Water

If you are unhappy about the service you have received from your water company, you should complain directly to them. Water and sewerage companies are legally obliged to have a complaints procedure which has been approved by Ofwat, the regulatory body for water. If you are still dissatisfied tell the company - they should then deal with your complaint at a higher level.

Thames Water’s complaint process is as follows:

1. You must first make contact with Thames Water as quickly as possible.

If you are unhappy about the way in which they have handled your bill or account, call on 0845 641 0020 Lines are open weekdays from 8am to 5pm.
If you are unhappy about the way in which they have dealt with your water supply or wastewater services, call on 0845 9200 800. Lines are open 24 hours a day.
If you would prefer to write, address all letters to: 
Thames Water
PO BOX 436
Swindon
SN38 1TU
Thames Water aims to respond to you within ten working days.

2. If you are not satisfied with the response you can ask for it to be reviewed by their Director of Customer Services. Please write to:

Mike Tempest
Customer Services Director
Thames Water
PO BOX 492
Swindon
SN38 8TU

3. If you still remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, you can contact the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) on 0845 758 1658 (or 0207 931 8502).

About the Consumer Council for Water

The Consumer Council for Water is an independent body set up to represent the interests of water customers. The Consumer Council for Water may investigate your complaint and take it up with Thames Water on your behalf. Normally, they will only take up complaints if Thames Water has been given the opportunity to put things right first.

 

Consumer Council for Water

London & South East
1st Floor
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham
B2 4AJ

 

Alternatively you could get in touch with Ofwat. Ofwat’s job is to make sure that your water company provides you with a good quality service at a fair price.

They do this by:

• keeping bills for consumers as low as possible
• monitoring and comparing the services the companies provide
• scrutinising the companies’ costs and investment
• encouraging competition where this benefits consumers

If a company falls short of what Ofwat or customers expect, Ofwat takes the action necessary to protect consumers’ interests, which may include legal steps such as enforcement action and fines.

As the economic regulator of the water industry in England and Wales Ofwat works closely with a wide range of other stakeholders. These include the water quality regulators (the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate) and the Consumer Council for Water.

Ofwat
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
Birmingham B5 4UA
United Kingdom
By phone: +44 (0)121 625 1300
By email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
By fax: +44 (0)121 625 1400