Water firm complaints soaring

THE number of households unhappy with their water company is at its highest level for five years, according to a report published today.

WaterVoice, which represents water customers in England and Wales, said complaints had soared by 27% in the past year.

Water bill increases were the biggest cause of anger, sparking a 52% surge in complaints to the consumer watchdog. It comes as the water industry is proposing to raise bills by a further 29.2%, on average, over the next five years to pay for maintenance work and improvements.

It is expected that water bills could rise 10% by next spring. Water companies have submitted plans to industry regulator Ofwat for £22bn capital spending over five years. That implies that bills will rise by 30% plus inflation, or 40% in all. Ofwat will give its draft response on 5 August and its final verdict on 2 December.

The study by WaterVoice said that after rising costs, problems with water pressure was the next largest source of complaint, up 29%, closely followed by issues over the water supply, up 27%.

Maurice Terry, chairman of WaterVoice, said: 'We are concerned by the rise in customer complaints, particularly at a time when water companies are proposing huge bill rises for the next five years.

'WaterVoice will continue to work with water companies as they strive to improve their level of customer service.'

The watchdog's annual report showed it dealt with 31,130 inquiries, 12,293 complaints and gained £776,705 in compensation and rebates for customers during 2003/04.

While complaints rose by an average 27%, there were big variations across the country.

Complaints in North West England rocketed by 65%, in the South West they were up 55%, and in the Thames region the rise was 44%. In contrast, complaints in Wales dropped by 25%.

WaterVoice will change to become the new independent Consumer Council for Water in October 2005.

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