Infographic for Water Matters: Household customers’ views of their water and sewerage services 2018-19 - Wales

Households in Wales are more satisfied with the services and value they get from their water company than customers in England, a new report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has found.

CCWater’s annual Water Matters survey (pdf) shows that Wales continues to lead the way when it comes to customers being satisfied with the essential services water companies provide and the fairness of their bills.1

Satisfaction with water and sewerage services remains high in both countries but more than eight out of ten households in Wales are satisfied that they get value for money, compared to around seven out of ten in England.

Customers in Wales are also more likely to believe that their water company cares about the services it provides. However, they are less likely than people in England to contact their water company directly when they have an issue, suggesting that suppliers in Wales may need to improve the way they communicate with customers.

Phil Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), said: “Households in Wales have been consistently satisfied with many aspects of their water and sewerage services which is very pleasing, but there’s no room for complacency. Companies need to make every contact with their customers count and that’s an area that must improve in Wales. It can have a huge bearing on people’s overall perception of their water company.”

The report has also revealed that levels of trust in water companies remains higher for customers in Wales compared to those in England, although this is an improving picture across both countries.2

For more information or to arrange an interview please call the media team on 0121 345 1005.

1 Interviews were carried out with more than 5,100 customers across England and Wales who were solely or jointly responsible for paying their household’s water and sewerage bill. In Wales, this included customers of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy. 70 per cent of customers in Wales felt their charges were fair, compared to 62 per cent in England.

2 Customers rate trust on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ‘do not trust them at all’ and 10 is ‘completely trust them’. Water companies averaged 7.6 in England and 8.1 in Wales.

Download Water Matters: Household customers’ views of their water and sewerage services 2018-19 (pdf – 485 KB)
Download Data Report for Water Matters: Household customers’ views of their water and sewerage services 2018-19 (pdf – 4 MB)