In response to the Consumer Council for Water’s report on complaint handling in the water industry,
Martin Kane, director of customer relations for Severn Trent said: “Any time a customer has to contact us because something has gone wrong it’s disappointing. We take each complaint very seriously and are working to respond to our customers’ priorities.
Numbers of complaints to Severn Trent remain below the industry’s average, but we know that we can do a better job for our customers.
The Consumer Council for Water’s report shows that the 15.7% rise in complaints to Severn Trent in 2010/11 came largely from complaints which fall under the category of water services and the consumer body recognises that last year’s extremely cold winter played a role in the rise in complaints.
About 40% of the complaints we received from customers about water services in the last financial year came during the colder winter months. A number of these complaints were about leaks, burst water mains and low pressure which are of course frustrating for customers. We want to reassure everyone that we’re taking steps now to better prepare our people, our equipment and our systems for what could be another very cold winter.
One of the biggest difficulties was in reaching leaks quickly enough in poor weather conditions. Right now we’re making sure that our leak repair teams have access to more 4x4 vehicles over the winter period, and they go through extra training on driving in icy conditions so that colleagues are better able to respond quickly and safely when things go wrong.
Householders, too, can start to prepare themselves against frozen pipes, leaks and bursts inside their home. Make sure you know where your stop tap is and that it works properly in case you need to get to it quickly in an emergency.
Also, take time now to look around the home for any exposed pipes, particularly those in roof spaces and next to outside walls, and ensuring they’re insulated properly.
The problems freezing weather can cause usually aren’t apparent until the thaw sets in, and by then the damage has been done. But by taking steps now to check and protect pipework, you can reduce the risk of frozen or burst pipes in your own home.”
Severn Trent Water, voted 2009 Utility Company of the Year, serves more than 3.7m homes and business customers in England and Wales.
Its region stretches from mid-Wales to Rutland and from the Bristol Channel to the Humber.
The company delivers almost two billion litres of water every day through 46,000km of pipes. A further 54,000km of sewer pipes take waste water away to more than 1,000 sewage treatment works.
Severn Trent Water’s customer bills are the lowest in the country – an average of just 83p per person, per day.
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