Water Industry Act 1991

X130 Duties of Director with respect to complaintsE+W

(1)Where a complaint is made to the Director by a customer or potential customer of a company allocated to a customer service committee and the complaint does not consist in or amount to—

(a)an assertion that the company is contravening or has contravened any condition of the company’s appointment under Chapter I of this Part or any statutory or other requirement enforceable under section 18 above; or

(b)a complaint which the Director is required to investigate under section 181 below,

it shall be the duty of the Director to consider whether the complaint should be referred to that committee, instead of being dealt with by the Director himself.

(2)Where a complaint which does consist in or amount to such an assertion as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above—

(a)is made to the Director by a customer or potential customer of any company allocated to a customer service committee; or

(b)is referred to him by such a committee,

it shall be the duty of the Director to consider whether the complaint should be referred by him to the Secretary of State.

(3)It shall be the duty of the Director to consider the following complaints, that is to say—

(a)any complaint to which the duty imposed by subsection (2) above applies and which is not referred by the Director to the Secretary of State;

(b)any complaint which is referred to the Director under section 29(4) above; and

(c)any complaint made to the Director by a customer or potential customer of a company allocated to a customer service committee that the committee has failed to perform any duty imposed on it by section 29(1) to (4) above.

(4)It shall be the duty of the Director to take such steps in consequence of his consideration of any matter in pursuance of this section (including, in a case falling within subsection (3)(b) or (c) above, any step which could have been taken by the committee itself) as he considers appropriate.

Editorial Information

X1The insertion of the new cross-heading "The Consumer Council for Water" in Pt. II Chapter III gives rise to a change in the structure of this legislation on SLD which breaks the continuity of historical versions of the existing provisions which are now brought under that new heading.