Household complaint handling report 2025
CCW has published its annual household complaint-handling report 2024–25, which has revealed frustration and worry among households over soaring water bills, leading to the highest number of complaints about water companies to the consumer watchdog in almost a decade.
Key findings
- Complaints to water companies fell by 8%, from 222,956 to 205,853. However, three companies (Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and South West Water) were rated poor on both complaint volume and handling metrics.
- In contrast, complaints to CCW rose by 3%, reaching 8,235. This is the highest total since 2015–16. It marks the third year in a row that complaints have risen, showing that more people are turning to CCW for support.
- Billing remains the top complaint category across both company and CCW channels. Within this, affordability concerns surged by 110%, and complaints about bill increases jumped by 138%.
- Environmental complaints dropped by 31%, but remain significantly higher than two years ago, indicating ongoing public concern about pollution and sewerage issues.
- Stage 2 complaints, which are those unresolved at first attempt, fell by 23%, suggesting good progress in early resolution by companies.
- These findings highlight the need for better communication, proactive customer support, and more effective complaint resolution, especially as affordability pressures continue to grow. In response, CCW will begin publishing company-level complaint assessments in 2025–26 to promote transparency and strengthen accountability across the sector.
