Complaints process policy

Any inbound contact from a customer or customer’s representative that expresses or implies dissatisfaction with the charges, service or functions provided by the water company or retailer on behalf of the water company.

Whilst the complaint process is the same for household and non-household customers, who you complain to depends on the type of customer you are.

If you’re a household customer (liable for council tax only), you should complain to your wholesale water company. If you’re unsure, see who supplies your water in your area.

If you’re a non-household customer (liable for business rates only), you should complain to your retailer or water company.

All water and sewerage companies and retailers must have a complaints procedure.

Formal complaints procedures apply to all complaints received whether over the telephone, via email or social media or in writing.

The majority of companies and retailers have a two-stage complaints procedure, however, some may provide a final response at stage one of their process.

Stage one: Complain to your company or retailer, giving them a chance to sort things out. They should respond within 10 working days. If they don’t, you may be entitled to a payment under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) (pdf).

Stage two: If you’re unable to reach a resolution at stage one, you can ask the company to escalate your complaint to stage two. They will then have another 10 working days to respond.

If you’re still unhappy after the stage two response (or final response at stage one), you can contact CCW.

Please give the water company or retailer a chance to resolve your issue before bringing your complaint to us. If you need help, try our complaint letter tool.

You can contact us in the following ways:

• Call us: 0300 034 2222* (England), 0300 034 3333* (Wales) – our lines are open Monday to Friday between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm
• Online: Use our online form to submit your complaint
• Post: Send us a letter to CCW, 23 Stephenson Street, Birmingham B2 4BH

* Calls may be recorded for training and quality monitoring purposes.

Stage three: CCW will conduct an independent review of your complaint and the service you have received from your water company or retailer.

In order to conduct an in depth review we will need to understand exactly what it is you have complained about; what the company or retailers final position is; what you remain unhappy about; and what outcome you are seeking.

It would therefore be helpful if you provide the above detail when you make the initial contact with CCW.

When undertaking the review of your complaint we will consider the following:

• Are we the right organisation to deal with the issue?
• Has the water company or retailer followed its policies, procedures, and regulations?
• Do we think there is more the water company or retailer could do to resolve this complaint i.e. has the water company or retailer provided a satisfactory level of customer service?

There may be occasions where we may not be the best organisation to help you, as not everything related to water or sewerage is within our remit.

There may be another body that can help, or it may be a case of you having to involve your insurer or seek legal advice.

Complaints we can’t help with

If we believe the water company or retailer has adhered to their policies, procedures and regulations and we believe the resolution to be reasonable, we will have no grounds to challenge them further.

In these circumstances we will contact you, explaining why CCW believes the outcome is correct, and advising that we will not be able to take the matter forward on your behalf.

If we believe the water company or retailer could have done more, or we do not have enough information to make a final decision, we will write to the company or retailer, asking for more information whilst at the same time making a recommendation on a possible resolution.

In these circumstances we will contact you and update you on what we have done and advise what we hope to achieve by way of an outcome for you. Water companies and retailers have 10 working days to respond to our initial contact so please bear with us when considering chasing for an outcome.

If upon receipt of the company or retailer response we believe they have provided all the information requested and addressed all the points raised and there are no further challenges to be made, we will explain the reasons for our decision to you and close the complaint.

Stage four: If, upon receipt of the company or retailer response, CCW believe the company or retailer has failed to address any of the points raised; Or there are identified long standing service failures that the company were aware of but failed to action; Or the company or retailer has not correctly escalated a complaint in line with its complaints procedure, we will contact the water company or retailer again to ensure all issues raised are addressed.

Where necessary the water company or retailer may be given a further 10 working days to provide all the missing information.

If upon receipt of the company or retailer response we believe they have now provided all the information requested and addressed all the points raised, we will discuss this with you, and if there are no further challenges we can make to the water company or retailer, we will close the complaint.

We will keep you updated at each stage of the process and will do our best to achieve the best possible outcome for you. However, if you remain unhappy with the outcome, we will consider if your complaint is eligible for the CCW Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service.

CCW offers an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Service for customers who remain unhappy with the proposed resolution of their complaint after all stages of the complaints process have been exhausted.

CCW’s ADR service falls into two parts; mediation and adjudication. Not all customers are eligible for the CCW ADR service.

Are you eligible?

To be eligible for the CCW ADR service, your water company or retailer needs to be signed up to this scheme. If your water company or retailer is signed up to a different ADR scheme, you’ll need to contact that scheme to progress your complaint. Find out which scheme your water company is signed to.

The Scheme Rules outline the types of complaints which can be considered under the ADR scheme. Complaints that fall outside of the scheme’s scope can be found on our ADR page.

CCW will discuss with you your eligibility for ADR and which ADR provider you fall into when we reach that step in the complaints process. If we feel that ADR is not the most appropriate route for you to achieve the desired outcome, CCW will discuss alternative other routes you can pursue to seek a satisfactory resolution of your complaint.

Mediation

Eligible customers and their water company and retailer will be invited to take part in mediation if CCW feels, having reviewed the information available, that mediation is likely to find a resolution that both parties are happy with.

Both the customer and water company or retailer need to agree to take part in mediation. If you are a business customer and your complaint has an element which relates to your wholesaler, we will also invite your wholesaler to join mediation. Wholesalers are not formally part of the ADR process for business complaints so wholesalers join on a voluntary basis.

CCW’s ADR Team will facilitate the mediation process to help both sides reach a mutually acceptable outcome. CCW will be transparent and advise you what we think is a suitable resolution compared to what likely outcome could be achieved at adjudication.

If mediation is successful and you and the water company or retailer agree on a resolution, this marks the end of the complaints process and you cannot continue with adjudication.

If the agreement involves a monetary value to be transferred to you or action by the water company or retailer, they will arrange for this to happen directly with you.

If mediation is unsuccessful or if either party declines mediation, then the next step is to consider whether adjudication is appropriate. CCW will support you in making an informed decision on whether adjudication is the best route for you.

Adjudication

An adjudication is an independent review and decision made on an unresolved complaint. A customer accepting the Adjudicator’s decision makes the decision legally binding on their water company or retailer.

CCW sources an adjudication from Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (DRO). This means that the adjudication outcome is impartial and independent of the water company or retailer, the customer and of CCW.

CCW will be in touch with you once the adjudication outcome has been published, and received by the CCW ADR team.

The application process for adjudication needs to be made within 6 months from the date CCW informs you of your eligibility for an adjudication decision.

During an initial pre-adjudication call between CCW and you, we will explore what evidence has been provided and give advice on how to strengthen your adjudication application.

CCW will also give advice on the likelihood of achieving your desired outcome.

CCW will then submit the application and evidence to DRO on your behalf. An adjudication can take up to 35 working days for a decision to be made.

After adjudication we’ll contact you to inform you of the adjudicator’s decision. The adjudication decision marks the end of the complaints procedure and there is no route to appeal the adjudicator’s findings.

You’ll have the option to reject or accept the adjudicator’s decision.

If you accept the adjudicator’s findings, CCW will let the adjudicator and water company or retailer know so the award can be made. Accepting the adjudicator’s decision makes the decision legally binding.

If you reject the adjudicator’s findings, you’re free to take further legal action. CCW will discuss appropriate next steps to support you with making this decision.

We’re not able, and do not have powers, to act as loss adjusters in deciding a claim for damages or similar loss. If you’re not happy with an offer regarding any such loss you may have to pursue the matter through small claims court. However, we’ll try to help you wherever possible to resolve your case directly, if any service failures are evident.

In some cases we may identify the need for a policy or procedure to be changed and we’ll work with and challenge the company or retailer where necessary to bring about change.

If you decide to seek resolution or compensation via adjudication or the courts, we’ll normally conclude our involvement, though we can continue to offer advice on any customer service related matters.

CCW deals with all customers fairly and provides a high-quality service. We understand that people who use our service may be angry about the issues that they have raised in their complaint. However if this anger is directed at a member of staff, this is not acceptable. This includes the language (verbal or written) used that causes an individual to feel insulted, offended or threatened and in some circumstances CCW may restrict the type of customer contract or withhold services that continue to relate to a closed complaint. See our unacceptable customer contact policy.