Anglian Water

Water company. Products & services: Water & sewerage.

Updated: 3 August 2026

Company Overview

Industry: Water supply and wastewater (sewerage) services
Parent company: Anglian Water Group Limited (privately owned by an investor consortium incl. CPP Investments, Colonial First State/IFM Investors and Camulodunum/Dalmore Capital and GLIL Infrastructure)
Regulator: Ofwat (economic regulator); Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate (environmental and water-quality regulators)
Ombudsman: No statutory water ombudsman: Consumer Council for Water (CCW) reviews complaints; the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman provides binding ADR
Customers: More than six million people across the East of England
Founded: 1989 (water privatisation; company incorporated 1 April 1989)
Legal entity: Anglian Water Services Limited (Companies House no. 02366656)

What customers complain about

Customers complaining to Anglian Water most often raise billing and account issues, which dominate water-sector complaints, alongside concerns about environmental performance (sewage and pollution) and the affordability of rising bills. On CCW's complaint-performance reporting Anglian sits in the second quartile ('better than median'), with 33.69 complaints to the company per 10,000 connections in April-December 2025 (unaudited), far below the poorest performers such as Thames Water and South West Water. There is no statutory water ombudsman: complain to Anglian first, then CCW can take up the complaint for free, and the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman gives a binding decision after deadlock. Anglian is regulated by Ofwat, which in September 2025 confirmed a £62.8m enforcement package against the company for failing to properly operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets. The Environment Agency separately fined Anglian £2.65m in April 2023 for sewage discharged into the North Sea at Jaywick, and £50,000 in July 2024 for failing to respond to an information notice. Guaranteed Standards Scheme payments apply for certain service failures.

Complaint categories

1
Billing and account issues
Disputes over bills, charges, metered bills and account handling are the single biggest source of water complaints, and Anglian is a large biller across the East of England.
CCW reports billing as the top complaint category across the water sector, accounting for around two-thirds of complaints made to companies and to CCW in 2024-25.
2
Affordability and rising bills
Concern over the affordability of rising water bills features heavily in escalated complaints across the sector, including Anglian's region, following the 2025-30 price review.
CCW reported affordability complaints up 110% and bill-increase complaints up 138% across the sector in 2024-25, and trust in water companies at a record low over bills.
3
Environmental performance (sewage and pollution)
Complaints and enforcement over sewage spills and pollution are a recurring issue in Anglian's coastal and rural region, an area where it has faced both an Ofwat wastewater enforcement package and Environment Agency prosecutions.
Ofwat confirmed a £62.8m wastewater enforcement package against Anglian in September 2025; the Environment Agency fined it £2.65m in 2023 (Jaywick, North Sea discharges) and £50,000 in 2024.
4
Complaint handling and response times
How quickly and how well Anglian handles complaints matters, and the Guaranteed Standards Scheme backs its response-time commitments with automatic payments.
Anglian aims to reply within 5 working days (up to 10 at busier times); a missed full reply to a written complaint within 10 working days triggers an automatic £40 GSS payment in England.

Contact methods

Complaint journey

1
Contact Anglian Water
Report the problem to the right team.
Typical responseImmediate
What happens
Contact Anglian using the route for your issue: bill and account complaints on 0345 266 5841, or water-supply and wastewater (operational) problems on 03457 145 145, where emergency lines run 24 hours. Quote your account number, property postcode and a clear description of what went wrong and the outcome you would like, and ask for a complaint reference number.
2
Get a reply, usually within 5 working days
Anglian investigates and responds.
Typical response5 working days
What happens
Anglian aims to resolve complaints quickly and says it aims to reply within 5 working days, though at busier times a response can take up to 10 working days. Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme you are entitled to an automatic £40 payment in England (£20 in Wales) if it does not send a full reply to a written complaint or account query within 10 working days.
3
Ask for a review
Escalate internally if you are still unhappy.
Typical responseVaries
What happens
If you are not happy with the response, tell Anglian you want your case looked at again and taken through the remaining stages of its complaints procedure. It will review your complaint and give you its final answer. Keep every reference number and letter, which you will need to escalate further.
4
Ask CCW to take it up
The consumer body can help for free.
Typical response8 weeks
What happens
If you remain unhappy, or your complaint is unresolved after 8 weeks, contact the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) on 0300 034 2222. CCW is the free, independent statutory consumer body for water; it can advise you and take up the complaint with Anglian. CCW is not a regulator and does not fine the company.
5
Refer to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman
Independent adjudication once deadlocked.
Typical response20 working days
What happens
If the complaint stays deadlocked and CCW confirms you can apply, you can refer it free to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman, the water sector's alternative dispute resolution provider appointed via Water UK in 2026. Its decision is binding on Anglian if you accept it; if you reject it you keep your right to go to court.

Response times

Anglian aims to resolve complaints quickly and says it aims to reply within 5 working days, though at busier times a reply may take up to 10 working days. This aligns with the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS), under which a water company must send a full reply to a written complaint or account query within 10 working days and owes an automatic £40 in England (£20 in Wales) if it misses that. Other GSS standards carry fixed payments too: £50 for a missed or wrongly cancelled appointment in England, and, for a missed supply-restoration deadline, £50 (£100 for businesses) plus a further £50 for each additional 12-hour period. If you remain unhappy, or your complaint is unresolved after 8 weeks, you can ask CCW to take it up for free; a deadlocked complaint can then go to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman for a binding decision.

If your complaint isn’t resolved

If Anglian Water can’t put things right, you can escalate — free of charge — to an independent body:

Consumer Council for Water

Recent news

9 September 2025
Ofwat confirmed a £62.8m enforcement package against Anglian Water for breaching its legal obligations in operating, maintaining and upgrading its wastewater treatment works and network, after an investigation opened in March 2022 found it had not ensured assets could cope with sewage and wastewater flows and lacked adequate oversight. The package (part of a combined £86m confirmed the same day alongside South West Water) is larger than the £57.1m penalty - 6.5% of annual turnover - that would otherwise have applied; instead the money stays in the sector, including a £5.8m community fund, around £57m for 'Excess Flow Management Plans' across at least eight catchments, and accelerated delivery of 36 storm tanks, 45 screens and 42 other measures.
Read more
29 July 2025
Ofwat published its proposed £62.8m enforcement package for Anglian Water, setting out the findings of its wastewater investigation - that Anglian failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater treatment works and network adequately - and opening the package for consultation before confirmation. Ofwat said the case was one of five wastewater investigations it was closing in 2025, resulting in enforcement action worth more than £240m across the sector.
Read more

Earlier cases

27 April 2023
Historic: Anglian Water was fined £2.65m (with £16,520.09 costs and a £170 victim surcharge) at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court following an Environment Agency prosecution over untreated sewage discharged into the North Sea from the Jaywick Water Recycling Centre in Essex. About 7.5 million litres were discharged over roughly a month in June-July 2018 after equipment was decommissioned, with failures to manage and monitor effluent; it was described as the largest environmental fine in the region.
Read more
5 July 2024
Historic: Anglian Water Services Ltd was fined £25,000 (plus £25,000 costs and a £190 victim surcharge) at Peterborough Magistrates' Court after an Environment Agency prosecution for failing, without reasonable excuse, to respond to a statutory information notice served between January 2022 and January 2023 as part of the Environment Agency's wider investigation into wastewater treatment works.
Read more

Know your rights

Guaranteed Standards Scheme (Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service Standards) Regulations)
Sets minimum service standards for water companies with fixed automatic compensation, for example £40 in England if Anglian does not fully reply to a written complaint or account query within 10 working days, £50 for a missed appointment, and £50 (plus £50 per further 12-hour period) for a missed supply-restoration deadline. You can claim within three months if payment is not made automatically. This is general information, not legal advice.
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Water and sewerage supply is a service that must be provided with reasonable care and skill; where it falls short you may be able to seek a repeat performance or a price reduction. Not legal advice.
Water Industry Act 1991
Governs water companies' duties and the powers of Ofwat and the Environment Agency, including standards of service and the regime under which enforcement and penalties (such as Ofwat's 2025 wastewater package against Anglian) operate. Not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a complaint to Anglian Water?

Call the route for your issue: 0345 266 5841 for bill and account complaints, or 03457 145 145 for water-supply and wastewater (operational) problems, where emergency lines run 24 hours. Quote your account number, property postcode and what went wrong, and ask for a reference number. Anglian says it aims to reply within 5 working days, and up to 10 at busier times.

Is there a water ombudsman for Anglian Water complaints?

There is no statutory water ombudsman. If Anglian cannot resolve your complaint, the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) can take it up for free, and a deadlocked complaint can go to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman for a binding decision.

When can I escalate an Anglian Water complaint to CCW and the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman?

Contact CCW (0300 034 2222) once you remain unhappy or your complaint is unresolved after 8 weeks. If it is deadlocked and CCW confirms you can apply, refer it free to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman; its decision is binding on Anglian if you accept it.

Does Anglian Water perform well on complaints?

Relatively, yes. On CCW's complaint-performance data Anglian sits in the second quartile ('better than median'), at 33.69 complaints to the company per 10,000 connections in April-December 2025, far below the poorest performers such as Thames Water (143.04) and South West Water (146.53). Its environmental record is more mixed: Ofwat confirmed a £62.8m wastewater enforcement package against it in September 2025.

Will Anglian Water pay me compensation if it misses a standard?

Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme you are entitled to fixed automatic payments, for example £40 in England if Anglian does not fully reply to a written complaint within 10 working days, £50 for a missed appointment, and £50 (plus £50 per further 12 hours) for a missed supply-restoration deadline. If it is not paid automatically, claim within three months.

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