Infographic for Water Matters 2019 - England and Wales
  • 1 in 10 households in England and Wales say they struggle to afford their water bill
  • About a third of customers have little awareness of water company support and are less likely to contact them for help – according to water consumer body CCW’s annual survey
  • Under 25s, over 75s, Black-Caribbean and minority ethnic groups most at risk of missing out on financial support with bills
  • Survey also shows more customers are satisfied they get value for money from their water company than previous year

Water companies need to build a stronger relationship with their customers to reduce the risk of households missing out on vital help with their water bills and other assistance when they hit hard times.

The Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) annual survey Water Matters (pdf) has revealed about a third of household customers in England and Wales have little awareness of the range of support services available from their water company.1

The water consumer watchdog fears this could prevent some of the households worst affected by the impact of coronavirus or other serious situations from accessing financial and practical support from their water company. Schemes such as social tariffs can substantially reduce the water bills of low-income households but only 1 in 20 customers told CCW they were aware this support exists.

CCW is calling on the industry to make a concerted effort to raise awareness of assistance schemes – particularly among the under 24s, over 75s, Black-Caribbean and minority ethnic groups and those with no internet access. These customers are among the least likely to reach out for help even if they are unable to afford their bills, according to the research.

More positively, the survey shows 76 per cent of customers think they get value for money from their water company while 66 per cent agree their bills are fair – both marking an increase on the previous year.

Dr Mike Keil, Head of Policy and Research at CCW, said: “Now – more than ever – households need to know their water company is on their side and there to help them if things takes a turn for the worst. Water companies have a wide range of schemes that can help customers through difficult times but they must do more to empower households with the knowledge they need to seek help.”

Almost 750,000 customers have signed up to water companies’ social tariffs but that still doesn’t come close to addressing the scale of the problem.

About 1 in 10 customers told CCW their water bill was unaffordable but that number could grow significantly in the coming months as more households are caught up in the financial fallout from COVID-19.

Other schemes like WaterSure can cap the bills of some metered customers that are in receipt of welfare benefits and have to use a lot of water due to their circumstances. But just 1 in 10 households are aware of this support.

Water companies also need to step up their efforts to raise awareness of their Priority Services, which provide free practical support to customers in vulnerable circumstances. Awareness of these services – which includes the delivery of bottled water to a customer’s doorstep during a loss of water supply – has fallen over the past six years to 42 per cent.

These services can provide a lifeline to households during periods of disruption, particularly the one in ten customers who say they would be unable to access bottled water if they lost their mains water supply for more than a few hours.

For more information call the media team on 0121 345 1005.

1 The results in Water Matters (pdf) are based on a sample size of 6,310 household water customers in England and Wales. Interviews took place between September 2019 and March 2020. CCW carried out additional analysis of the results and explored this in its Highlights report.

Download Water Matters Highlights Report 2019 - 2020 (pdf – 2 MB)
Download Water Matters Household customers' views on water & sewerage services 2019 - 2020 (pdf – 9 MB)