Wessex Water promises service improvements after topping consumer satisfaction survey
Overall household confidence in water firms is down in the annual study
Wessex Water is vowing to continue improving its service to customers in Wiltshire after topping a yearly consumer satisfaction survey.
The firm topped Consumer Council for Water's (CCW) annual Water Matters study for customer confidence, as overall trust in water companies fell amid a sewage crisis and rising bills.
Wessex Water scored 7.02 out of 10 as it improved it's previous score.
The poll, which was taken before households were told they would face an unprecedented rise in water bills from April, found less than two thirds of households (65%) are satisfied that they receive value for money for their water service, down 4% on a year ago.
After sliding to its lowest-ever level last year, the overall trust score for water companies fell again to 6.28 out of 10, despite the majority of companies improving their score.
Regulator Ofwat has allowed companies to raise average bills by £31 a year, or £157 in total, over the next five years to £597 by 2030 to help finance a £104 billion upgrade for the sector.
That represents a 36% increase before inflation, which will be added on top.
However, despite the average £31 a year increase, households have been hit particularly hard since April with an average hike of £86 or 20% front-loaded into the coming year, with smaller percentage increases in each of the next four years.
In return, the sector has pledged to deliver a record five-year package of investment to improve services and clean up rivers, streams and seas.
The CCW said customers must now see companies delivering on their promises.
Its chief executive Mike Keil said: "Water companies have been entrusted with an unprecedented amount of customers' money, so people need to see and experience a marked difference and are not going to tolerate more broken promises.
"Restoring people's trust in the sector and belief they are getting a fair deal depends on companies not only consistently delivering on their commitments but also communicating really clearly to customers how their money is flowing directly to improve the things they care about, like the health of our rivers."
A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “We have a proud record of outstanding customer service and we’re pleased to have again improved our score in this year’s CCW consumer trust survey.
“We have also just topped the annual customer measure of experience from regulator Ofwat, while the past year has seen us retain the independent Customer Service Excellence quality mark and earn top grading in CCW’s household complaints report.
“We’re always striving to improve and deliver the best for the communities we serve, including record investment in water and sewerage services and industry-leading support for anyone who needs help with their bills.”