UK water company complaints fall for third year in a row
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 11:15
Customer complaints to water companies in England and Wales have dropped for the third consecutive year, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has revealed.
The industry watchdog's latest figures showed grievances dipped 4.5 per cent in 2010-11 compared with 2009-10, a fall which it described as an "encouraging trend".
In total, the study continued, there were 185,140 complaints to water firms in England and Wales in 2010-11, compared with 193,824 in the previous year.
However, the level of complaints remained 27 per cent higher than the lowest on record and CCWater has vowed to maintain pressure on suppliers.
Chairman Dame Yve Buckland said: "It is good news for many customers that complaint levels are down and overall results look promising. We will continue to exert pressure on those companies who are underperforming until they match the best.
"CCWater is there to help water customers who have hit a brick wall with their complaint. In four out of five cases we step in to get the company to improve what it has done for the consumer," she added.
United Utilities, which serves the north-west of England, dealt with the highest number of complaints at 39,000, an increase of 6.7 per cent.
Yorkshire Water saw an increase in complaints of 23 per cent last year, but it still received very low numbers of complaints per customer served, the report revealed.
Bristol Water, Wessex Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water East all reported a significant drop in the number of customer grievances.
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