Water

Millions of water and sewerage bill payers could be due compensation payouts of up to £109 each if a new set of group legal claims against several big water firms succeeds. It's still early days and there are no guarantees, but here's what you need to know.

Some water bills in England and Wales could rise by less than planned from April 2024, as 12 water companies have been hit with a collective £114 million penalty for missing targets on pollution, leaks and customer service.

Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru) will give £10 in bill credit to each of its 1.4 million home and business customers this year, after an internal review found it had misreported the volume of water it lost to leaks between 2020 and 2022.

The average annual water bill in England and Wales is set to rise by around £31 a year (7.5%) from April, industry body Water UK has announced today. But prices will vary depending on where you live and some will see much larger increases. Meanwhile, those in Scotland will see bills rise by £19 a year (5%).

Hundreds of thousands of households in England and Wales could be eligible for up to 90% off their water bill by switching to a discounted tariff provided by their supplier. If you're struggling, we've rounded up below what each supplier has to offer and how to check if you're eligible and apply. 

Households with water meters should check their bills as many firms are upping direct debits due to higher use during lockdown. And with usage over the next year likely to drop for many as restrictions ease, you could end up paying a lot more than you need to unless you take action. Energy's slightly different, but it's still worth checking – more on that below.

Water firms have been forced to review their communications and in one case even cancel a mass mail-out after a backlash from angry customers, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal.

Southern Water is to pay £123 million back to customers following an investigation that found the company had shown "scant regard" for the environment and deliberately acted to deceive its customers.

The average water and sewerage bill in England and Wales is set to rise by £8 to £415 a year from 1 April.

Three water companies have been told by the Consumer Council for Water to improve customer service following a high number of complaints.  The industry watchdog has highlighted Bristol Water, Southern Water and Surrey-based SES Water as the worst performers in its latest annual report into household complaints to water firms. These companies – covering a combined 3.5 million households – will be required to report back to the watchdog to outline what steps they have taken to improve service. In total, households in England and Wales made more than 2.1 million calls to water firms to resolve problems between April 2017 and March 2018 – down 17% on the previous year. Yet nine out of 21 water companies saw an increase in the number of calls. The watchdog also highlighted a sharp rise in calls on household water suppliers, following the 'Beast from the East' as more than 200,000 people were left without running water earlier this year. Though you can't switch your water to cut costs, there are other ways to save – see Cut Your Water Bills for more.