WATER SERVICES
REGULATION AUTHORITY News Release (PN 09/08) issued by The
Government News Network on 31 March 2008
New regulations
that come into force tomorrow will strengthen the protection for
consumers who suffer sewer flooding. The regulations have been
introduced by the Government and follow Ofwat's
recommendations of how GSS should be improved for customers.
The changes will ensure customers normally receive at least £150
if their building is flooded by sewage from a public sewer in
England & Wales.
Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) water and sewerage
companies must make automatic payments to customers when their
performance falls below a certain standard.
Andrew Dunn, Ofwat's Director of Consumer Protection, said:
"We recognise that payments can never reimburse customers
for the distressing problems they experience when they are flooded
with sewage.
"These payments are not designed to take the place of
insurance. But they are recognition of a service failure by the company.
"As well as benefiting from these new rights customers can
also help to avoid flooding by disposing sensibly of fat and other
items which can block sewers."
The new GSS regulations will extend the rights of customers by:
* Setting a minimum payment of £150 each time their building is
flooded by sewage;
* Including a new standard for customers materially affected by
external sewer flooding of their land and property by sewage; and
* Setting external sewer flooding payments at 50% of the annual
sewerage charge for each incident (minimum payment of £75).
Under GSS, companies are exempt from making payments when
flooding is due to exceptional weather conditions or blockages and
other problems with the customer's drain. Ofwat will be
consulting in April on guidance to help customers and companies
understand when the weather exemptions are likely to apply.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the
economic regulator of water and sewerage companies in England and
Wales. It exercises its powers in a way that it judges will
protect the interests of consumers, promote value and safeguard
future water and sewerage services by allowing efficient companies
to carry out their functions properly, and finance them.
2. The Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service
Standards) Regulations 2008 (the GSS Regulations) set out common
minimum standards that water and sewerage companies must meet for
a range of customer services. Further information on the
Regulations is available on the Ofwat website, http://www.ofwat.gov.uk
3. The maximum payment level for each sewer flooding incident
under GSS is £1,000 for internal flooding or £500 for external flooding.
4. Companies need not make payments for sewer flooding under the
GSS if flooding is due to:
i. exceptional weather
ii.
industrial action
iii. an action of the customer
iv. a
defect, inadequacy or blockage in the customer's drain or sewer
or, for internal sewer flooding only, if the company could not
have known the customer was affected and the customer does not
claim a payment within three months of the incident.
For external sewer flooding incidents only, the company is also
exempt from making a payment if the customer does not claim within
three months of the incident or the customer was not materially affected.
5. During the period 2005-10, sewerage companies plan to spend
around £1 billion to reduce the number of properties at risk of
sewer flooding.
6. 5,746 properties experienced internal flooding from sewers
(both from overloaded sewers and other causes such as blockages)
in 2006-07.
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