Water Act 1989

Review of certain matters and investigation of complaints

26 Director’s duty to keep matters under review and to consider certain matters

(1) It shall be the duty of the Director, so far as it appears to him practicable from time to time to do so, to keep under review the carrying on both in England and Wales and elsewhere of activities connected with the matters in relation to which water undertakers or sewerage undertakers carry out functions.

(2) It shall also be the duty of the Director, so far as it appears to him practicable from time to time to do so, to collect information with respect to—

(a) the carrying out by companies appointed under this Chapter of the functions of water undertakers or sewerage undertakers; or

(b) any such company,

with a view to his becoming aware of, and ascertaining the circumstances relating to, matters with respect to which any power or duty is conferred or imposed on him by or under any enactment.

(3) The Secretary of State may give general directions indicating—

(a) considerations to which the Director should have particular regard in determining the order of priority in which matters are to be brought under review in performing his duty under subsection (1) or (2) above; and

(b) considerations to which, in cases where it appears to the Director that any of his powers under this Part are exercisable, he should have particular regard in determining whether to exercise those powers;

and it shall be the duty of the Director to comply with any such directions.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Director, where either he considers it expedient or he is requested by the Secretary of State or the Director General of Fair Trading to do so, to give information, advice and assistance to the Secretary of State or that Director with respect to any matter relating to the functions of water undertakers or sewerage undertakers or the carrying out of any such functions by a company holding an appointment under this Chapter.

27 Protection of customer interests

(1) It shall be the duty of a customer service committee—

(a) to keep under review all matters appearing to the committee to affect the interests of the persons who are customers or potential customers of the companies allocated to the committee, to consult each company so allocated about such of those matters as appear to affect the interests of the customers or potential customers of that company and to make to a company so allocated all such representations about any such matter as the committee considers appropriate;

(b) subject to paragraph (c) below, to investigate any complaint which—

(i) is made to the committee by any person who is a customer or potential customer of a company so allocated or is referred to the committee by the Director under subsection (2) below;

(ii) does not appear to the committee to be vexatious or frivolous; and

(iii) relates to the carrying out by that company of any of the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker;

(c) to refer to the Director every complaint which is made to the committee by any person in relation to a company allocated to the committee and consists in or amounts to a complaint which the Director would be required to investigate under section 162 below or an assertion that the company is contravening or has contravened—

(i) any condition of the company’s appointment under this Chapter; or

(ii) any statutory or other requirement enforceable under section 20 above;

(d) where the committee considers it appropriate to do so in connection with any such complaint as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above, to make representations on behalf of the complainant to the company in question about any matter to which the complaint relates or which appears to the committee to be relevant to the subject-matter of the complaint; and

(e) to refer to the Director or, as the case may be, back to the Director any such complaint as is so mentioned which the committee is unable to resolve.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Director—

(a) to consider whether any complaint which—

(i) is made to him by a customer or potential customer of a company allocated to a customer service committee; and

(ii) does not consist in or amount to a complaint which he is required to investigate under section 162 below or such an assertion as is mentioned in subsection (1)(c) above,

should be referred to that committee instead of being dealt with by him;

(b) to consider whether any complaint which does consist in or amount to such an assertion and is either made to him by such a customer or potential customer or is referred to him by such a committee should be referred by him to the Secretary of State;

(c) to consider any such complaint as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above which is not referred by him to the Secretary of State;

(d) to consider any complaint referred to him by virtue of subsection (1)(e) above;

(e) to consider any complaint made to him 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 subsection (1) above; and

(f) to take such steps in consequence of his consideration of any matter falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (e) above (including in a case falling within paragraph (d) or (e) above any step which could have been taken by the committee) as he considers appropriate.

(3) The only remedy for a breach by a customer service committee of a duty imposed on it by subsection (1) above shall be the making of such a complaint to the Director as is mentioned in subsection (2)(e) above.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Director to make such arrangements as he considers appropriate for facilitating the provision by one customer service committee to another of any such information as that other committee may require for any purpose relating to the carrying out of its functions.