Complaints to watchdog about water firms hit highest increase in 20 years

Complaints about water companies have risen steeply (Alamy/PA) Josie Clarke 5 minutes ago Household complaints about water companies to the sector watchdog have seen their largest-ever annual increase following the steepest hike in charges since privatisation.

Complaints to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) are up 84%, the biggest year-on-year rise in the watchdog’s 20-year history, it said.

Meanwhile, complaints made by households directly to water companies have also soared, by 56% on last year.

The increase has been primarily driven by growing concerns and confusion over rising charges, with complaints made to firms about billing increasing by 72% and those made to CCW up by 97%.

Source: CCW Ofwat allowed water firms to put up bills by 36% between 2025 and 2030, with eye-watering increases seen in 2025 and another 5.4% on average from April this year.

Complaints to the CCW about the scale of the bill increases rose by 54%, while concerns around affordability shot up by 129%.

The figures suggest many households are looking for ways to manage rising costs, with complaints to the CCW from customers who are unable to have a water meter installed up by 464%.

Complaints from people facing debt recovery action also increased by 49%.

The CCW also assessed each company’s performance on the number of complaints it received for every 10,000 households it serves, and the amount of effort customers have to put in to get their complaint resolved.

Thames Water and South West Water rated ‘poor’ for both performance measures, making them the worst-performing companies.

Portsmouth Water and Bristol Water were the only companies to score ‘good’ in both metrics, retaining their position at the top of the rankings as the sector’s best performers.

Debt-laden Thames Water is one of five firms provisionally allowed to increase customer bills even further between 2027 and 2030, alongside Severn Trent Water, Southern Water , Wessex Water and South East Water.

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