68,000 complaints about Severn Trent...I wonder why?

It was reported this week that Severn Trent had more complaints than any other water company last year. PAUL HINDLE thinks he has the reason

I read in my Evening Post this week that complaints to Severn Trent Water (STW) rose 90% in the last year.

Apparently 68,874 of us felt sufficiently peeved to drop the company a line.

As a serial complainer to STW, this news came as no surprise to me.

But this year I have to admit I wasn't one of the 68,000.

It wasn't that I had nothing to moan about, I just thought I'd do something more satisfactory with my time than complaining to STW... like shutting my head repeatedly in my car door.

The list of gripes deluging STW offices this year include those on supply, quality and pipes.

But many of the grumbles were about charges... and that was precisely the subject of my annual exchange with STW.

You see, I could not get my head round the fact that while STW was making hundreds of millions of pounds in profit every year, my bills were going through the roof.

My lack of understanding was very frustrating for STW, who had to write many lengthy explanations of why millions of pounds of profit for them didn't amount to a better deal for me.

My annual letter exchange began in 2004 when my bill rose by 16% to £333.11.

In 2005 it was a 24% rise - up to £414.04.

And in 2006 the bill was £461.42 - an 11.4% rise.

I could have started to understand these rises had I installed an irrigation system in my back garden or maybe turned my twice-annual washing of the car into a twice-daily event.

But my useage had hardly changed - I know because I'm on a meter.

It wasn't even as if the country was living with hyper-inflation or some other market force that would send prices soaring.

These increases coincided with long-running low inflation and stable market conditions. What they also coincided with were massive STW profits - for example a mere £400m in 2006.

In their missives to me STW justified the increase by arguing the need maintain its infrastructure and a safe, reliable water supply.

It had been instructed by regulator Ofwat to invest more in its pipes, sewers and treatment works.

But couldn't the £400m of profit have been used for that?

When I took my complaint to the then water watchdog, WaterVoice, they backed STW, saying high profits were necessary to give STW shareholders a return on their investment.

The value of the company as an investment had to maintained, and had to compare favourably with returns available from other investments.

And so therein lies the crux.

To keep STW shareholders happy, my bills have to go sky high.

STW and the regulator may have justified this arrangement but the man on the street is always going to find this hard to understand.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of profit surely has to mean a better deal for the consumer.

If it doesn't, then I guess we had better keep on complaining... or maybe I could switch off my supply and just drop a bucket in the Trent!