If you’re unhappy with how CCW managed your complaint, you can ask your CCW caseworker, or their manager, to arrange a formal review of your complaint. Help with getting in touch CCW has supported the companies’ work in this area. We’ve ensured additional measures to support customers through the cost of living crisis were implemented. Our One Year on Report summarised the progress achieved since the publication of the recommendations in our independent review of water affordability. We will continue to work with companies to make progress. CCWater has teamed up with poverty relief charity Turn2us opens in new window to provide a benefits calculator and grants search tool to help struggling water customers in England and Wales identify ways to bolster their income. People’s experiences and perceptions of the service provided by companies over the last 5 years is, in many cases, less encouraging than if we look at the 12-year trend 5. This could be the result of a worsening economic climate, the recent negative publicity around storm overflows as well as changing expectations of companies. The most significant differences include:

We may formally investigate your complaint if your water company did not resolve it though its procedures. We may find that what your water company did was correct. It may have acted in line with regulatory requirements. We will explain this to you if that is the case. How you can complain However, the last few years has seen significant increases in the number of people who need help now, or who are feeling worried about the future. If companies lose sight of these shifts, there is a risk that people may suffer. One of the biggest concerns this year is that the majority of people with a disability, and households where people with a disability live, feel that their financial situation has worsened since last year. S27H Provision of information to the Council – (subject to certain conditions) provides for CCW to request information from the Authority, undertakers or licensed water suppliers. Companies should promote schemes widely, in accessible language and formats. They also need to reduce the effort needed to apply for social tariffs. For example, customers may find it difficult to print off or complete pdf forms. Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0300 061 4298

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Awareness of the extra help offered to people in vulnerable circumstances through water companies’ Priority Services Registers has fallen, from 49% in 2021 to 47% in 2022. (Not a significant change.) Please refer to the accompanying data report for a detailed analysis of the Water Matters results (pdf. 2MB). the requirements made by a water company before connecting a water supply - for example, if you think the deposit you've been asked to pay is unreasonable The recent rise in the financial pressures on households means it is important to make information available to people. This year saw an improvement in the direction of the CE trend, which is positive. Until this year, the trend in the customer engagement score was downward but now both the 9-year and 5-year trends are flat. This is because, in 2022, there were large increases in the CE score in both England and Wales.

Areas where there are long-term upward trends in value for money, affordability and awareness of support available, fairness (in England only), and care (in England only) have flat trends over five years; These figures show that all sections of the population and ethnic groups are experiencing this increase in pressure on their finances. People who felt that their finances had got worse were nearly twice as likely to feel that their charges were unaffordable. The trends for trust in England and Wales are upwards over the long term but flat or downwards over the last five years. Water Matters: Household Customer Views on their water and sewerage services – published by the Consumer Council for Water. The scale of this challenge was highlighted in a recent report which revealed the amount owed to water companies in unpaid bills has risen by 17 per cent since 2010 2.

The figures relating to people with a disability are a particular concern to us. We would like companies to consider these findings and identify what action can be taken to increase awareness and take-up of financial assistance among this group. We will ask companies to report progress on this to us in our meetings with them on affordability during the coming year.