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Enhancing Support for Business Customers in the Open Water Market

Join our workshop to discuss challenges, lessons learned, and consumer issues in the water sector. Share your views on supporting non-household customers and improving customer protection and regulation. Let's work together for a better water industry future.

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Enhancing Support for Business Customers in the Open Water Market

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  1. Consumer Issues Workshop29th September – CCWater Northern region Robert Light Chair CCWater Northern Committee

  2. Business customers in the new open market Business customers will need our support not only to answer their queries but to fix problems when things go wrong. They will also need an advocate when big issues need changing. We want to understand your views on what support we should provide non-household customers.

  3. Challenges of competition • Limited push factors • Customer satisfaction: Most are relatively satisfied with service • Water is a relatively low cost and lower priority than energy • Limited pull factors • Retail margin: Limited price discounts, service incentives, innovation? • Awareness • Lower as organisations get smaller • Ability to differentiate retailer service offerings?

  4. Customers worry about… Contracts that automatically roll-over and/or tie in customers Mis-selling, cold calling, hard sell and limited cool-off period Lessons Learned, Dec 2014 Open for Business, Aug 2016 Customer detriment to those forced to switch due to retail exit Awareness of market, retailers, renegotiation as an option Complaints resolved promptly

  5. Issues to Consider: • How should we best support non-household customers? • How will customers work out which retailer is for them? How can they judge its pedigree? • How can all stakeholders increase awareness? • What do customers need in terms of • Price and service quality? • New or improved services that are attractive? • Customer protection and/or regulation • How far should wholesalers retain a NHH customer service function?

  6. Consumer Protection – Flooding What can customer’s expect from their water company if the area in which they live is subject to flooding? How might this response develop in the future as the climate becomes less predictable?

  7. Consumer Protection- Flooding • Issues to consider: • What currently works well? • What are the main barriers to partnership working? • Are there organisations or groups that are missing from current forums/discussions e.g. builders developers/planners/local flood groups? • How can companies build on the progress?/ What more can be done? • How can the water industry share good practice?

  8. CCWater’s Definition of Vulnerability “Vulnerability occurs when a consumer may not have reasonable opportunity to access and receive an inclusive, safe service from a company, resulting in a permanent or temporary detrimental impact on their well-being, finances or health”.

  9. Consumers may experience detriment when there is a circumstance of potential vulnerability and insufficient support.

  10. Working together In it’s vulnerability focus report, Ofwat identified three main areas of drivers of potential vulnerability : Effective collaboration between organisations to identify, reach and help customers can provide the support to prevent customers experiencing detriment as a result of their potential vulnerability. What would consumers expect companies to do to achieve this and how can CCWater help?

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