UK’s largest supplier of water to businesses receives 8,000 complaints

Water Plus, a joint venture between Severn Trent and United Utilities, has received the largest number of complaints for services to UK business customers, according to the Consumer Council for Water.

The company, which is the largest supplier of water to businesses including supermarkets, petrol stations and other retailers, was the subject of 8,211 written complaints from customers in the past year, more per customer than any of its competitors.

Complaints about Water Plus rose 25 per cent year on year and outstripped those for Castle Water, which services most of the London region and has been one of the worst performers every year since the market opened, apart from 2018-19 when it was just noted as a “cause for concern”.

Castle Water recorded 2,970 complaints in the year to March 31 2022. The company operates out of a 17th century castle in Scotland, and provides billing and meter reading for Thames Water’s non-household customers after buying the business for £99mn in 2017.

The business water market was opened to competition by the government and water regulator Ofwat in 2017 in an attempt to mimic the energy sector, which had liberalised services in the 1990s.

Independent retailers were licensed to handle customer complaints, bills, meter readings and enquiries anywhere in the country, although the water is still provided by the regional water company.

But the complaints — which exclude telephone calls — have cast doubt over the market’s success.

Overall, complaints to business water suppliers have dropped 2 per cent in the past year but remain almost 23 per cent higher than before 2017 when the market was first opened to competition, enabling non-household customers to choose to receive their bills from any supplier in the country.

Emma Clancy, chief executive of CCW, said: “The water market in England promised to deliver higher standards of service but too many business customers are still experiencing problems.

“Although there are encouraging signs — particularly the improvements to complaint handling — performance across the industry still has some way to go to reach the levels seen prior to the introduction of the retail market in 2017.”

Jonson Cox, the outgoing chair of Ofwat, who presided over the market reforms, described the opening of the non-household water retail market to competition as “disappointing” in an interview with the industry newsletter Water Report published Thursday.

Andy Hughes, chief executive of Water Plus, said: “We’re very disappointed with the number of complaints and we’ll not stop our efforts with customers, and our additional actions, to reduce any areas where these can occur.”

Castle Water did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.