Water retail complaints

Water retail complaints involve many of the same issues as retail energy complaints, including:

• high bill disputes
• billing errors
• estimated bills
• rebates and concessions, and
• credit, restriction and affordability issues.
   

There are also issues that are unique to the supply of water, for example:

• Concealed leaks: high bill disputes often involve a concealed leak, or a suspected concealed leak, which has contributed to the high bill.

• Transfer of property: billing complaints can be complicated by the transfer of the customer’s property. In NSW, water accounts are opened in the name of the property owner, and water charges and debts are settled through the conveyancing process. Disputes arise over the charges received by new property owners.

• Water licencing: outside metropolitan water networks, landowners must acquire water access licences, or water supply work/use approvals, before taking water from rivers, lakes, and aquifers in NSW. WaterNSW is both a water provider and the state authority that administers the water licencing scheme and approvals. Customer complaints include billing disputes and administrative delays.

• Plumbing services: some complaints involve charges from the water provider for services designed to help customers lower water waste or to assist those that cannot afford private plumbing services. Examples include Sydney Water’s WaterFix and PlumbAssist programs.
   

Case study

 Large arrears on account after no bills for four years 

A customer purchased an investment property in 2019. The water provider sent bills to the property but as it was tenanted, the customer didn’t receive them. The outstanding bill reached nearly $4,500 for four years. The customer was not able to claim the money from previous or current tenants and could not afford to pay the bill.

The customer thought the water provider should have contacted him and should have an obligation to prevent the debt getting so high. He contacted the water provider, which said the bill was payable and explained that it did not have a process for contacting property owners.

EWON initially referred the complaint to a specialist team at the water provider to try to resolve the issue directly with the customer, however he returned to EWON for further assistance, stating he only wanted to pay $1,500.

We contacted the water provider for more information. It said when the property was purchased in December 2019, it was given an address that was different to the supply address by the property settlement solicitor.  In March 2020, it received a return to sender notice, advising the current mailing address was incorrect.

The provider updated the mailing address back to the supply address, as no other address was available, and it didn’t have further contact details on file. The water provider issued reminder notices to the property every quarter from June 2020 and issued a water restriction notice every quarter from June 2021, however no restriction took place. The water provider explained that the customer had contacted it to request payment assistance, however as the property was tenanted, the customer did not meet the criteria for assistance.

EWON did not find any basis for the water provider to reduce the bill. The customer contract specified that bills will be sent to the supply address if there is no nominated postal address, and the water provider followed the correct process in these circumstances.

The water provider offered to waive over $500 in late payment fees and interest, leaving $3,975 outstanding. It established a payment arrangement of $480 a month and   updated the customer’s preferred contact method to receive bills electronically.