Water firm's flood of criticism

The number of complaints about Shropshire's water supplier Severn Trent has almost doubled in the past year, new figures revealed today.

There were 68,874 letters written criticising the standard of service, charges and billing systems during the last financial year, compared with 36,239 a year earlier.

Today's report from the Consumer Council for Water revealed that Severn Trent now accounts for nearly 30 per cent of all complaints across the UK water industry.

Only Thames Water registered more complaints.

The news comes in a month when Severn Trent confirmed it was on target to rake in around £1.2 billion during the current year despite costly losses caused by floods, and post more multi-million pound profits.

Yve Buckland, who chairs the Consumer Council for Water, said: "Water customers are becoming increasingly demanding.

"They see water companies making good profits and expect service, if not improving, then at the very least delivered to a good, consistent and reliable standard.

"We will be pushing water companies to improve these figures and provide a much better level of customer service."

Severn Trent's new chief executive, Tony Wray, insisted the company was committed to a 25-year vision for improving efficiency and customer service to match increasingly "water-hungry" lifestyles.

"No natural resource is more precious than water and a long-term plan for its safe and efficient distribution, delivery and removal is a fundamental requirement for every responsible water company," he said.

"The two essentials which customers always have at the top of their lists are ready access to a safe supply of water and the removal and treatment of wastewater to the highest environmental standards."

Severn Trent Water is currently investing £3 million in a water mains renewal scheme in the Knockin area of north Shropshire as part of an ongoing programme to combat leakage.

By Carl Jones