Ofwat has announced a summit on the support offered to customer’s struggling to pay their bills, following latest research published by the regulator.
The Vulnerability Summit, organised in collaboration with Ofgem, will be held on 10 September. It will bring together leaders from the energy and water sectors, consumer groups, charities and front-line advisors for a day designed to drive change in companies approaches to vulnerability – and focus on concrete customer-centric actions that can be delivered quickly to achieve this.
The morning session will be available through a livestream for wider sector stakeholders and anyone else with an interest.
Lynn Parker, Senior Director for Casework, Enforcement and Customers at Ofwat said:
“Ongoing cost of living challenges make it essential that utility companies make every effort possible to support those who are struggling to pay their bill.
“The newly-elected government has made it clear customer satisfaction will be one of the key principles underpinning its approach to utilities.
“We agree that water companies should put delivering for customers at the heart of their business, and helping those who can’t afford to pay is a vital part of that. We will lead this challenge, driving improvements as rapidly as possible.
“Our latest customer research offers food for thought on this topic. It shows while water companies have made some progress in support for financially vulnerable customers, they cannot afford to be complacent and need to make every effort to provide value for money for their customers and extra support for those who are struggling to pay.
“Just over half of water bill payers reported struggling to pay household bills fairly frequently over the last year (53%, up from 50% in late 2023). One-fifth said they were currently struggling to pay their water bill (20%, up from 18%).
“There are some positive signs companies are responding to this challenge. Almost one in ten water bill payers (9%) reported receiving financial support for their water bill (up from 6% in late 2023). There has also been an increase in awareness of water companies providing financial support (31%, up from 28%).
“We’ll continue to hold companies to account for their actions in this area. In our Paying Fair guidelines assessment for 2024, companies report meeting an average of 96% of our minimum expectations in supporting household customers pay their bill, access help and repay debts.
“Companies also outlined plans for delivering further improvements and provided case studies of good practice. We expect them to learn from each other to get better.
“However, we are concerned most of the complaints that companies receive continue to be about billing and charging. Accurate bills, and customers receiving clear, accessible and timely information on billing and support available, are important for preventing households being pushed into financial difficulty.
“That is why over the next year we will be carrying out research into customers’ experiences of billing, to highlight any areas where companies could do better for their customers.
“Companies should aim to provide great customer service, to all their customers, but some will need extra help. We expect companies to identify those people and provide that help.
“Affordability is just one part of the wider customer service issue. Customer vulnerability, when it comes to non-financial matters, is also an area of concern which needs attention.”
Sign up via the online registration form. More details on the agenda and attendees will be confirmed by Ofwat in the coming weeks.
