Business Stream complaints procedure
Let us help to make things right
We're committed to providing you with an excellent service, but we know we’re not perfect and sometimes we don't get it right. If you have a complaint, please get in touch so we can make things better and get you back on the right path.
To ensure we can resolve your complaint properly, we follow a thorough complaint resolution process.
Getting in touch with the Business Stream Customer Relations team
Please get in touch with our Customer Service team in the first instance on 0330 123 2000 and we’ll do everything we can to help resolve your issue.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer to put your complaint in writing, please send all of the details to The Customer Relations team, Business Stream, PO Box 17381, Edinburgh, EH12 1GT. Our complaints resolution timeline is shown below.
You contact us to register your complaint.
If you made a complaint in writing, we’ll send you an acknowledgement to say that we’ve received it within three days of it arriving.
We’ll aim to provide a response to your complaint within 10 working days of receiving it but if we haven’t, we’ll send you a thorough update to let you know why.
If we’re still trying to resolve your complaint in the period after 20 days has passed, we’ll ensure you receive regular updates so you know exactly what we’re doing and why.
If you choose to raise a complaint over the phone with our Customer Service team and it cannot be resolved, we’ll assign your complaint to one of our dedicated case handlers who will be your point of contact until a resolution is reached.
We aim to resolve Business Stream complaints within the agreed Guaranteed Service Standards timeline for your region. If for any reason we expect this to be extended, we’ll contact you to explain the delay and agree a new completion date with you.
Once a complaint has been resolved, we will take you through the outcomes that are available. These outcomes may include, but are not limited to:
- Resolution of any outstanding issues to allow you to return to normal service
- A full explanation of the circumstances surrounding the complaint, any action that has been taken and an apology for any inconvenience or detriment caused to you
- Any appropriate remedial action and/or any appropriate qualified compensation, in line with our policies and guidance
If you’re still unhappy
If you are unsatisfied with the outcome that you received following the completion of our complaints procedure, you do have the option of requesting a review from an independent body. The organisation that you will need to contact will depend on whether your premises is located in Scotland or England/Wales.
Please note that most of the organisations listed below will usually expect you to reach the end of the Business Stream complaint procedure before getting formally involved in your complaint. For more information on regulators and bodies that we work with in the water industry, please see our Governance page.
If your premises is in Scotland
If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at your complaint. The SPSO is the final stage for complaints about public services in Scotland.
The SPSO cannot normally look at complaints:
- where you have not gone all the way through the organisation’s complaints handling procedure
- more than 12 months after you became aware of the matter you want to complain about, or
- that have been or are being considered in court.
You can contact the SPSO:
In Person: SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS Freepost SPSO (you don’t need to use a stamp)
Freephone: 0800 377 7330
Online: www.spso.org.uk/contact-us
If your premises is in England or Wales
If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) to look at your complaint. CCWater is the independent representative of water consumers in England or Wales.
You can contact CCWater by:
Phone: 0300 034 2222
Online: www.ccwater.org.uk
Email: enquiries@ccwater.org.uk
SPSO and CCWater
These organisations represent the interests of non-household customers in the water industry. They are independent of water retailers, wholesalers and our regulators, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, and the Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT) in England. They offer advice and assistance, including formally investigating complaints where necessary.
The Water Industry Commission for Scotland
The Water Industry Commission for Scotland is our regulator. It grants our licence, and sets out the conditions under which we operate. It also advises Scottish ministers about the minimum standards we should provide to customers.
Ofwat
If you are unsatisfied with the outcome provided to you by CCWater, you can contact Ofwat. Ofwat are the economic regulator of the water sector in England they are a non-ministerial government department.
We’re fully committed to improving our environmental performance and are certified to ISO 14001:2015. You can find out more in our environmental policy.
