Thames Water sees a quarter of its total supplies wasted through leaks and
burst pipes, despite hitting its Ofwat target to reduce leaks last year.
Thames Water has also been criticised for the amount of time it takes to
repair leaks.
Figures obtained show that of 441 recent leaks in its area, just 210 were
repaired within the five days promised by Thames Water, while 48 had still
not been repaired after 20 days.
In one case Jeremy Gompertz QC reported a leak from a mains pipe into the
basement of his flat in Highbury, north London, on nine separate occasions
between December last year and February.
“It’s outrageous that when we’re threatened with water restrictions because of
drought they can’t be bothered to come and remedy a leak which has been
running for two months,” said Mr Gompertz, 41.
Elsewhere John Tamplin, a financial adviser from Henley-on-Thames, had to wait
two days before Thames Water dispatched engineers to repair a burst pipe
sending water gushing up through the paved drive of his home. The incident
came just days after Oxfordshire was declared to be in a state of drought.
Mr Tamplin, 55, said: “I was just amazed that Thames Water could be so
wasteful with the water when they are telling us to economise and look after
this valuable resource.”
Thames Water has now apologised for the amount of time it takes to visit and
repair leaks. A spokesman said: “We fix leaks in order of priority to
prevent as much water as possible from being wasted.
However, we recognise
that in some cases the speed we fix leaks isn’t good enough. We are
continually working to improve that.”
The firm, which last year made an operating profit of £600 million, pointed
out it had cut leakage from its pipes by a third since its peak in 2004 and
has invested millions of pounds in repairing leaks in recent years.
Source The Telegraph
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Monday, 29 June 2009
Charges Up
"Thames Water said this week that it is pushing up water bills by 17%, it was accompanied by the usual stuff about overhauling our Victorian pipes. Thames Water is owned by Macquarie Bank, known as Australia's "millionaire factory" – an antipodean version of Goldman Sachs. I think we can guess where the money will trickle to."
Source The Guardian
Source The Guardian
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Customer Care - Not!
Sent to Thames Water "customer services" and their CEO on 17 May. Needless to say, no one has bothered to answer:
"4 March 2009 you wrote to me advising that you owed me £120.74, and requesting that I ring you to obtain the credit.
26 March 2009 I rang and gave all necessary information, eg bank details, I was advised that the credit would be processed.
16 May 2009 I received a letter from you referring to my call of 26 March, asking for my utility bills.
16 May I rang your offshore third party "help" centre to ask why it took over 8 weeks to query the call I made in March, and why the credit had not been paid.
I asked 3 times as to why it took 8 weeks to send the letter, the first two times your "help" centre operative claimed to be looking up the details; the third time I asked she deliberately cut me off (note I know the difference between an accidental cut off and a deliberate one).
Please answer the following:
1 Why is there over an 8 week gap between my call and your letter?
2 Why do you need utility bills to process the credit repayment?
3 Why did you not ask for these when I called in March?
4 Why have you not credited my bank account with the money you owe me?
You have 24 hours for someone based in the UK (not your foreign third party call centre) to take ownership of this problem, to come back to me and resolve it to my satisfaction.
Failure to do so will result in me adding this story to my site www.thameswaterisshite.com I will also advise my many contacts in the media as to your incompetence.
BTW, do you really think that outsourcing your "help" centre to a disinterested, incompetent foreign third party really improves customer "care"?
The clock is ticking."
"4 March 2009 you wrote to me advising that you owed me £120.74, and requesting that I ring you to obtain the credit.
26 March 2009 I rang and gave all necessary information, eg bank details, I was advised that the credit would be processed.
16 May 2009 I received a letter from you referring to my call of 26 March, asking for my utility bills.
16 May I rang your offshore third party "help" centre to ask why it took over 8 weeks to query the call I made in March, and why the credit had not been paid.
I asked 3 times as to why it took 8 weeks to send the letter, the first two times your "help" centre operative claimed to be looking up the details; the third time I asked she deliberately cut me off (note I know the difference between an accidental cut off and a deliberate one).
Please answer the following:
1 Why is there over an 8 week gap between my call and your letter?
2 Why do you need utility bills to process the credit repayment?
3 Why did you not ask for these when I called in March?
4 Why have you not credited my bank account with the money you owe me?
You have 24 hours for someone based in the UK (not your foreign third party call centre) to take ownership of this problem, to come back to me and resolve it to my satisfaction.
Failure to do so will result in me adding this story to my site www.thameswaterisshite.com I will also advise my many contacts in the media as to your incompetence.
BTW, do you really think that outsourcing your "help" centre to a disinterested, incompetent foreign third party really improves customer "care"?
The clock is ticking."
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Advice To Thames Water
Work to your customers' timeframe wrt answering complaints, not your timeframe!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Splashing Out
The Guardian reports that the three executive directors at Thames Water shared almost £1M in bonuses last year.
David Owens, the chief executive, received a bonus of almost £662K taking his overall remuneration package to almost £823K.
Stephen Shine, chief operating officer, and Mark Braithwaite, chief financial officer, received bonuses of £192,600 and £130,700 respectively.
No doubt the owners of 15,000 properties in Merton that were without water yesterday for seven hours, because of a major burst on Merton High Street, will be pleased to hear this.
David Owens, the chief executive, received a bonus of almost £662K taking his overall remuneration package to almost £823K.
Stephen Shine, chief operating officer, and Mark Braithwaite, chief financial officer, received bonuses of £192,600 and £130,700 respectively.
No doubt the owners of 15,000 properties in Merton that were without water yesterday for seven hours, because of a major burst on Merton High Street, will be pleased to hear this.
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
More Bursts
Cherry Orchard Road and part of Lower Addiscombe Road is closed for emergency works after a water main burst flooding the basements of two homes.
Thames Water got permission from Croydon Council to start emergency works on the site about 2pm today.
They have been replacing the Victorian water mains along Cherry Orchard Road for the past few weeks.
Ali Badel. 51, the owner of Euro Dry Cleaners on Cherry Orchard Road says his business is being affected by the road works and that neither he nor any of the other businesses along the road were informed about the works.
"Nobody can come into the shop because the road is closed and they cannot drive their cars down here.
"We were not given any information about this; if we had been then at least we could be prepared. It is fairly amazing. This is the second time my business has been disrupted by Thames Water works."
Councillor Andrew Price said:
"Given that these works to Victorian mains are over 100 years overdue, the patience of the people of Addiscombe is being severely stretched by this further disruption".
Thames Water apologised to customers and road users for the disruption.
A spokesman said:
"We are working through until the road works have been completed, we are working as quickly as we can and hopefully they will be completed as soon as possible. This is an emergency repair and we had to get on the site as soon as possible."
Source The Croydon Guardian
Thames Water got permission from Croydon Council to start emergency works on the site about 2pm today.
They have been replacing the Victorian water mains along Cherry Orchard Road for the past few weeks.
Ali Badel. 51, the owner of Euro Dry Cleaners on Cherry Orchard Road says his business is being affected by the road works and that neither he nor any of the other businesses along the road were informed about the works.
"Nobody can come into the shop because the road is closed and they cannot drive their cars down here.
"We were not given any information about this; if we had been then at least we could be prepared. It is fairly amazing. This is the second time my business has been disrupted by Thames Water works."
Councillor Andrew Price said:
"Given that these works to Victorian mains are over 100 years overdue, the patience of the people of Addiscombe is being severely stretched by this further disruption".
Thames Water apologised to customers and road users for the disruption.
A spokesman said:
"We are working through until the road works have been completed, we are working as quickly as we can and hopefully they will be completed as soon as possible. This is an emergency repair and we had to get on the site as soon as possible."
Source The Croydon Guardian
Friday, 11 January 2008
Perversity
In a rather perverse move, given the water shortage that the UK faces in the summer and the amount of water wasted by leaks, Thames Water is planning to sell off a reservoir for housing.
Needless to say the residents of Reading, where the sell off is planned, are less than happy.
Full story here.
Needless to say the residents of Reading, where the sell off is planned, are less than happy.
Full story here.
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Complaints Soar
The UK water watchdog said today that written complaints to water companies increased by nearly 31 pct this year, with billing and charging concerns making up half of the complaints.
Figures compiled by the Consumer Council for Water showed that 78 pct of the 241,000 complaints came from customers of Macquarie Bank's Thames Water, United Utilities PLC and Severn Trent PLC.
Customers of Portsmouth Water, Yorkshire Water, Dee Valley Water, Folkestone and Dover Water and Tendring Hundred Water filed the lowest number of complaints per 10,000 customers.
Yve Buckland, national chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said:
"Water customers are becoming increasingly demanding of their companies. They see water companies making good profits and expect service, if not improving, then at the very least delivered to a good, consistent and reliable standard. They also want complaints dealt with 'right first time'.
We will be pushing water companies to improve these figures and provide a much better level of customer service, comparable with the best in other service sectors."
Source Hemscott
This story comes as no surprise to me!
Figures compiled by the Consumer Council for Water showed that 78 pct of the 241,000 complaints came from customers of Macquarie Bank's Thames Water, United Utilities PLC and Severn Trent PLC.
Customers of Portsmouth Water, Yorkshire Water, Dee Valley Water, Folkestone and Dover Water and Tendring Hundred Water filed the lowest number of complaints per 10,000 customers.
Yve Buckland, national chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said:
"Water customers are becoming increasingly demanding of their companies. They see water companies making good profits and expect service, if not improving, then at the very least delivered to a good, consistent and reliable standard. They also want complaints dealt with 'right first time'.
We will be pushing water companies to improve these figures and provide a much better level of customer service, comparable with the best in other service sectors."
Source Hemscott
This story comes as no surprise to me!
Friday, 28 September 2007
Thames Water Faces Record Fine
Thames Water could be fined a record £12.5m by industry regulator Ofwat for misreporting and poor customer service.
The water company faces a £11.1m fine for misreporting regulatory information and a further £1.4m fine for poor processes and systems that led to customers receiving unsatisfactory services.
Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said: "Water is a monopoly business and until we see a competitive market developing, Ofwat must protect customers by regulating the companies' prices and quality of service.
advertisement"To do this we need complete, accurate and reliable information. Misreporting of information damages our ability to regulate the industry and therefore to protect customers."
The news is likely to be cheered by consumer groups which have spent the past year attacking water companies for failing to meet leakage targets while making huge profits.
Water bills have increased by seven per cent this year - well in excess of inflation - to take the average water and sewerage bill to £312 in England and Wales.
The proposed fine follows Ofwat's investigation last year into Thames Water's reporting of its customer service performance.
The regulator said that Thames acted responsibly by informing Ofwat of the misreporting, taking steps to investigate the situation itself, co-operating with the review and reimbursing customers the amount they should have received following poor service by the company in the past.
Ofwat stressed that there is no evidence of fraud by Thames Water, Britain's largest water company, and that the investigation did not find any evidence of deliberate misreporting.
Thames Water said the proposed fine was "totally disproportionate", and revealed plans to challenge it.
Ofwat said: "The proposed fine is appropriate given the seriousness of the misreporting and customer service failures by Thames, while also being fair and proportionate and taking account of the steps Thames has taken to remedy the situation."
Source The Telegraph
The water company faces a £11.1m fine for misreporting regulatory information and a further £1.4m fine for poor processes and systems that led to customers receiving unsatisfactory services.
Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said: "Water is a monopoly business and until we see a competitive market developing, Ofwat must protect customers by regulating the companies' prices and quality of service.
advertisement"To do this we need complete, accurate and reliable information. Misreporting of information damages our ability to regulate the industry and therefore to protect customers."
The news is likely to be cheered by consumer groups which have spent the past year attacking water companies for failing to meet leakage targets while making huge profits.
Water bills have increased by seven per cent this year - well in excess of inflation - to take the average water and sewerage bill to £312 in England and Wales.
The proposed fine follows Ofwat's investigation last year into Thames Water's reporting of its customer service performance.
The regulator said that Thames acted responsibly by informing Ofwat of the misreporting, taking steps to investigate the situation itself, co-operating with the review and reimbursing customers the amount they should have received following poor service by the company in the past.
Ofwat stressed that there is no evidence of fraud by Thames Water, Britain's largest water company, and that the investigation did not find any evidence of deliberate misreporting.
Thames Water said the proposed fine was "totally disproportionate", and revealed plans to challenge it.
Ofwat said: "The proposed fine is appropriate given the seriousness of the misreporting and customer service failures by Thames, while also being fair and proportionate and taking account of the steps Thames has taken to remedy the situation."
Source The Telegraph
Friday, 24 August 2007
Mayor Submits Appeal Against Thames Water
London Mayor Ken Livingstone submitted an appeal to the UK High Court against Thames Water Utilities' proposed desalination plant in Becton, in the east of the capital.
Livingstone is appealing last month's approval to build the facility, saying the government didn't give "proper consideration to the Mayor's case" and hasn't properly examined alternatives to the plant, the mayor's press office said in an e-mailed statement today.
"Thames Water should be fixing more leaks rather than finding expensive ways to spend Londoners' money on making fresh water," Livingstone said in the statement.
"Adding 200 million pounds to Londoners' water bills to spend on technology more appropriate for the desert is simply a disgrace. I cannot sit back and allow this to happen."
Source Reuters
Livingstone is appealing last month's approval to build the facility, saying the government didn't give "proper consideration to the Mayor's case" and hasn't properly examined alternatives to the plant, the mayor's press office said in an e-mailed statement today.
"Thames Water should be fixing more leaks rather than finding expensive ways to spend Londoners' money on making fresh water," Livingstone said in the statement.
"Adding 200 million pounds to Londoners' water bills to spend on technology more appropriate for the desert is simply a disgrace. I cannot sit back and allow this to happen."
Source Reuters
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