Can You Change Business Water Supplier?
Did you know your business could switch water supplier and reduce your bills?
July 2020
When the water market was regulated, commercial water consumers could not choose their water suppliers. They simply had to accept the rates, services, and support offered by their regional water supplier.
The water market was deregulated in April of 2017. From April 2017 onwards, business owners could choose their water supplier. Water suppliers can no longer rely on their reputations. Instead, they have to create competitive business water services that suit a range of needs.
Castle Water is one of the most trusted water suppliers on the market. It has thousands of positive reviews from existing customers. But in the newly deregulated market, the most reputable supplier might not be the best option. Our experts have scrutinised Castle Water’s services, ratings, and transparency for business owners who want to make the switch.
Castle Water was founded in 2014. This relatively new independent retailer claims to be the leading commercial water supplier in the UK. It was made with a clear vision: to create ‘an independent water retailer providing excellent water service at the best possible price.’ More than 350,000 business water consumers in the UK rely on Castle Water.
It is proud to offer business owners across the UK tailored water services. SMEs, start-ups, and sole traders can access personalised plans and tariffs from Castle Water. Even better, this supplier promises business owners up to 80% savings on their fixed water charges.
Prospective Castle Water business water customers will be pleased to learn that it invests in sustainability programmes. It is constantly looking for ways to ‘reduce or prevent pollution or waste’ and to ‘minimise our consumption of resources.’
In 2021, Castle Water won Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge for Innovation. In conjunction with other interested parties, Castle Water led a ‘Drought Resilience Through Innovation’ pilot scheme to provide ‘more flexible local water supplies, improve drought resilience, and incentivise business customers to save water.’
This commercial water supplier has invested in lots of different branches of sustainability. In 2021, it began efforts to carbon balance its printing operations, which aims to reduce its overall carbon emissions footprint. To get employees involved, Castle Water has also installed Electric Vehicle charging points at its head office in Blairgowrie, Scotland.
Castle Water delivers water services that are ‘tailor-made for your business - whatever its size.’ It offers a comprehensive range of services including fresh water, wastewater, and trade effluent release. Customers can even access consolidated billing for all of the above services and drainage services.
Trade effluent is an often misunderstood aspect of water services. It is defined as liquids that are produced on non-domestic premises for non-domestic purposes. For example, water that cleans cars at a car wash is classed as trade effluent.
Although most Castle Water business water customers operate SMEs and start-up businesses, multi-site, industrial, or large businesses can also depend on Castle Water. As part of its offering for larger customers, Castle Water has created a dedicated team of regional Commercial Relationship Managers. Business owners who have premises that use more than 6,000m³ of water each year are eligible for this service. It aims to give customers ‘assistance for even the most complex queries.’
Commercial water consumers can also access additional water management services including Automatic Meter Reading (AMR), water efficiency audits, contingency planning, and leak detection and repair.
Gone are the days of blinding choosing a commercial water supplier. In the digital age, business services are more transparent than ever. Water suppliers can make bold claims, but sites such as Trustpilot reveal the truth. Trustpilot is a customer review site. Existing customers can leave real-time, realistic views about the services that they receive.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the water market, Castle Water has a lot more reviews than some of the older suppliers that we have surveyed. Over 14,500 customers have written a review.
Castle Water has 4.6/5 stars on Trustpilot and an overall average of excellent. 80% of customers think that the services are excellent, whereas only 8% of customers think that the services are bad. Excellent reviewers mention customer service representatives by name and applaud their quick response times. Negative reviewers claim that getting an answer from a representative is ‘near on impossible.’
Prospective Castle Water business water customers will be happy to learn that a representative promptly replies to all reviews. The representatives take accountability for problems and suggest steps that can lead to resolutions. This is one of the biggest signs that suppliers care about customer service.
It is no secret that business owners are always looking for the lowest charges possible. Luckily for business owners, suppliers are very transparent about their charges. Like most of the water suppliers in the UK, Castle Water has an entire page dedicated to water charges. Business owners can scroll down and choose from a range of links.
Commercial water customers who have metered premises will receive measured charges. Premises that do not have meters will receive unmeasured charges, which are calculated using the Rateable Value (RV) of the property.
Curious Castle Water business water customers can also browse through the Scheme of Charges for wholesalers. This is just one of the ways that business owners can survey the market and make sure that they are getting a good deal.
How can businesses save money on water? Read through our guide for tips and tricks on reducing your monthly water bill.
Now that the water market is deregulated, water suppliers have to compete for new customers. Lots of suppliers have implemented a multi-pronged approach to target hot button topics such as sustainability, community, and customer service.
Here are some of the reasons why business owners switch suppliers.
So, can you change business water suppliers? Non-domestic water consumers can only switch suppliers if they meet certain requirements. Read through our guide to discover whether your business is eligible to switch.
Business owners can try to switch suppliers themselves, or they can rely on us to streamline the process. We have worked with thousands of business owners across the UK who are anxious about switching.
If business owners switch suppliers independently, they will have to spend hours researching the market. Lots of commercial water consumers simply do not have enough time to commit to switching. Instead, they end up choosing a big-name supplier and being unsatisfied with the services that they receive.
Our business water comparison engine takes the hassle out of switching. Our experts have spent hours researching suitable suppliers for small, medium, and large water consumers. It only takes 60 seconds to find a list of tailored recommendations. Business owners simply have to input their details and click ‘compare now.’
Once business owners have chosen a supplier, they can let us handle the rest. Read through our business water page to learn more about our switching service.
Click here to start saving today!
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Did you know your business could switch water supplier and reduce your bills?
July 2020