Anglian Water - A Great Service Provider (Anglian Water)

Member Name: angeelu

Product:	Anglian Water
Date:	29/08/02 (409 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Generally good customer service

Disadvantages: We all wish water was cheaper... Cannot pay by debit/credit card.

As you are probably aware, domestic customers in the UK currently have no choice as to who supplies their water and sewerage services. Therefore, unless you currently live, or have lived in the Anglian Water region it is unlikely you will have experienced their services.

ABOUT THE COMPANY
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Anglian Water is part of the awg plc group of companies, and it is one of the leading providers of water and wastewater services in the UK. The company is located in the east of England, with headquarters based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. It serves over five million industrial, commercial and domestic customers.

SERVICE OFFERED
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I have always lived within the Anglian Water region therefore Anglian Water is the only water company I have had any experience of, however, the service that I have received from Anglian Water has been very efficient.

My first real experience as an Anglian Water customer was when I moved into my first house with my partner. The house was new, and therefore the builders had already advised the company of our occupation of the house. I made contact with the Call Centre to ensure our account had been set up correctly and everything was in order. I advised that we would like to pay monthly by Direct Debit, and within two days we had received the necessary forms to complete our banking details on. The monthly payments were set up based on the average consumption of two occupiers. Every six months the meter is read, and if necessary the payments have been adjusted accordingly. In our case, we have constantly used less than the average consumption for two occupiers therefore our payments have decreased since we first began paying for the service.

Anglian Water has a Call Centre available 24 hours for operational queries (such as burst pipes), however for billing enquiries telephone contact can only be made between 8:00 - 20:00 Monday to Friday and 8:00 - 13:00 on Saturda
y. You can also contact the company by letter and for most types of enquiry they have a 10 day level of service to respond to your correspondence from the date the company receives it.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES
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Anglian Water offers services such as a language line for customers whose first language isn't English, braile and/or large print bills for those with eyesight problems, a Water Care register for those with, for example, critical medical problems who would be put at risk if an incidient should occur such as a burst main resulting in the water being turned off in a particular area.

There are a variety of payment methods that customer can choose from, including paying bills in instalments by direct debit or using a payment booklet. Unfortunately one service that Anglian Water do not offer is the option to pay by credit/debit card.

THE WATER
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The majority of water supplied in the Anglian Water region is hard water. The reason for this is the result of naturally-occurring calcium and magnesium salts. I believe that the reason for the water being so hard in the Anglian region is that the majority of the water comes from underground reservoirs/boreholes.

Everyone has their own preferences regarding water - personally I do not mind the taste of the water supplied, perhaps as I have grown up drinking it. If you do not like the taste of your water (no matter what region you live in), I would recommend putting the water in a jug in your fridge - in addition to helping any chlorine in the water dissipate this also gives the water a much more refreshing, clenaer, crisper taste in my opinion.

AW FACTS
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The following facts have been taken from the Anglian Water website (www.anglianwater.co.uk) but are quite interesting and relevant to this opinion:
* Anglian Water makes around 1000 tests a day to ensure the drinking water provided is completely s
afe to drink.
* Tap water is around 500 times cheaper than bottled water.
* If you are on a water meter it only costs around 6p to have a shower, 14p to run the washing machine and 14p for a bath. You can also get more than 20 glasses of water for just 1p.
* Anglian Water has over 1000 sewage treatment works around the region - that's more per head than any other water company.
* Anglian Water has one of the lowest leakage rates in the country and will continue to invest in new pipes & leak detection.

TO CONCLUDE
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My personal experience of Anglian Water as a customer so far has been a very good one. Undoubtedly there will be some people reading this opinion who have had a bad experience with the company or some reason to complain about their service, however from what I have seen of the company they always do their best to resolve any matters brought to their attention.
If (and when) legislation is changed such that water companies are not run as a monopoly in their individual regions, I will still certainly consider remaining an Anglian Water customer as I trust the service they provide.

Summary: