LATEST UPDATE:The CPO Hearing took place on 23 – 25 September. We await the Tribunal’s decision which will determine whether the claims are allowed to proceed to full trial. Click here to find out more about your rights.

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What are the water cases about?

Your water company may have been overcharging you for your water bills.

Professor Carolyn Roberts, an environmental and water specialist, is bringing legal claims against a number of water companies for overcharging their customers. These companies have allegedly been misleading their regulators by misreporting the number of pollution incidents (discharges of wastewater from a company sewerage asset adversely affecting the water environment), resulting in higher customer bills.

These claims are collective actions which seek compensation for household customers who have paid, and continue to pay, higher water bills for the provision of sewerage services as a result of misreporting of pollution incidents by the six largest water companies to their regulators. More information on who may be eligible for compensation is available here. 

If you pay or have paid for wastewater services provided by one or more of the six water companies included in the claims, you could be entitled to compensation. We are bringing claims against each of these six water companies:

Thames Water

Learn more here

Severn Trent

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Northumbrian Water

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United Utilities

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Yorkshire Water

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Anglian Water

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We estimate that millions household consumers in England are affected – are you one of them?

Check Your Eligibility

Your Proposed Representative

Professor Carolyn Roberts is the class representative bringing these claims (see more information on the role of the class representative here).  Professor Roberts has issued these claims because she believes that a number of water companies have overcharged their customers as a result of allegedly underreporting the extent to which they have been polluting the water environment in breach of the rules these water companies must follow.

Professor Roberts has been an environmental and water consultant since 1988, and has undertaken innovative work in environmental science, management and technology for over thirty years. 

Professor Roberts has instructed the law firm RPC to represent her in these collective proceedings.

You can find out more about Professor Roberts and RPC in the About Us section here.

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News Updates

  • Thames Water to appear at joint hearing as the last of six legal claims issued against UK water companies

    Thames Water is the last of six UK water companies to have a legal claim issued against it for allegedly misleading its regulators as to the number of discharges of untreated sewage it made into rivers, lakes, coastal areas, and other waterways causing damage to the environment.

    Read more >>

  • Five UK water companies appear in court for the first time in relation to allegations of underreporting pollution incidents and overcharging customers as a result

    A date has been set for the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) to consider claims being brought on behalf of millions of overcharged household water customers against Severn Trent Water, United Utilities Water, Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water and Anglian Water.

    Read more >>

  • Millions of water and sewerage bill payers could get payouts if new legal claims succeed – here’s what you need to know

    Millions of water and sewerage bill payers could be due compensation payouts of up to £109 each if a new set of group legal claims against several big water firms succeeds. It’s still early days and there are no guarantees, but here’s what you need to know.

    Read more >>

  • First environmental collective action claim launched on behalf of millions of customers overcharged by water companies

    Law firm Leigh Day plans to file the UK’s first-ever “environmental” collective action against several wastewater companies accused of breaching the country’s antitrust rules, a week after an economic consultancy urged the country’s competition authority to open a probe based on the same allegations.

    Read more >>

  • The Independent: Water firms face £800m legal action after ‘underreporting sewage discharges’

    Six English water companies will face legal action over allegations of underreporting pollution incidents and “unfairly overcharging” customers.
    Read more >>

  • BBC: Water bills: Fight for money back over sewage leaks begins

    The UK’s six biggest water firms are facing legal action over claims they underreported pollution and overcharged customers. Severn Trent is the first in line, with claims against the other firms expected in the coming months. A law firm says it could result in customers on average receiving £40 each, but the process could take years and there is no guarantee of success.
    Read more >>