Public anger at 'extortionate' rise of water bills

Customers have expressed their anger after water companies across the South East announced that bills would rise.

South East Water is to raise prices by an average of 7%, while Southern Water and Thames Water have announced 7.8% and 0.4% increases respectively.

Corine Ebenezer, a South East Water customer in West Malling, Kent, said: "We're being robbed. I've never paid so much for water."

The industry trade body, Water UK, said bill increases were needed to fund vital upgrades to the system and tackle spillages that had caused a public outcry.

South East Water, which is to raise prices from April, is currently under investigation by Ofwat for repeated water supply failures across parts of Kent and Sussex.

Some 30,000 properties had supply issues for several days in January, which South East Water blamed on Storm Goretti.

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said customers were "paying the price" for years of underinvestment in the water network.

"Hundreds of millions of pounds in cash continues to be rinsed from South East Water by its shareholders," he said.

He has previously called on the firm's chief executive, David Hinton – who earns a base salary of £400,000 and received a bonus of £115,000 last year – to resign.

Anita Hague, from West Malling, said that the water company should cut bosses' pay and bonuses to reduce bills.

South East Water said it was investing £2.1bn over the next five years to improve customer service, reduce supply interruptions and strengthen its resilience.

It added that climate change and population growth were creating challenges for the network.

Meanwhile, Southern Water has announced its average water bill will increase from £704 to £759 from April. It follows a 47% average increase last year.

Jan Palmer, from Crawley, West Sussex, said that she was "angry" at the firm.

"We're flooded every time it rains. We get drought in the summer," she told BBC Radio Sussex.

"Then they hike your bill up to an extortionate rate."

Southern Water said "every penny" would be reinvested into improving services.

"Nothing will go to shareholders," a spokesperson added.

Thames Water, which serves customers across London, Surrey and other parts of England, raised prices significantly nearly a year ago.

It said it would increase bills by an average of £3 a year, or 0.4%, this April, taking its average bill to £658 a year.

The charity Independent Age said that older people on low incomes had seen their budgets "decimated" by rising water bills.

"Today's announcement of further bill increases will only deepen their financial difficulties," policy manager David Southgate said.

"We regularly hear from people in later life who are making extreme cutbacks to reduce their water costs, including not flushing the toilet, limiting how much laundry they do and washing in sinks rather than bathing or showering."

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