Consumer anger and frustration at the performance of water companies has led to customer complaints rising by almost a third in the past year.
Households made 222,956 complaints directly to water companies in England and Wales, with billing disputes the main cause of contention. The number of complaints increased both to water companies directly and to the watchdog Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
The consumer watchdog saw the number of complaints it had to deal with third (29 per cent) in 2023-24 – its highest level for nearly a decade.
It said environmental complaints rose by 217 per cent as sewage spills into rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023.
It also warned water companies that the current roll-out of smart meters to the public risked “damaging customer trust”.
More than half of unresolved disputes (57 per cent) referred to the CCW were billing issues including disputes around how much people were being charged, methods of payment and affordability challenges.
The watchdog rated Thames Water and Yorkshire Water as “poor” – its lowest category – for both total complaints and the way complaints were handled.
Thames Water was the worst performer overall, with customers making more complaints directly to the company, as well as to the CCW, than any other supplier.
Wessex Water and Portsmouth Water were rated the best performers in dealing with customer complaints.
The CCW said the rise in complaints about environmental issues had been dramatic over the past 12 months and mainly related to storm overflow spills and river and beach pollution.
Issues relating to water meters rose by 30 per cent, including concerns over how often they were being read and whether they were working properly.
Dr Mike Keil, CCW chief executive, said: “Households are having to waste far too much time and energy resolving complaints, which water companies should be getting right first time. Trust in the water sector is already badly fractured and the poor handling of complaints will only compound people’s frustration.”
“We’re particularly concerned to see a significant rise in complaints from customers with water meters who are questioning the accuracy of their bill.
“More companies are planning to roll out smart meters over the next few years, so they must listen and act on people’s concerns now or risk further damaging customer trust.”
Thames Water said it was committed “to improving the experience of our customers” and said it was working closely with the CCW to address these issues. “However, we recognise we have more to do.”
Yorkshire Water said it also had more to do and hoped to make further investments designed to improve our customers’ experience subject to Ofwat approval.
The consumer watchdog’s annual report comes amid growing anger around firms’ polluting of waterways with sewage spills while rewarding senior executives and shareholders with bonuses and dividend payouts.
Thames Water is in negotiations with a creditors holding £10bn debt over options to delay a potential liquidity shortfall. The group of creditors has been working on its own plan to address the need for new funds and the unsustainable debt pile.
Water regulator Ofwat is currently proposing to cap the average water bill increase at 21 per cent – around £19 per year – follows firms’ proposals to increase their total spending by £29bn, split between a £5bn increase in the core costs for running their business and a £24bn rise in spending to meet requirements set by governments and for other environmental improvements.
Ofwat said it will consider all responses “carefully” ahead of its final decision on water firms’ spending plans by 19 December.