Yorkshire Water blames economy for complaints increase

Yorkshire Water has blamed an increase in the number of complaints it received last year on the economy.

Complaints rose by 23% in 2010/11, according to figures from the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater).

The company, which serves 4.7m customers, received 9,561 complaints in 2010/11 compared to 7,753 in the previous year.

Yorkshire Water said the economy had led to an increase in queries about bills, which count as complaints.

CCWater, which represents consumers, said the increase was "disappointing" but added that Yorkshire Water still received a very low number of complaints per customer.

In a statement, Yorkshire Water said: "The increase in complaints we have seen in the last year can predominately be attributed to the tough economic climate and customers contacting us to query their bills."

The company also blamed winter conditions for the increase.

"The exceptionally harsh winter conditions which gripped much of the region last year also led to an increase in bursts and disruption to water supplies, which resulted in complaints from those customers affected," the statement continued.

Nationally, the number of complaints to all water and sewage companies fell by 4.5%.