Watchdog welcomes improvement as complaints to Cambridge Water fall

The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has welcomed a reduction in written complaints from customers to Cambridge Water after the watchdog challenged the company to improve its performance.

Figures reported to CCWater by Cambridge Water reveal that complaints made in writing to the company during the first six months of 2017/18 fell by 33 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

The company has come under close scrutiny from the water watchdog since September when it was revealed Cambridge Water had seen almost a 250 per cent increase in written complaints during 2016/17. It was singled out as one of the worst performers in CCWater’s annual complaints report and told to improve.

Professor Bernard Crump, Central and Eastern Chair for CCWater, said: “It appears Cambridge Water has turned a corner and we’re encouraged by this marked improvement.”

“However, the company is still a long way from being in the strong position it was two years ago when it was one of the industry’s best performers. We want to see further reductions in complaints over the next six months to reassure us that it is back on track.”

Cambridge Water had attributed a large part of the increase in complaints during 2016/17 to teething problems caused by the transfer of its customer service operations to the offices of its parent company South Staffs Water.

The company has taken steps to address these concerns but CCWater has requested a further update from the company at the end of January 2018.

For more information or to arrange an interview please call CCWater’s Grainne Roper on 0121 345 1025.