Tom Gordon MP slams Yorkshire Water for failing to deal with customer complaints

Tom Gordon, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has slammed Yorkshire Water after it emerged today that they are amongst the worst performers in the water industry for handling customer complaints. More than half of complaints are about bills, but many are also about environmental issues, such as sewage dumping. 

The report came from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), who consumers can go to if they exhaust their water company’s complaints process. They reported a 29% rise in complaints during 2023-24 compared with 2022-23, with 222,956 complaints made to water companies in England and Wales. 

The news comes after the CEO of Yorkshire Water was paid £371,000 in bonuses. Yorkshire Water is also one of the worst offenders in the water industry for sewage dumping. Ofwat found that on average they spent over 7 hours a day spilling untreated sewage into rivers. Back in August, Yorkshire Water was fined £47 million for dumping sewage.

The Liberal Democrats have called for reform of Ofwat to make sure that it can properly hold the water industry to account, and bringing consumers on to water company boards so that they have a voice in how the companies are run. 

Commenting, Tom Gordon MP said:

“Sadly, it is unsurprising that Yorkshire Water is once again failing customers. Whether it be looking to hike water bills, dumping sewage, or failing to deal with customer complaints, once again we see evidence that Yorkshire Water care nothing about their customers and the environment. 

“How can customers be confident that the proposed rise in bills, should it go ahead, will be handled competently if Yorkshire Water can’t even get their bills right now. Yorkshire Water must drop the proposed bill rises, stop dumping sewage, deal with customer complaints properly, and rebuild their customers’ trust. 

“This all comes after Yorkshire Water paid their CEO a massive bonus, that was clearly unearned. We need an overhaul of the water industry to make sure that it actually delivers what customers are paying for. Unfortunately this news is yet another slap in the face to local customers, and it is simply unacceptable.

“Ofwat is not fit for purpose, it’s not protecting consumers. We need to start again with a new regulator with actual teeth that will hold water companies to account.”

ENDS

You can find the report here: Water Matters 2024 - CCW