Guaranteed standards and compensation

Details of payments your water company must make if it does not meet its service standards are summarised in the following table. There are occasional circumstances when these payments do not apply. More information is available from Ofwat here.

Summary of payment amounts that apply in England & Wales: These are the minimum payment amount. Some companies may voluntarily increase these – ask your company for details.

GSS Regulation	GSS payment		Late payment penalty
	Domestic customers	Business customers	Domestic customers	Business customers
Appointments not made properly	£20	£20	£10	£10
Appointments not kept	£20	£20	£10	£10
Incidences of low water pressure	£25	£25	-	-
Incorrect notice of planned interruptions to supply	£20	£50	£20	£50
Supply not restored(*) - initial period	£20	£50	£20	£50
Supply not restored(*) - each further 24 hours	£10	£25
Written account queries and requests to change payment arrangements not actioned on time	£20	£20	£10	£10
Written complaints not actioned on time	£20	£20	£10	£10
Properties sewer flooded internally	Payment equal to annual sewerage charges (Minimum payment of £150. Maximum of £1000)		£20	£50
Properties materially affected sewer flooded externally	Payment equal to 50% of annual sewerage charges (Minimum payment of £75. Maximum of £500)		£20	£50

(*) Supply not restored within time notified (planned work) or when supply is interrupted for an extended time under unplanned/emergency situations.

Payment and claims

If you are entitled to a GSS payment and the company has not made the payment automatically, you can claim the payment within three months of the incident.

If, at the time of the incident, you owe money to the company, and have done so for more than six weeks, the company will normally credit your account rather than make payment by cheque.
 

Legal rights

The scheme does not affect any other legal rights to compensation you may have.

Disputed claims

It is each water company's responsibility to make sure it complies with the GSS regulations. You can contact your local Consumer Council for Water office if you have any questions by clicking here.