Customers ready to get involved in holding water companies to account

As the Government plans to give consumers a greater voice in holding water companies to account, research from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) and Ofwat suggests they would welcome the opportunity.

The work, by research agency Blue Marble, found that in the context of declining trust, perceived poor performance and rising bills, consumers are willing to intervene directly to hold water companies to account. “They see a role for the public to effect change in the water sector monopoly system by taking part in a new approach to accountability,” CCW said.

Topics of particular consumer interest include supply incidents, water quality, and storm overflows, as well as how income from bills is being used.

CCW further commented: "Consumers want a mechanism for holding companies to account that is independent, made up of a wide range of consumers, and sufficiently empowered. Most support the idea of a ‘consumer group’ in principle as a collective way to ‘give them a voice’ and direct involvement in accountability. Group members should act on consumers’ behalf using customer insight and their own experience. Suggested necessary powers included: requiring senior staff to attend, provide information and answer questions; evaluating proposed solutions.

“Consumers want the evidence of the outcomes of accountability disseminated directly to all consumers. Desired outcomes include: transparency from companies about their performance, including financial matters; acknowledgement that the public see current performance as not good enough; evidence any group is being listened to; progress updates (verified by trusted third parties); and punitive measures to encourage companies to act. Non-households want a higher profile for the retail market and compensation for lost business during incidents.”

A separate part of the study found customer appetite to take part in water industry research and engagement has grown since 2020. Consumers said research and engagement should be: honest and transparent; informed but not overwhelmed; accessible and motivating. The motivation could be financial, or via the idea of participating in something important. CCW noted this has implications for the way research is described, the quality of the respondent experience, and the belief that it will lead to change or action.