NFU Scotland has provided evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, surrounding issues that members have had with Scottish Water and Scottish Water Business Stream.
The Union has now submitted a list of case studies, collated from members’ experiences, ahead of the evidence session tomorrow (Tuesday 6 December) when the chief executives of Scottish Water and Scottish Water Business Stream are to be questioned by the Committee.
Gemma Cooper, NFU Scotland’s Legal and Technical Policy Manager commented: “NFU Scotland has been working with Scottish Water for some time now on member issues. Whilst our experience with Scottish Water is not perfect, we have certainly seen improvements from having a dedicated point of contact which we can refer member issues to.
“We were pleased that a good number of members came forward to speak to us about issues they had experienced with Scottish Water or Scottish Water Business Stream, and we thank them for this.
“Disappointingly, our members have easily been able to give us a range of examples of where they feel Business Stream is falling short and providing a very poor level of service.
“Scottish Water Business Stream is a licenced provider of water in Scotland, and supplies many farms. Our members have reported they have experienced issues in having problems resolved, often for months or even years, despite the fact they have spent a considerable amount of time attempting to remedy their particular issue.
“Problems with meter reading, having money refunded, poor communication, and aggressive debt collection tactics have also been reported to us. We are hopeful that we can work with Business Stream not only to resolve these issues, but also to try to ensure that in future they do not reoccur.”
NFU Scotland will be meeting with Business Stream in due course to take forward these issues directly and to address where improvements can be made.
