[영국] 가정 내 수도회사에 대한 불만 최고 달해
영국시민의 수도회사에 대한 불만 2/3는 수도요금 청구서와 관련 있어

코로나19, 이상기후 따른 수도 민원, 25% 이상 

영국 물소비자위원회(Consumer Council for Water)가 최근 물기업에 대한 가정 고객의 불만(Household customer complaints about water companies)이라는 연례 보고서를 발표, 코로나19 대유행 기간을 포함한 지난 3년 동안 가정에서 물산업에 대한 불만을 담은 항의서 양이 3년 연속 증가했다고 밝혔다.

작년부터 올해까지 영국 잉글랜드와 웨일즈의 기업에 접수된 수도회사 관련 민원만 약 9만3천758건에 달했고 서면을 통한 민원제기는 3분의 2를 차지한 것으로 나타났다.

코로나19로 인한 작업 방식 변화로 고객들이 집에 머무는 시간이 많아진 만큼 가정 내 수도 사용량이 증가한 것으로 나타났다. 이에 따라 수도시설 운영자에 대한 부담이 증가하며 관련 민원도 늘어나고 있다.

소비자 불만은 주로 가정 내 물 사용량, 청구서의 부정확성, 일부 공급업체의 수도요금 납부방식에 대한 분쟁에서 비롯된 것이다. 또한 2020년과 2021년 폭우로 인해 런던 중심부 일부가 여러 차례 물에 잠긴 후 하수 범람을 포함한 폐수 관련 민원이 25% 이상 증가한 것으로 나타났다.

특히 영국 가정의 약 5분의 1을 책임지는 템즈워터(Thames Water)는 민원 5건 중 2건 이상을 차지하는 가장 많은 민원이 접수된 반면 서던 워터(Southern Water)와 웨식스 워터(Wessex) 두 기업의 경우 성과 전반에 걸쳐 최우수 점수를 받았다.

엠마 클랜시(Emma Clancy) 물 소비자 위원회 CEO는 “코로나19로 인한 재정적 압박으로 어려움을 겪고 있는 많은 가정에서 겨울철 수도요금과 관련해 걱정이 늘고 있는 실정”이라며 “소비자가 명확하고 정확한 내용의 청구서를 요구할 권리가 있는 만큼 수도업체 역시 의사소통 방식을 개선하고 소비자의 요구를 충족할 수 있도록 노력해야한다”고 말했다.

물 소비자 위원회 조사에 따르면 업계 전반에 걸쳐 청구서 문제에 대한 불만이 67%를 차지했으며 대다수 기업이 이 범주에서 증가세를 기록하고 있는 상황이다. 물 소비자 위원회는 이러한 유형의 분쟁을 줄이기 위해 물기업에 모범 사례와 관련된 지침서를 배포하는 등 기업이 고객과의 의사소통을 원활히 할 수 있도록 다양한 노력을 펼치고 있다.

[원문보기]

Two-thirds of complaints to water companies involve concerns over bills

Households have a right to expect clear and accurate water bills and be treated with empathy by water companies if they slip into debt.

That’s the message from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) which is calling on water companies to address household customers’ concerns over bills. These concerns dominated two-thirds of the 93,758 written complaints made to companies in England and Wales during 2020-21.

CCW’s annual report has revealed that written complaints from households to the water industry rose for the third successive year - although this was driven by a small number of poor performers. 

Customers’ frustrations largely stemmed from disputes over how much water they had used, as well the accuracy of estimated bills and the way some suppliers went about recovering debt.

Covid-19 made life more challenging for the industry as it adapted to new ways of working and customers using more water at home during lockdown periods. But nine water companies were still able to reduce their written complaints despite these challenges.

Wessex Water and Hartlepool Water were the only two companies to receive top marks across the board for their complaint handling performance.

Some companies struggled to maintain a high standard of service with Thames Water accounting for 42 per cent of the overall number of written complaints to the industry - despite only supplying 19 per cent of connections to domestic properties.

Emma Clancy, Chief Executive of CCW, said:
“We’re heading into a difficult winter for many struggling households as they deal with rising energy costs and other financial pressures so companies must not allow water bills to add to customers’ worries.

“Households have a right to expect clear and accurate bills but water companies also need to improve their communication and do more to understand their customers’ needs. That way they can ensure customers facing hardship gain quicker access to the support that exists but often goes untapped.”

CCW compared the performance of water companies on the number of written complaints they received per 10,000 connections, as well as assessing how well complaints were handled.

Overall written complaints made to water companies rose by 11 per cent compared to the previous year to reach their highest level for five years. The total was skewed by Thames Water which was responsible for more than two in every five complaints the industry received. 

The company has now made a series of commitments to CCW to improve its performance, including reducing complaints by a quarter this year.

CCW will also be keeping a close watch on Southern Water and Essex and Suffolk Water which were marked ‘poor’ for both written complaints and complaint handling. Both companies have also made commitments to CCW to improve.

Across the industry problems with bills accounted for 67 per cent of complaints with the majority of companies reporting an increase in this category. CCW has already provided best practice guidance to water companies on how to reduce these types of dispute. 

This includes steps such as contacting customers before they receive much higher than usual bills to help them understand why their water use might have increased.

CCW’s recent independent review of water affordability also emphasised the need for companies to make their communication with customers more accessible and develop a better understanding of individuals’ needs.

CCW and regulator Ofwat have also begun work with the industry to improve the way water companies handle complaints. This includes speeding up response times, sharing good practice, making better use of data and improving companies’ understanding of the experiences and needs of more vulnerable customers.

[출처 = Ccwater(https://www.ccwater.org.uk/blog/2021/10/21/two-thirds-of-complaints-to-water-companies-involve-concerns-over-bills/) / 2021년 10월 21일자 보도자료]