Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002

26 Customer standards code

(1) In relation to services provided in the exercise of its core functions, Scottish Water must prepare and submit to the Commissioner a code of practice (a “customer standards code”) making provision—

(a) as to its standards of performance in providing services to its customers,

(b) for procedures for dealing with complaints by its customers or its potential or former customers,

(c) as respects the circumstances in which it will pay compensation if or in so far as those standards are not attained,

(d) as respects such matters as are incidental to the provision made under paragraphs (a) to (c), and such supplemental matters (if any) as it thinks fit.

(2) The customer standards code must be submitted to the Commissioner no later than the date on which Scottish Water first sends a charges scheme to the Commissioner under section 32(1).

(3) Subject to subsection (1), Scottish Water may from time to time—

(a) vary, or

(b) revoke and replace,

its customer standards code, and must submit the varied or new code to the Commissioner.

(4) A customer standards code submitted to the Commissioner under subsection (1) or (3) comes into force only when it is approved in accordance with section 27.

(5) Scottish Water must endeavour to comply with its approved customer standards code; but contravention of that code does not of itself give rise to any criminal or civil liability.

(6) Scottish Water must publish the approved customer standards code and provide a copy of the code to any person who requests it.

(7) The Commissioner—

(a) must monitor the compliance by Scottish Water with its approved customer standards code,

(b) may advise the Scottish Ministers on such compliance, and

(c) may require Scottish Water to review its customer standards code, or any provision of it, in such respects as the Commissioner may specify.