Portsmouth and Wessex remain the best performers on complaints

There were few changes in performance rankings in the 2024-5 household complaints report from the Consumer Council for Water: Wessex and Portsmouth retained their top spots and were joined by Bristol Water, while at the bottom end, Thames and Yorkshire were joined by South West, along with SES and Affinity.

Complaints to companies fell by 8% to 205,853 but complaints escalated to CCW were up 3% to 8,235, the highest number for nine years.

The watchdog pointed to higher bills in explanation, noting bills dominated reasons for customer complaints (accounting for 63% made to companies and to 66% to CCW). Among those brought to CCW, there was a 138% rise in complaints about the scale of bill increases, while the number of people saying they could not afford the higher charges jumped by 39%.

Elsewhere, complaints to CCW about poor experiences with smart meter installations grew 48% on 2023-24 but those about environmental issues fell 31% – although they remain well above previous levels amid continuing anger over pollution from storm overflows.

Chief executive Mike Keil commented: “Although it’s encouraging to see complaints to water companies falling, more households are turning to CCW for help than at any point in the last nine years.

“Bills remain the top concern for households, and we can see April’s unprecedented price rises are already hurting a lot of people. Clearer communication from companies could prevent many of these complaints by helping customers understand how their money is being spent and what support is available if they are struggling. Seeing is believing: if people are paying more for their water, they need to see real improvements in the services they receive.”

• Ofwat is running a short consultation until 26 September on its Guaranteed Standards Scheme guidance, which summarises the recent changes introduced to the mandatory customer compensation scheme by ministers.