Billing and charges 'drive water provider complaints up'

09/09/2008

Complaints to water firms about bills are on the up, it has emerged.

According to the Consumer Council for Water, a watchdog, just over a quarter of a million complaints have been made over the past financial year.

This is an 11 per cent increase on 2006/07.

The majority of growth was found to be at Southern Water, where complaints rose 155 per cent due to failure in its sewerage systems.

Additionally, the Council said that a majority of total complaints centred on billing and other charges.

Dame Yve Buckland, chairperson of the Consumer Council for Water, said: "Without the high increases in complaints to Southern Water, Anglian Water and South East Water, figures for the industry overall would have dropped.

"It is even more disappointing that for the third year in a row, the rise in complaints has been heavily influenced by individual water companies introducing new billing systems that have gone wrong."

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Young Family Finances, Retirement Money Problems, Credit Card Lifestyle, Recent Graduate Debt,

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