Anglian Water referring King's Lynn water shortage complaints to OFWAT as residents say customer service is 'appalling'

The aftermath of the burst water main in the Woottons in mid-July continues, as Anglian Water has said the issue is now being referred to water services regulation authority OFWAT.

It comes after numerous people contacted the company regarding a letter that had said residents would be compensated £150 if water was off for more than 24 hours.

But more than 5,000 people have been compensated just £30 by Anglian Water - the amount which the letter states they should be paid if they had no water for 12 hours.

Thousands of households in areas of Lynn, including North and South Wootton, were left without water for around three days between July 16 and 18, leaving them frustrated.

Many of them have contacted Anglian Water as they believe they have not received the correct amount of compensation, some of whom have said they have been “appalling” in their response to the matter.

One such resident is Lyn Rengert from Reffley, who said: “I was told today I couldn’t take my complaint higher and it felt like I should feel lucky I got £30.

“I and many others had no water for at least nearly 48 hours and we are being fobbed off and I believe Anglian Water have behaved appallingly in how they’re dealing with customers.”

Anglian Water has confirmed that it is working with residents on compensation claims in line with OFWAT guidance.

OFWAT, a national company that follows up complaints, has been “inundated” with calls from Lynn, one resident said.

A road closure has also been announced on South Wootton Lane from August 22 to 24 to install a new water connection.

When the Lynn News contacted Anglian Water for comment, they replied with the same apology statement previously issued:

“We remain incredibly sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers in Kings Lynn, who were without water recently due to a burst water main.

“We know it couldn’t have happened at a worse time during the hot weather.

“We already compensate customers above the agreed water industry standard to ensure we provide an appropriate level of compensation should they experience a prolonged interruption to their water supply.

“The amount each customer will receive is based on a detailed, technical assessment of how the interruption impacted each household.

“The assessment involves analysis of a number of different sources of information, including pressure levels, monitors that measure water flow in our pipes, and from our treatment works across King’s Lynn, as well as what our engineers recorded on the ground over that weekend.

“To reiterate, this was an incredibly complex incident which has meant a number of elements have needed to be incorporated into our systems to ensure we are providing the correct information and fair compensation to our customers.”

The community has been working together after the initial weekend of no water, and Gaywood South county councillor Rob Colwell set up a petition in the hope of getting everyone who had no water £150 in compensation.

Around 1,200 people have now signed the petition, with Cllr Colwell saying he is hoping to get the petition to 1,500 signatures.