Problems with bills and disruption to services have led to four water companies being warned by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) to curb a sharp rise in complaints from their customers.

Business customers sought help with more than 900 complaints as disputes over the accuracy and reliability of bills continued to cast a shadow over the non-household retail water market in the first quarter of the year.

Written complaints from business customers to water retailers have risen for the second successive year – they are now 52% higher than before the retail market opened in England, according to a new report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater).

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Welsh Government have appointed the new chair of the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater).

Three water companies have been warned to improve their customer service as a new report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) reveals households made more than 2.1 million calls to resolve problems last year.

The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales for 2018-19 will be £405 – a below inflation rise of £9 (2%) compared with the provisional figure for the previous year.

Following the Consumer Council Water report which ranked Southern Water the industry’s worst overall performer for the fourth successive year after more than a 10% rise in written customer complaints during 2015/16, Southern Water has said that it recognises that the results are not good enough.”