Business customers raise fewer complaints about water retailers 

Fewer business customers had cause to complain to their water retailer or escalate concerns to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), according to a new report.

Figures released by CCW in its annual Business Customer Complaints Report today reveal that complaints received by water retailers in England and water companies in Wales dropped by 4% in 2024-25 – down to 20,005 from 20,749 the previous year.

Encouragingly, the number of complaints from business customers escalated to CCW also fell – down 14% on 2023-24, from 2,278 to 1,966. This is a positive step forward for the market, with the sector now meeting the 10% complaint reduction target set out in CCW’s 2022-23 and 2023-24 Forward Work Programmes.

However, complaints to CCW remain 139% higher than before April 2017, when all business customers in England were given the freedom to switch provider of their water retail services.

Billing is the biggest source of complaints from business customers, accounting for 51% of all complaints made to retailers and 92% of those escalated to CCW. It is essential that retailers do all they can to ensure every meter is being regularly read to deliver accurate bills. Going forward, the rollout of smart metering is expected to improve access to water usage data, leading to more accurate billing and helping to reduce these complaints.

With recent bill increases, retailers must also focus on enhancing support for customers who are struggling to keep up with payments.

Mike Keil, Chief Executive of CCW, said:

It is a welcome improvement that fewer business customers complained to their water retailer or escalated issues to CCW over the last year. While every complaint is one too many, this shows the market is moving in the right direction.

However, with complaints made to CCW remaining significantly higher than before the market opened, there is still more work to do. Continued focus on reducing complaints, particularly around billing, and improving customer service is essential.

This year’s better performers were Pozitive Water, which received very few complaints, and Water2Business, which maintained a strong performance despite a rise in complaints linked to their proactive debt recovery work. In contrast, SES Business Water, Clear Business Water and Castle Water were the poorest performers, facing challenges including dealing with complaint backlogs, debt recovery activity and slow handling of customer contacts.

CCW will continue to work with retailers to deliver improvements, including offering complaint assessments and engaging with them to understand the changes they have made to comply with the revised Customer Protection Code of Practice. We will also be monitoring the improvements made under the recommendations from our Five-Year Review of the market.

Read the full Business Complaints report (opens in new window)