I have had a very bad experience with my water supplier recently, so I thought I would draw from that experience to see how it could have been prevented.
When I lived in a student house last year, with 12 tenants, we didn't actually realise we had to pay for water until we moved out. We assumed it was paid with the rest of the bills, and didn't realise Yorkshire Water existed.
From then, it was very tough getting money from 12 different people who didn't live there anymore, and one person had to have the burden of paying on behalf of everyone. So everyone had to pay one person initially before it got to the water supplier.
Concept
This would have been a lot easier and less painful if water was made simple. I thought of ways my situation could have been improved:
Problem
- We didn't realise we had to pay any water until we moved out
Solution
- Raise awareness of the water supplier - people need to know they exist. People don't know they are assigned a supplier in an area so could advertise in Yorkshire
Problem
- It was very tough getting money from 12 different people who didn't live in the same house anymore
Solution
- Tenants should be made aware of when they can pay water ASAP - with an app notification and email. I rang Yorkshire Water and they said a letter would have been sent in April time saying we could pay - we either never received this or didn't open it. In student houses you get so many letters usually addressed to previous tenants so you don't really look at them.. plus we didn't realise we were expecting something from a water supplier.
Problem
- Person had to have the burden of paying on behalf of everyone. So everyone had to pay one person initially before it got to the water supplier.
Solution
- If there was a simple way to transfer money through an app, like ping it, it could go straight to the water supplier account, or through a singular person more easily
Problem
- The supplier didn't have the correct tenants names - this prolonged getting a letter to say the account had been closed because they were completely random, and they said they had no record of our names
Solution
- Input the names on the app so they always have the information - not just when you have a problem
Why an app?
When I did a focus group last week asking people what apps they use for my dissertation research, I realised that people use banking apps a lot. Banking is considered boring, hard and inaccessible, but apps have made it possible to check and track money right at a user's fingertips. Fitness apps were also popular with people tracking their progress, which wouldn't otherwise be easy to do.
I was thinking an app would be a good idea because they could track water usage in a timeline, which wouldn't previously be easy to do - yet the data would be there. It would also mean its easy to check how much you owe whenever you want as opposed to waiting for a letter or ringing up the supplier.
App Features
- Track usage if using a water meter on a timeline
- Personalised to their home
- Information about names on account
- Notifications and email when you can pay account
- Easy bank transfers
What should be made simple?
- How to pay the supplier
- How to get information regarding your account
- Knowing where water comes from
- Knowing where your money goes
- Keeping water wastage to a minimum
Further Research
- If letters are ineffective, how can awareness be raised?
- What would be the most appropriate tone of voice?
- Look at brands done well - Innocent, British Gas app, Centralway/banking apps, Google Now
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