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What To Do If You Don’t Agree With Your Water Bill?
Complaints made by water bill customers against suppliers in England and Wales to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) rose by over 50 per cent in 2025, with over 16,000 issues lodged with the organisation over the course of the year.
This represented a significant hike on the numbers seen in 2024, when complaints peaked at 10,600 – and the Guardian suggests that this could be down to the fact that water companies were permitted to push bills up so that necessary upgrades could be carried out, despite decades of underinvestment.
According to the CCW, complaints rose for every large water supplier, although the worst culprits were revealed as being Southern Water, Severn Trent and Thames Water.
Data analysis shows that the biggest reason for complaints was bill affordability, with the CCW saying that this is further evidence that a lower social tariff should be introduced to help those customers in need.
Chief executive of the organisation Mike Keil said: “The sustained rise in complaints to CCW reflects not only people’s worries about being able to afford increases in their water bill, but also confusion and concern around what they are getting in return for their money.
“Customers need to see evidence their money is improving services in the here and now, as well as dealing with the longer-term challenges.”
Unfortunately, however, a fresh wave of bill hikes is due this year, with the average water and sewerage bill expected to increase by approximately 5.4 per cent (or £33) from April 1st.
Will business water rates in the UK increase in April?
As consumer water bills increase, businesses should also brace themselves for similar circumstances, with default water rates also being driven up by business water suppliers from April.
Wholesale rates charged by water companies are predicted to rise, as are charges from retailers as well, to help fund the sector’s planned £104 million infrastructure investments over the next five years.
Final confirmation of exact price hikes is yet to be made (expected between now and March), but the indicative price changes for each regional wholesaler are as follows:
Wholesaler | Water price change | Sewerage | Combined |
| Affinity Water | 9.7% | n/a | 9.7% |
| Anglian Water | 1.0% | -4.2% | -1.3% |
| Bristol Water | 15.8% | n/a | 15.8% |
| Dwrcymru Water | 11.9% | n/a | 11.9% |
| Northumbrian Water | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| Portsmouth Water | 1.6% | n/a | 1.6% |
| Severn Trent Water | 4.3% | 14.0% | 8.8% |
| South East Water | 12.1% | n/a | 12.1% |
| Southern Water | 19.4% | -9.0% | 0.1% |
| South Staffs Water | 3.6% | n/a | 3.6% |
| South West Water | 12.2% | 25.1% | 17.9% |
| SES Water | 16.1% | n/a | 16.1% |
| Thames Water | 6.9% | -3.9% | 1.6% |
| United Utilities | 20.3% | 9.5% | 13.7% |
| Wessex Water | -0.7% | 10.5% | 6.5% |
| Yorkshire Water | 2.0% | 8.9% | 5.9% |
What to do if you don’t agree with your water bill
If you don’t think your business water bill is accurate, follow this step by step guide to pursue a potential resolution:
Step 1
Get in touch with your water retailer and request a reassessment.
Step 2
Gather as much evidence as possible, including meter reading with dates, times and photographs, as well as leak test information. Provide details of business changes that may have an impact on water consumption.
Step 3
Get in touch with the landlord or facilities company if you don’t own your business site. It can be difficult and time-consuming to pursue this kind of complaint, but the H2o Building Services team can support you throughout.
How can businesses reduce their water bills?
One of the most effective ways to reduce your water bills as a business is to invest in automated meter reading technology.
This will help you save money in a range of different ways, including:
Accurate billing
Taking accurate water usage measurements will ensure fair and precise billing, so you only pay for what you use.
Cost savings
Make potentially significant savings by only paying for your exact water usage, which would be particularly useful for businesses with high usage requirements.
You can also build awareness about consumption rates in general, helping to devise awareness campaigns and identifying potential solutions to reduce usage and bills.
Better budgeting
Knowing exactly what your monthly bills are going to be will help you budget more effectively – and a water meter can help you track consumption efficiently. This would be particularly good for any seasonal businesses, where consumption rates will naturally fluctuate.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out more about automated meter reading, water audits and bill validation, get in touch with the H2o Building Services team today.