Water Charges 2022

Our client was a water supplier who regularly conducts research into the acceptability of increasing charges, the mechanisms preferred by customers and acceptable limits.

Due to the cost-of-living crisis experienced in 2022, there was a need to engage with customers on this topic, and consider whether conclusions from the 2020 and 2021 research were still appropriate or if consumer opinion had shifted.

The client’s overall objective was to understand customers’ views on the charge increases, in light of the current economic landscape and day to day challenges that customers have. Specifically, they want to know what level of increase customers would find reasonable, what level they would find affordable, and how these two metrics differed across customer groups.

A dual-method approach was used to answer these objectives, first qualitative focus groups and supplementary in-depth interviews were conducted, followed by an online quantitative survey.

A total of 53 customers attended the eight online focus groups, supplemented by an additional 5 in-depth interviews, and respondents were invited to attend a session based on their demographic profile. Six of the groups where with Household customers, which included those that are low-income/financially vulnerable, and those with mobility issues/other non-financial vulnerability. The remaining two were with non-Households, with a mix of low, medium and high-water usage, and the five depths were with customers defined as digitally disengaged.

The quantitative survey included 671 customers in total, comprised of 513 Household customers and 158 non-Household customers. The survey lasted approximately 10 minutes, and included questions on awareness and satisfaction with their water supplier, thoughts on current charges and the challenges faced in the future, before covering what level of increase customers may find affordable and reasonable.

The research highlighted that there was a slight difference between what customers of our client deem to be a reasonable increase on their bill, compared to what they might find affordable. There were also slight discrepancies between customers that gave monthly/annual figure increases, compared to those that answered in percentage terms, showing that often customers are not aware of exactly they are paying.

The research was well received by our client, and their customer challenge group, and was used alongside other research to help shape the charges applied to their customers for their water and waste water.