A CONSUMER watchdog has raised concerns over an increase in complaints made by customers against North-East water companies.

A report published by the Consumer Council for Water revealed that the three major suppliers in the region have all recorded a rise in written complaints between 2015 and 2016.

Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water and Hartlepool Water were among ten water companies to log an increase, in contrast with the national trend.

Yorkshire Water recorded the biggest jump in formal complaints with an 11.6 per cent increase while complaints against Northumbrian Water rose by nine per cent.

Written complaints made to Hartlepool Water were also up more than two per cent.

Robert Light, northern chair for the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), said: “It’s disappointing that almost half of the water companies who saw an increase in complaints were based in the north of England.

“We cannot allow the good progress that most of these companies have made in recent years to be undermined.

“That’s why we’ll be working closely with each company to help them address the issues this report highlights.”

Yorkshire Water received the second highest number of sewerage service complaints in England and Wales after its sewer network struggled to contend with heavy and persistent storms during the winter.

A spokesman for the company said: "We always aim to provide our customers with an excellent service so were disappointed to receive an increase in written customer complaints during 2015/16.

"CCWater mention that the persistent winter storms played a part in this increase and we'd like to reassure our customers that our colleagues worked round the clock during last Christmas and New Year to support the emergency flood relief effort.

"In the 48 hours following this exceptional flooding event Yorkshire Water played a major role in the region’s flood response.

"We continually look for areas where we can improve and are committed to giving our customers the best possible experience."

Claire Sharp, director of customer services at Northumbrian Water, said: “We aim to deliver excellent customer service at all times so of course we are disappointed whenever we let our customers down and with any increase in complaints.

"While it is never our intention to cause unhappiness, we value customer feedback hugely and always endeavour to look at how we can improve service wherever possible.

“During 2015/16 we introduced more regular reviews of payment plans for our customers on water meters.  

"This is intended to identify any changes in water use at the earliest opportunity and balance customer payments more evenly across a 12 month period so there are no unexpected surprises at the end of the year.

"As a result some customers saw their monthly payments increase and got in touch. 

"We’re confident that, in the longer term, this is a better and fairer way to bill our customers."