Our operational complaints process
Stage 1
If you have a complaint about your water supply and you contact us by telephone, we’ll try to resolve it immediately for you. If it isn’t possible for you to call us, you can use any of our other channels available.
If we can’t resolve your issue right away, we aim to resolve it within five working days. However, if it requires more investigation we’ll make sure we respond to you within ten working days from the date you contact us. We will be clear with you on the timescales of when we expect to resolve your complaint.
If we fail to respond within ten working days, you’ll automatically receive a payment under our customer charter the Bristol Water Promise. You can find out about our Customer Promise commitments.
Stage 2
If you’re unhappy with our initial response and ask for it to be reviewed by a manager, we will respond to you within ten working days of receiving this contact from you.
Within eight weeks of us receiving your complaint, we will either be able to resolve your complaint, or advise you that we’re still not in a position to issue our final response. We will tell you why this is, and also when we expect to be able to do so.
In both of these cases we will tell you how you can contact CCW if you are unhappy with our response, or if you do not want to wait beyond the 8 week time limit.
Consumer Council for Water (CCW)
If you are still not happy with our response to your complaint, you can refer the matter to CCW. This is the statutory independent body that represents the interests of water consumers and helps resolve customers’ complaints. CCW will look at the facts relating to your complaint and may act on your behalf either through mediation or by investigating your complaint. Where appropriate, they may ask us to take action to resolve the issue.
Water Redress Scheme (WATRS)
If you are still not happy with the response to your complaint, you can refer the matter to WATRS. It is an independent and impartial adjudication service that is free for you to use and has the authority to make decisions that we have to comply with Disputes handled by the Water Services.
Regulation Authority (OFWAT)
In some cases, OFWAT has a statutory duty to investigate complaints and determine the outcome. This typically relates to complaints of a technical or legal nature. CCW normally refers any such complaints that it receives to OFWAT.
Arbitration
In some cases, it may be appropriate to use an arbitrator to resolve a complaint. We can provide more information about which disputes may be appropriate for arbitration. Alternatively, CCW can advise you about this.
