CCWater’s annual Written Customer Complaints report revealed that the total number of complaints about water companies was down by 18.2 per cent (27,675) in 2013/14 when compared to the previous year.
The worst performing company in terms of complaints per 10,000 customers remained Southern Water, despite the company recording a 28 per cent drop in complaints.
Darren Bentham, Southern Water’s chief customer officer, said: “While our performance in 2013/14 saw a big improvement, we are still lower down the results table than we want to be – and where our customers want us to be.”
South East Water was the worst performing water-only company and had the highest number of complaints per 10,000 customers, with more than double the number of complaints than the next water only company.
However, South East Water did also post a reduction in the number of complaints it received in 2013/14 compared to the previous year, with a drop of 28.7 per cent (2,526).
Thames Water recorded the biggest drop in complaints, with a 32 per cent decrease (10,317) between 2013/14 and 2012/13. Affinity Water recorded the biggest increase in the number of complaints that were received, with 16.9 per cent more customers (367) complaining.
Welsh Water (3.2 per cent), Severn Trent (5.3 per cent) and South West Water (5.4 per cent) were the only other companies to record increases in the number of complaints they received.
Tony Smith, chief executive of CCWater, said: “Most water companies have responded well to our challenge to improve performance, with complaints now at their lowest level since we were formed in 2005.
“But affordability remains a huge challenge for the industry with one in five customers telling us their water bill is not affordable.
“Water companies and the regulator Ofwat must deliver prices for the next five years that customers can afford and find acceptable or risk a backlash from struggling households.”