Ofwat consults on customer credit Code change

Ofwat is consulting until 9 August on changes to the Customer Protection Code of Practice designed to deliver greater protections for non household customers who have accrued credit against their accounts – for example through pre-payment for services and deposits – including where the retailer has exited the market or the customers’ account has been closed.

CP0010 aims to deliver greater protections for non-household customers by:

• ensuring customers have an appropriate level of awareness of the risk to their credit balances held by retailers;

• increasing customer awareness of the amount of credit they have built up and of the alternative options available to them – retailers will be required to clarify on bills the amount of credit a customer has accrued against their account and what it relates to, and to remind the customer of the options available relating to this; and

• requiring retailers, where they can do so, to refund credit balances to customers on account closure, within ten working days of issuing the final bill.

Ofwat said it had decided not to proceed with data reporting requirements as part of CP0010 and would consult with industry in due course when we have considered this further. --