What standards are guaranteed by water and sewerage companies?

Categories: Complaint support

The Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) provides minimum standards of service for customers required by the regulator, Ofwat. If your company fails to keep to a standard, it must make you a fixed payment or credit that amounts to your water services account. Some of the GSS payments are different for business customers.

The Guaranteed Standard Scheme covers:

Making appointments

When making an appointment, you must be informed if a visit will be in the morning or afternoon, or within a specific two-hour time slot if you request it.

Company failure entitlement:

  • England – £40
  • Wales – £20

Companies don’t have to pay if severe weather conditions prevent their attendance or put staff at risk.

Keeping appointments

The company representative must visit on the agreed day, either in the morning or afternoon as notified, or within a 2-hour time slot if you request it. If they need to cancel, they must give at least 24 hours’ notice.

Company failure entitlement:

  • England – £50
  • Wales – £20

Companies don’t have to pay in certain circumstances such as severe weather conditions that prevent their attendance or put staff at risk.

See Ofwat guidance for full information for both England and Wales (pdf)

Account queries and payment arrangement requests

The company must respond to queries about bill correctness within 10 working days, regardless of how the query is made.

If the company can’t agree to a proposed payment plan, they must respond to written or oral payment plan change queries within 5 working days.

Company failure entitlement:

  • England – £40
  • Wales – £20

Low water pressure

The company must ensure the water pressure is at least 7 metres head (0.7 bar) in the communication pipe, usually measured at the outside stop valve (OSV).

Company failure entitlement if the company fails to do this twice for more than 1 hour within a 28-day period:

  • England – £50 (up to 5 times, per year). If you also experience ongoing low pressure, you may be automatically entitled to £250 per year.
  • Wales – £25 (once per year)

There are some circumstances where a GSS payment will not be made. See Ofwat guidance for full information for both England and Wales (pdf)

Notice of supply interruption

When there is a planned interruption to your water supply, the company must inform you in writing at least 48 hours in advance (24 hours in Wales).

This is usually done by a card through your door. They must also tell you when they expect to restore your supply.

Company failure entitlement if the company fails to inform you:

  • England – £50 (£100 for business customers)
  • Wales – £20 (£50 for business customers). You must claim the payment

Supply restoration

The company must restore the water supply by the time stated in the notice, or within 12 hours if it was an emergency due to a leak or burst on a water main.

Company failure entitlement:

  • England – £50 (£100 for business customers).
    • Plus, an extra £50 (£100 for business customers) for each full 12-hour period that the supply is interrupted or cut off
  • Wales – £20 (£50 for business customers)
    • Plus, an extra £10 (£25 for business customers) for each full 24-hour period that the supply is interrupted or cut off

There are some circumstances where a GSS payment will not be made. See Ofwat guidance for full information for both England and Wales (pdf)

Complaints

The company must send you a full reply within 10 working days of receiving a complaint about your water or sewerage services, no matter how you make the complaint.

If the company can’t completely answer your questions, they should send a letter within 10 days explaining what they’ll do, when they’ll do it by, when they’ll give you an update, and the name and phone number of the company employee you can contact about your complaint.

Company failure entitlement if they fail to reply in time:

  • England – £40
  • Wales – £20

There are some circumstances where a GSS payment will not be made. See Ofwat guidance for full information for both England and Wales (pdf)

Sewer flooding inside of your property:

If wastewater from the company’s sewer enters your property, you are entitled to:

England:

  • Your annual sewerage charge
  • Minimum of £300 and capped at £2,000
  • For multiple incidents, an additional £100 to £500 per event applies within a 12-month period.
  • Includes domestic outbuildings

Wales:

  • Your annual sewerage charge
  • Minimum of £150 and capped at £1,000

Sewer flooding outside of your property:

For external sewer flooding on your land/property, you are entitled to:

England:

  • 50% of your annual sewerage charge
  • A minimum of £150 and a maximum of £1,000
  • For multiple incidents, an additional £50 to £250 per event applies within a 12 month period

Wales:

  • 50% of your annual sewerage charge,
  • A minimum of £75 and a maximum of £500

Claims must be made within three months of the incident.

There are some circumstances in which a GSS payment will not be made for sewer flooding. These include if the incident was caused by:

  • Abnormal conditions that could not have been foreseen by the company or prevented by the exercise of all due care (in England)
  • Exceptional weather (in Wales)
  • Industrial action by the company’s employees
  • Your own actions
  • A defect, inadequacy or blockage in your own drains or sewers
  • If it is not practical for the company to have identified that you are affected, and you haven’t made a claim within three months following the date on which the sewage came into your building

If the company fails to make a GSS payment within a specified period (unless it is one where you are required to claim and you have not done so), you are entitled to an extra payment.

Contact your water company if you feel this applies to you.

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