YORKSHIRE Water has been ranked amongst the worst water companies in the country for the way it deals with complaints about water bills, according to an annual report from a watchdog.

The number of complaints escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households in England and Wales who failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier rose by almost a third (29 per cent) in 2023-24 – its highest level for nearly a decade.

CCW’s annual report shows that customers made a total of 222,956 complaints directly to water companies in England and Wales with concerns about environmental performance and water meters fuelling much of the increase.

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More than half of complaints made (57 per cent) related to issues with billing – covering both affordability and disputing charges and methods of payment.

CCW rated Yorkshire Water as “poor” – its lowest category – for both total complaints and the way complaints were handled, with the number of complaints about the company rising by 90 per cent.

Yorkshire Water said it was planning investments designed to improve customers’ experience, adding that its speed and effectiveness of complaints resolution had been praised. 

Also rated poor, Thames Water was the worst performer overall.

Within the 7,977 cases received by CCW from across England and Wales, complaints about environmental issues spiked by 217 per cent over the last 12 months, mainly relating to spills from storm overflows and wider pollution of rivers and seas.

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.

CCW chief executive Mike Keil 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.”

Imran Patel, group customer experience director at Yorkshire Water, said: “We have worked closely with CCW to audit our complaints process and have received positive feedback for our customer-focused culture and the speed and effectiveness of complaints resolution.

“Of course, we recognise we need to do more and have included in our PR24 (price review) plans, which are awaiting approval from Ofwat, a series of investments designed to improve our customers’ experience when dealing with us.”

The report follows upset around the pollution of waterways by sewage spills by water companies - with a planned £47 million penalty for Yorkshire Water.

According to the Environment Agency, there were 3.6 million hours of spills nationally last year – equal to about 400 years – which was more than double the 1.75 million hours logged in 2022.

In addition to that issued to Yorkshire Water, Ofwat revealed a £104 million penalty for Thames Water and £17 million for Northumbrian Water after a “catalogue of failure” by the firms, according to the first batch of results from the regulator’s biggest ever investigation into the industry.

Another ruling by Ofwat proposed that water firms should be allowed to increase bills by a third less than they had requested on average.

Ofwat said its proposals to cap the average bill increase at 21 per cent – around £19 per year – follows firms’ proposals to increase their total spending by £29 billion, split between a £5 billion increase in the core costs for running their business and a £24 billion rise in spending to meet requirements set by governments and for other environmental improvements.

In its response to Ofwat’s draft determination on water companies’ plans, Thames proposed raising average yearly water bills to £666.50 per customer by 2030, a 52 per cent rise.

That could rise to £696, a 59 per cent increase, if it is given extra spending allowances by the regulator.

Ofwat said it will consider all responses “carefully” ahead of its final decision on water firms’ spending plans by December 19.