WIREDGOV

It’s hard to recall a year in our short history that has involved more changes or challenges than 2019-20 and those are reflected in the publication of the recent (04 September 2020) Annual Review.

Whether it was securing the best possible deal for customers as the 2019 Price Review reached its conclusion or working with the industry to support households and businesses through the outbreak of Covid-19 – our teams have given their all to remain a powerful advocate for consumers across England and Wales.

During the year we assisted more than 10,000 customers with complaints against their water company, while helping to return almost £1.5 million in financial redress. Consumer relations and policy and research teams also kept the pressure on the poorest performing companies, using the wealth of data and research at their disposal to hold them to account against the best practice of their peers.

Other headline achievements included:

• Carrying out 142 investigations into cases of poor complaint handling where we felt a retailer or water company had not delivered a fair outcome for the consumer.
• Promoting our water meter calculator so thousands of households could identify potential bill savings totalling more than £15 million.
• Helping thousands of cash-strapped consumers identify potential welfare payments totalling just over £4 million through our Benefits Calculator.
• Supporting the growth of social tariff schemes and priority services for households in need of financial help or other forms of practical assistance.

You can read more about these and our many other achievements as the voice for consumers in the review.

• Annual Review England and Wales 2019-20