CCW Bewertungen 

Is this double standards by CCW.

About a week ago CCW stated:-

From 24 April 2026, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) instructed CCW to stop offering independent adjudication as part of its service. Independent adjudication is still available within the water industry in cases that cannot be resolved earlier in the complaints process by the companies or CCW.

CCW does not direct customers to specific adjudication providers or arrange referrals. Responsibility for accessing adjudication now sits with the water companies rather than CCW. They are responsible for explaining the available route, and how customers can proceed.

A few days ago CCW stated:-

Our primary role at CCW is to advocate for consumers by helping households and businesses try to resolve complaints with water companies, while also providing free advice and support.

Under the Water Industry Act 1991, there is a statutory complaints process in England & Wales, and CCW is the organisation tasked with investigating complaints after a customer has exhausted the water company 2 stage process.

Ccw got the outcome i wanted, i contacted them and within several weeks they had a result for me without me chasing them, yorkshire water were horrendous and wouldn’t listen or return my calls in the time scale they said, it was months of telling the same tale it was tedious
Yours happy customer

Submission takes time and it takes months to get a response. They issued a polite apology for the delay 3days before the response (could have been sooner).

The problem is, Thames Water behaved so appallingly and CCW response was basically ‘Thames water disagree they owe you further compensation’ and I thought ‘I know, thats why i escalated to CCW to get the diabolical service logged, and for recognition that in these droughts, Thames water leave leaks going on for 12months.’ How is the water company not fined for this and instead the public need to pay with increased bills? Why do UK citizens need to put up with this?
Thames Water should be fined for their rubbish service, incompetent call handlers, consistently overcharging customers and lack of interest in repairing leaks in a timely manner. The CCW is an advocacy service that we are forced to use, but it has no power and the government needs to provide something better.

Pointless, toothless, bureaucratic box ticking exercise for the water industry. They do not investigate complaints, they merely repeat back to you what the water company, in my case Severn Trent, tells them. They have a 3 month backlog of cases so do not expect a swift response. To make matters worse they are funded by the payments made to water companies so the public pays the price financially and in terms of poor service. If you have a genuine issue with a water company it would be a sensible option to go straight to your local MP and avoid the CCW because they add no value. **Update on the response to my review: it is clear from the response that they have no power and are ultimately funded by the tax payer. In the spirit of word salad bureaucracy, why use 20 words when you can cut and paste 500, I rest my case.

Whereas Thames Water was incredibly difficult and obstructive to deal with, CCW got them to act reasonably.
Time has meant that I have had to accept a less than appropriate result but one which is pragmatic under the refereeship of CCW

There were considerable delays, a backlog apparently because of staff illness and holidays. The report when it eventually came was confusing, quoted misleading statements by Anglian Water, and ignored photographic evidence. Essentially, the water company run rings round them.

Also note the advice that CCW gives to approach the water company about getting adjudication. This is not true: people can approach the Ombudsman directly. In short, CCW do not know what they are doing and are therefore not helping the customer whom they are supposed to be supporting.

I only add a star because the person I initially spoke to seemed nice and helpful. It all went down from there.

Additional comment about the CCW reply. I have been completely truthful. With regards to my point on being referred back to the water company in order to reach the Ombudsman, here is a quote in writing from a CCW official called David McConn:
"You may wish to ask Anglian Water for details of how you can take your complaint to an independent adjudicator for judgment." (I did, and Anglian did not provide this.)

I struggled with Thames Water for almost a year over a billing dispute. Every time I called them, they opened a new ticket and told me they would look into it, but nothing ever actually got resolved. At one point they sent me a bill of around £2,400, which made no sense at all. Every call I made took 30 to 60 minutes of my time, and each time they asked for something different or gave a different explanation. After a lot of back and forth, they did bring the bill down somewhat, but by that point I was completely worn out. I still disputed the final amount and explained clearly, with evidence, why I believed it was wrong. Their response was that this was their final decision and it would not change.

That is when I came across CCW. I contacted them not really expecting much, and all they asked me to do was send a summary of my situation by email. It was that simple. They opened a case and told me they would keep me updated.

My case was handled by Angie Humphries, and I honestly could not have asked for better support. Not long after she took over, I got a message from Thames Water saying around £55 would be credited to my account. I did not expect that at all. Then I received an email from Angie confirming what had happened, and I was genuinely relieved and happy. After almost a year of getting nowhere despite being clearly in the right, she had managed to get Thames Water to actually take my complaint seriously. On top of that, she secured a further £20 goodwill payment for me, and my case was closed as successfully resolved.

I also asked Angie at one point to make sure my credit score would not be affected while the dispute was ongoing, and she contacted Thames Water about this too and sorted it out without hesitation.

I want to say a genuine thank you to Angie Humphries and everyone at CCW who worked on my case. If you are stuck in a dispute with Thames Water and getting nowhere, do not waste months of your time like I did. Go to CCW and let them fight your corner for you. It made all the difference for me.

Totally useless waited months just to be fobbed off just to be told to contact SWW again.
SWW have lied to me for over 2 years for my many requests to have a water meter fitted.
I am paying hundreds of pounds more than my next neighbour who is on a water meter fitted.
I am also convinced CCW are a part of south west water

I wasted a year with CCW after Southern Water told my tenant that she had a leak at her home and instructed her to employ a private plumber to find and fix the leak. It transpired that a meter served several properties and there was no leak. CCW decided that Southern Water acted properly!
If CCW does not have any power, they are somewhat pointless.

CCW were very helpful is sorting out my billing issue with Thames Water. After months of long telephone calls and emails with Thames Water I was getting nowhere. My CCW contact Olayinka took over the case and Thames Water have now (July 2026) started to use the meter they installed in January 2022 to calculate my water bill. Not only am I now charged for the water services actually used (Instead of an RV guesstimate), I received a refund for the over charging since April 2022. Big thank you to Olayinka and CCW.

Really helpful and supportive. Acted well and assertively on my behalf. Managed to gain better compensation than I had negotiated. It’s a shame that they can’t force water companies to comply.

Although my complaint was not ultimately resolved in my favour, I cannot fault the professionalism, impartiality and diligence shown by Angie Humphries throughout the investigation. She took the time to understand the issues, communicated clearly throughout, and ensured my concerns were properly put to the water company. Even where the outcome was disappointing, I always felt my complaint had been treated fairly and respectfully. Thank you, Angie, for your assistance.

Pointless and incompetent
I raised a very serious complaint direct to the CEO who failed to even respond, following water company failure to return my money on account and harassment for monies that the CEO of the water company eventually advised were not ever due .And the account was in credit. CCW did not even consider this wrong despite the law OFWAT and Select committee guidelines findings . So still money not returned. The contempt it had for me was plain and I am a pensioner and disabled customer CCW is in my view not fit for purpose and should be closed with immediate effect. Who does it serve?

Handled our complaint with Everflow Water Services in a professional manner and we were kept updated with the steps taken at all times.

CCW helped me with an ongoing Thames Water claim. Though to took close to 5 months to be resolved, I had a great interaction with Arden Ennis. He was responsive, exaplained why there were delays and followed up with calls to ensure he had all of the right information on my claim. Overall, the thames water complaint had to be escalated to CCW after receiving a bill out of the blue much higher than I expected. CCW helped intervene and my bill was reduced by almost 50%. Thank you Arden!

After many frustrating back-and-forth exchanges with Thames Water, and feeling completely ripped off, I had no choice but to contact CCW.

Although my case took a little while due to the high volume of people needing CCW to mediate issues with Thames Water, I was fortunate enough to have Baba handle my case.

Baba was professional, courteous, patient, and clearly an expert in his field. He immediately put me at ease, eased my anxiety, and resolved everything efficiently and professionally.

He worked hard to achieve the best possible outcome for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful for his support and dedication.

Thank you, Baba, and thank you to CCW for providing such an excellent service.

Ola from CCW was able to fully resolve the ongoing complaint and issues with thames water. Ola’s communication and advice was clear and ultimately was able to resolve my complaint with thames water. Thank you CCW, I was hitting a dead end until you intervened and provided the clear solution.

I had a very complicated and long-running issue with my water account which had been going on for several years. Dave at CCW was extremely helpful throughout and continued to pursue the matter with Business Stream and Yorkshire Water on my behalf.
There was a lot of back and forth involved, but Dave took the time to understand the situation, kept me updated and continued challenging the companies involved until we finally reached a resolution I was happy to accept.
One thing I would recommend to anyone dealing with a complicated issue like mine is to provide as much clear evidence as possible. I made a video showing the property and explaining the water supply situation, which I believe really helped demonstrate what I had been trying to explain for so long. If your complaint involves something that is difficult to explain in emails or photographs, providing video evidence may be worth considering.
After dealing with this for so long, it was a huge relief to finally get the matter sorted. I really appreciated Dave's patience, persistence and friendly approach throughout the process. Excellent service and a genuine five stars from me.

I cannot thank the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) enough, and specifically my incredible caseworker, Angie Humphries. After facing a dreadful raw sewage emergency that flooded my patio and lawn, I was left out of pocket by £504.00 for hiring an emergency independent drainage contractor (Dalrod). The blockage was located 20 to 25 meters deep inside the public lateral sewer network, well outside my property boundary. Despite clear engineering proof, Anglian Water acted like corporate bullies. They rudely rejected my initial complaints, gave me contradictory advice, and flatly refused a refund.Being in my 60's, dealing with several health issues, and registered on the Priority Services Register, this caused my wife and me severe distress. When I turned to CCW, Angie stepped in like an absolute rock. She showed immense empathy, listened to my concerns, and treated me with the utmost dignity. She took my physical evidence, launched a formal investigation, and firmly pinned Anglian Water into a corner with strict deadlines. Thanks to Angie's brilliant and meticulous work, Anglian Water completely surrendered. They have now backed down and agreed to reimburse the full £504.00, provided a £70.00 customer service gesture of goodwill, credited my water meter account for the outside tap usage, and are sending a team to sterilise my property. Giant utility corporations think they can ignore vulnerable citizens, but Angie and the CCW proved that they can be beaten. Angie was over the moon for us, and we are incredibly grateful for this life-changing victory. Thank you, CCW, and thank you, Angie!

A swift response to my complaint, and actually lodged the complaint formally with Suffolk & Essex Water for me. This really got things moving with the water company. I was given a timeline in which the matter would be resolved. I informed CCW of this & they responded & said if it’s not resolved let them know & they would take it further still. Things were settled to our satisfaction and I informed CCW of this.
Without CCW I’m sure I would have still been battling it out with the water company. Excellent service from CCW. THANK YOU.