Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 21ST - 27TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 25 Awareness of the water retail market has "hit a brick wall" and retailers must do more to help raise it, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has warned. The latest wave of SME research published by the water watchdog on 18 September found that only two out of five (41 per cent) non-household customers realise they can switch their water provider. This compares with 43 per cent that WATER Water retail market awareness has 'hit a brick wall' said they were aware in July 2017 and 38 per cent in Janu- ary 2018. CCWater said it "remains concerned" that overall aware- ness levels have not shied since July 2017 when it carried out the first of its three surveys to date tracking the views of SMEs. Chief executive Tony Smith said: "Customer awareness increased significantly ahead of the market opening, but in the past year it appears to have hit a brick wall and that really concerns us. "We know that once small businesses are aware they have a choice they are interested in exploring their options, but at the moment too many are being sold short by a lack of awareness and information." The water watchdog will be renewing its own efforts to help raise awareness through working in partnership with influential representative bodies – includ- This week Npower mailing sent to wrong customers Mailing company posted feed-in tariff letters containing personal details to wrong people Npower has apologised aer personal details of about 5,000 customers were accidentally shared with the wrong people. The big six supplier said that a problem with a postal mailing for its feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme meant some customers received letters containing other custom- ers' names, addresses, payment amounts and tariff reference numbers. It added that it was "urgently investigating" how the mistake occurred with its fulfilment partner, which sent the mailing on the supplier's behalf. A spokesperson for Npower said: "We are aware of an issue with a postal mailing for our feed-in tariff scheme meaning some customers received letters meant for other people. "The letters included the customer's name, address, payment amount and FIT reference number. At no point were any bank details disclosed. "We're urgently investigating how this occurred with our fulfilment partner (who sent the mailing on our behalf). We apologise for this error – especially to the customers whose information was incorrectly shared (around 5,000 in total). "We've notified the Information Commissioner's Office of the incident." Meanwhile the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it was "aware" of the incident. An ICO spokesperson said: "Npower has made us aware of an incident and we are making enquiries. "If you think you are at risk of identity the or fraud, you can contact Action Fraud for advice." AJ ENERGY Octopus takes on Gen4U customers Small-scale energy provider Gen4U has ceased trading and Octopus Energy has been appointed supplier of last resort. Octopus will take on approxi- mately 500 customers from the Bradford-based company. Gen4U launched in October 2016 and offered tariffs for credit and prepayment domestic cus- tomers, as well as also offering non-domestic supply contracts. The company was reportedly "sporadically active" according to consultancy firm Cornwall Insight. Gen4U withdrew its tariffs from the market first in April 2017, again in June to be reinstated in October 2017, and for a final time in April this year. Last month code administra- tor Elexon announced Gen4U had defaulted under the Balanc- ing and Settlement Code. In recent months, Octopus has taken on more than 100,000 new customers aer the demise of Iresa and its acquisition of Affect Energy. ENERGY EDF launches home management site A home-management site that was trialled by EDF Energy and developed to meet customer demand for a "comprehensive home-management tool" has been launched. The site, called "Hoppy", has been developed by Blue Lab, EDF's innovation accelerator. It has been described as a one-stop shop designed to sim- plify running a home. Research commissioned by the website found that British people spend an average of 10 hours per week on household tasks, while 68 per cent have up to 20 DIY tasks to complete in their home. Hoppy includes switching services, a tradesperson booking portal, an online community and a home-management digital logbook. Richard Longmore, manag- ing partner of Hoppy, said: "Hoppy originated in response to consumers looking for digital services to make their lives easier – in particular, to better manage their homes. We saw a gap in the market for a platform that brings a number of home- related services together. "Customers and service are at the core of the business; Hoppy aims to make running households easy and efficient, simplifying the lives of our customers by taking care of the household bills and general home maintenance that oen become a chore." The site, which is working with trusted and accredited ser- vice providers, enables consum- ers to easily switch utilities by providing access to the "widest range" of cheap utility, broad- band/TV and mobile deals. FIT mailing contained some personal details ing the Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses and the National Farmers' Union. However, CCWater said it believes water retailers are best-placed to reach out to smaller businesses and help them understand how choice can benefit them. One of the ways retailers can do this is by sharing positive case studies from their own customers that have benefitted from switching or renegotiating.

• Cover