Consumer body raps South East Water

The Consumer Council for Water revealed this week that complaints to water companies in England and Wales dropped last year by nearly 15 per cent.

However both Southern Water and South East Water were among those companies which registered the highest number of complaints for the number of customers they serve (complaints per 10,000 customers).

Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said there was particular concern over South East Water's complaint figures.

She commented: "For a smaller company that only provides water, and is not involved in the sewerage side of the business, South East Water's complaint figures are very poor, and they have been for several years."

She said the watchdog would continue to press water companies with "poor complaint numbers to improve their performance" and was encouraged to see the response from many companies.

"Customers are beginning to tell us that they can see a difference in service. Of those who needed to get in touch with their water company last year, 81 per cent told us they were happy with the way the contact was handled. The year before that figure was 71 per cent. At the same time, nine out of ten customers tell us that they are satisfied with the service provided by their water company.

"The figures show a step in the right direction, but it is not good news for all water customers."

Companies with a considerable drop in complaints included Severn Trent Water, with 40 per cent fewer complaints, and Thames Water, with nearly 27 per cent fewer complaints on the previous year's figures.

Southern Water's complaints dropped by 48 per cent but it still had a high number of complaints in comparison to other companies.

Other water companies continued to receive relatively few complaints, such as Yorkshire Water, Wessex Water, Portsmouth Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Hartlepool Water, Cambridge Water, Veolia Water East (formerly Tendring Hundred Water) and Veolia Water Southeast (formerly Folkestone and Dover Water).

Last year the Consumer Council for Water helped customers secure 2.5 million in compensation and rebates from water companies, 40 per cent more than the year before. Since 2005 the water watchdog has also encouraged companies to share their profits with consumers, worth an extra 135 million in benefits through extra investments or reduced prices for consumers.