Government to double compensation for poor customer service from water companies

Compensation for those receiving poor services could more than double under new proposals, while a list of such circumstances could also expand.

The move aims to improve customer service by clamping down on issues such as delays, complaints or outages, and will now be subject to an eight-week consultation.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the Government hopes to “turn the tide on the destruction of our waterways”.

And it comes just days after three water companies - including in Yorkshire - were told they could face combined fines totalling £168m for their handling of sewage.

The new proposals will increase the amount of reimbursement that customers are legally entitled to when standards are not met by the nation's water companies.

They include automatic payments for those issued boil notices or when bodies fail to conduct meter readings or installations as promised.

There was huge disruption in parts of the region last year, after thousands of homes in Goole were affected by a burst water pipe. Some customers were left for a fortnight struggling to get clean water, a bath, or turn their heating on after a “complicated operational incident”.

Announcing the proposals, 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.”

The Government has previously announced a Water (Special Measures) Bill to cut sewage spills and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

And last week it emerged that Yorkshire Water could be forced to pay £47m in fines for such spills, amid what the Ofwat chief executive described as a "catalogue of failure".

Along with Thames Water and Northumbrian Water, Ofwat's David Black said, they "routinely" released sewage into rivers and seas rather than in "exceptional" circumstances.

Now, under a 'guaranteed standards' scheme which sets a baseline for customer service, compensation and claims are to be updated for the first time since 2000.

For households impacted by an incorrect notice of planned supply interruption, compensation will rise from £20 to £50, meanwhile reimbursement for internal flooding from sewers will increase from a maximum of £1,000 to £2,000.

Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said increasing compensation will incentivise water companies to get things right the first time.

Jenny Suggate, director of policy, research and campaigns at CCW, said this was a significant step forward. She said: “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.”