A body representing the customers of water companies says complaints have risen by almost a third because concerns are not being addressed.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) says it has handled 7,977 complaints in the last year from people who had “exhausted” their company’s complaint process.

It found Thames Water to be the worst performer, with Yorkshire Water and Cambridge Water also poor.

Thames Water and Yorkshire Water say they are working with CCW to make changes. Cambridge Water has been contacted for comment.

According to CCW, there has been a 29% rise in complaints compared to the previous year, with households making 222,956 complaints to water companies in England and Wales during 2023-24.

Billing disputes made up more than half of complaints, though concerns about environmental performance, such as spills from storm overflows and pollution, increased by 217%. Complaints relating to water meters also rose.

Chief executive Dr Mike Keil said: “Households are having to waste far too much time and energy resolving complaints, which water companies should be getting right first time.

“Trust in the water sector is already badly fractured and the poor handling of complaints will only compound people’s frustration.

“We’re particularly concerned to see a significant rise in complaints from customers with water meters who are questioning the accuracy of their bill.

“More companies are planning to roll out smart meters over the next few years, so they must listen and act on people’s concerns now or risk further damaging customer trust.”

CCW compared the performance of water companies on the number of complaints received per 10,000 household connections, and also assessed how well they were handled. Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Cambridge Water rated as poor on both counts.

However, Wessex Water and Portsmouth Water received top marks on the same metrics.

David Bird, retail director at Thames Water, said: “CCW have recognised the collaborative approach we have taken and that the improvements we are making are showing promise. However, we recognise we have more to do.

“Our turnaround plan is focused on resolving customer complaints and improving the quality of their interaction with our business, from first contact through to resolution.”

He said the company had an “ambitious business plan” based on customer feedback and insight. 

“Our customers told us to focus on delivering safe and resilient water supplies, address concerns over our overall performance including on customer service, and deal more effectively with wastewater,” he said.

“Our aim is to always deliver excellent customer service, and we’re determined to do better.”

Imran Patel, group customer experience director at Yorkshire Water, said: “We work really hard to make sure we do the right thing for our customers and we’re continuing to invest in new systems, training for our customer experience teams and our reporting to ensure we improve the service our customers receive.

“We have worked closely with CCW to audit our complaints process and have received positive feedback for our customer-focused culture and the speed and effectiveness of complaints resolution.”

He said the company had a series of investments lined up to improve the customer experience, and that it was committed to “improving Yorkshire’s environment and ensuring no household or business should be without reliable, safe, clean water”.

Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, said companies were working hard to “provide the drinking water that is independently rated the joint-highest standard in the world”.

It said a rise in customer complaints should be examined, but “not all complaints are necessarily evidence of poor service”.

It added: “A better measure is the number of complaints sent by the CCW to adjudication, which fell 37%, from 153 late last year to 57 for the equivalent period this year.”

It said firms were also being affected by funding cuts from water regulator Ofwat, which needed to “enable companies to provide [customers] with the service they rightly expect”.

Water companies have put forward plans for bill increases, although Ofwat has made proposals to cap them. It is due to make a final decision in December.

THE UK’s cheapest supermarket for a weekly shop in September has been revealed – and it’s not Lidl or Asda.

Which? found German discounter Aldi to be the most affordable out of a list of eight major chains last month.

1

The UK’s consumer champion looked at how the retailers’ prices compared on a shopping list of 59 products, to represent doing a weekly shop.

The list of 59 included both branded and non-branded items including Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.

Which?’s analysis also included special offer prices and loyalty prices where possible, but not multi-buys such as buy one get one free.

The consumer champion found Aldi came out cheapest ahead of Lidl, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s with the basket costing £102.68.

The supermarket also pipped Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose to first spot.

Asda’s basket of 59 goods came in just a fraction more expensive than Aldi, costing £103.86.

Asda was next, with its shopping list costing £112.19.

Tesco’s basket, with Clubcard, was £112.96, and without loyalty pricing it was £113.35.

Sainsbury’s shopping basket, for Nectar Card customers, was £113.79, then Morrisons was next, coming in at £119.18.

Sainsbury’s without a Nectar Card was £119.19, then Ocado and Waitrose came in bottom of the pack, with their baskets costing £125.16 and £130.37 respectively.

Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: “Our latest monthly analysis once again sees Aldi crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket.

“Given the ongoing strain of high food prices on household budgets, it’s understandable that many people are choosing discounters to cut costs.

“By switching supermarkets, consumers could save 21%, highlighting the advantages of shopping around.”

It’s worth bearing in mind, the research carried out by Which? was based on prices for the list of 59 products across just September.

That means they are just a snapshot of what you might pay for them at different times of the year.

Prices at supermarkets change frequently, sometimes daily, and you will find items on offer in one chain one week then in another the following week.

However, in Which?’s survey of a larger basket of goods it was Asda that came out top of the survey.

The comparison looks at 164 items – but it doesn’t include Aldi and Lidl as they don’t offer large enough ranges in shops.

Asda came top of the list with this basket costing £418.88 – but Tesco (with Clubard prices) was just 1p more expensive.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Asda is consistently recognised as the best-value supermarket for the big shop in independent price comparison surveys, including the Grocer 33 basket comparison and the Which? monthly big shop trolley comparison.

“This is despite these surveys including other retailers’ loyalty schemes but not Asda Rewards.”          

It’s also worth factoring in that Which? looked at loyalty pricing for Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose, but only Tesco and Sainsbury’s had items on its chosen shopping list with a loyalty price in September.

Meanwhile, Asda doesn’t have two-tier loyalty pricing. Its loyalty scheme is based on points and personalised rewards, not lower prices for every scheme member which meant Which? didn’t include the retailer’s loyalty scheme prices.

It’s not the first time in recent months Aldi has come out on top of Which?’s cheapest supermarket survey.

The German discounter, which is looking to massively expand its physical store presence across the UK, was crowned the cheapest supermarket in August, July and June.

It was also crowned the cheapest supermarket of 2023, pipping the other major chains including Lidl, Asda and Sainsbury’s to the top spot.

The Sun asked Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Waitrose to comment.

A Morrisons spokesperson said it was “working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers”.

They added: “Our More Card members can also earn points on selected purchases, including fuel, and redeem those points for fivers off their shopping.

“They also benefit from market-leading discounts on over 2,000 branded and essential items across fridge, freezer and cupboard fillers as well as personalised offers and surprises.”

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We’re committed to keeping prices low for customers and remain focused on giving our customers great value for money. 

“We have invested in prices without compromising on quality or our industry-leading animal welfare standards.

“Which’s price comparison also excludes multibuy offers, which are extremely popular amongst our customers for both our branded and own-branded products.”

The retailer added that it had reduced prices on its No.1 range which was recently relaunched.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Tesla (TSLA) announced third quarter deliveries on Wednesday that slightly missed expectations, sending the stock down about 3%.

The EV maker delivered 462,890 vehicles in the three months ending Sept. 30, up 6.4% quarter over quarter to mark the first quarter of delivery growth this year. The numbers also came in ahead of the 435,059 EVs the company delivered in the year-ago period.

Wall Street had expected Tesla to deliver closer to 463,897, according to Bloomberg.

The Model 3 and Model Y represented the bulk of Tesla’s overall total, with those two vehicles combining for 439,975 deliveries.

Prior to the delivery numbers’ release, Tesla stock had been up around 20% in the past month, fueled by optimism about its upcoming robotaxi event on Oct. 10 and good news coming out of China indicating rising sales there.

But investors have also debated a “notably lower” annual vehicle growth rate, which Tesla warned about after the first quarter.

The company is currently dealing with stiff competition in China from Chinese automakers like BYD and Xpeng. Recent price cuts have also squeezed profit margins as competition intensifies.

Analysts have said next week’s robotaxi event will serve as a pivotal moment for the company’s future and its plans to further utilize artificial intelligence.

“We believe Robotaxi Day will be seminal and historical day for Musk and Tesla and marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future at Tesla,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Tesla will report third quarter earnings on Oct. 23.

Alexandra is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance