Guaranteed Service Standards for Water services in England

Where a representative is required to attend your premises, we will offer you an appointment for either the morning or afternoon. We can also offer a 2 hour time slot on a certain day, if you request this. You will be given at least 48 hours’ notice of the appointment. If we need to cancel the appointment, you’ll be given 24 hours’ notice of the cancellation. If we fail to give you the required notice of the appointment or any cancellation, you will receive a credit to your account of £20 within 10 business days. 

We will give you 48 hours notice of any planned interruption to your water supply.  This includes confirmation of when the supply will be restored. If we do not provide you with this notice, you’ll receive a credit to your account of £50 within 20 business days. If your supply is not restored when we say it will be, you’ll receive an additional credit of £25 for every further 24 hour period it takes to restore the supply.

We will inform you either verbally or in writing of any unplanned interruptions in your area.  We'll also tell you when the service will be restored and where you can obtain an alternative supply. If we fail to notify you of an unplanned interruption to your supply, you will receive a credit to your account of £50 within 20 business days.

If your supply is not restored within 48 hours for leaks or bursts in the strategic main or within 12 hours for any other emergency incident: you’ll receive an additional credit of £25 for every further 24 hour period it takes to restore the supply.

You will receive a credit to your account of £20 if you or the Network Operator reports an incident of low pressure for your supply. It must have occurred twice, with each incident lasting more than 1 hour, and within the last 28 days. This credit will only apply if low pressure has not been caused by necessary work in your area. 

If the Network Operator has not reported this to us, you will need to report it to us within 3 months of the incident to claim the credit. 

If you become aware that your property has been flooded by waste water from the sewer, you may be entitled to compensation. 

For internal flooding, you'll receive a credit to your account of either the value of your annual sewerage charges, or £150, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of £1000.  If the flooding is external and you have been materially affected, you will receive a credit to your account of either 50% of the value of your annual sewerage charges, or £75. Again, whichever is greater up to a maximum of £500. 

You must report any instances of waste water flooding to us within 3 months of the incident to claim the credit. You need to provide a written statement detailing the effect of any external waste water entering your land or property. 

If you make an enquiry about your account with us, we’ll respond to this within 10 business days. If we don’t, you’ll receive a credit to your account of £20 within 10 business days. 

If you make a request to change your billing frequency that cannot be facilitated, we’ll confirm this to you within 5 working days of your request. If we don’t, you’ll receive a credit to your account of £20 within 10 business days. 

We always try to ensure that where things have gone wrong, issues are resolved as quickly as possible. Our customer service team will deal with most incidents. For more info, have a look at our complaints procedure.

If, however, you choose to make a written complaint to us, we’ll respond within 10 business days. If we fail to respond in this time, you’ll receive a credit to your account of £20 within 10 business days. 

Where the wholesaler has failed to meet a standard of service, the credit to your account will be passed on from the wholesaler via Clear Business. Please note that in these circumstances we are not responsible for initiating the payment.  If you believe you are eligible for a payment under the Guaranteed Service Standards report this to us within 3 months of the incident.  We can investigate and liaise with the wholesaler to resolve any issue. 

Where we have failed to provide a payment under the Guaranteed Service Standards within the required timeframe, you will receive an additional credit to your account. The amount of additional credit will depend on the Guaranteed Service Standard incident.  

There are exceptions to the above Guaranteed Service Standards. For example where industrial action has caused an interruption to the supply or severe weather has prevented the supply from being restored. Each potential incident will be investigated to ensure the appropriate credit is applied.  If you have made a claim for a payment under the Guaranteed Service Standards which you are not eligible for, we will explain why this is the case. 

Guaranteed Service Standard Payment Summary