Unacceptable Customer Contact Policy

We don't expect our staff to tolerate abusive, offensive or threatening behaviour that makes it difficult for us to do our jobs. This policy explains how such customer contact will be handled.

Aggressive or abusive contact

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.

If a member of staff takes a telephone call from an abusive customer, the member of staff should inform the caller that their language is unacceptable and that they will end the call if it continues. If their language continues to be unacceptable and the telephone call is terminated, a note must be put on TAP stating the reason why the call was terminated and the incident must be reported to the member of staff’s line manager.

Unreasonable demands and level of contact

The demands made by a customer become unreasonable when it impacts on the level of work which can be achieved by the team. This level of demand could be:

  • Multiple repeat contacts about the same issue
  • Demands for responses in unreasonable timescales
  • Long telephone calls within a short period of time (e.g.) in a day or over the life-span of their complaint.
  • Provision of the same information or information that is not relevant to their complaint.
  • Copied into emails

If a member of staff considers that a customer is being unreasonable in their demand or level of contact they must report this to their line manager.

Restricted contact

CCW will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our service is open to everyone who needs our assistance. However if an individual is being unreasonable and/or their language is inappropriate, we will inform the individual that this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If their demands or behaviours remain unchanged, we will take action to restrict an individual’s contact with us.

This restriction could take the following form:

  • Contact is limited to a nominated individual at CCW
  • The communication method is restricted e.g. written correspondence only

The decision to restrict contact will usually be made by the Head of Operational Excellence or Head of Consumer Delivery. If this decision is made, we will advise the individual of the restriction, how long this restriction will remain in place and why we have made the decision.

Make a complaint

If you’re not happy with the service provided by your water company or retailer, you can make a complaint to us.
Contact us to make a complaint