he felt water firms should be getting right first time.
“Trust in the water sector is already badly fractured and the poor handling of complaints will only compound people’s frustration,” he said.
CCW wants to see action over smart meters, as consumers have been querying the accuracy of bills.
“More companies are planning to roll out smart meters over the next few years, so they must listen and act on people’s concerns now or risk further damaging customer trust,” Dr Keil added.
David Bird, retail director at Thames Water, said: “We are committed to improving the experience of our customers and have been working closely alongside CCW to address these issues.
“CCW have recognised the collaborative approach we have taken and that the improvements we are making are showing promise. However, we recognise we have more to do.”
