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The water companies using bailiffs to collect customer debt more than 6,000 times a year
MPs reveal some UK water companies instructed bailiffs thousands of times annually to recover debts, with use peaking in 2023 and 2024 amid cost-of-living pressures.
The information gathered by a committee of MPs reveals huge variations in water companies' use of bailiffs to collect customer debt.
Some companies like Wessex Water have not used bailiffs at all over the last decade, while others like Southern Water instructed bailiffs over 15,000 times in 2019.
Most water companies fell within a range of 500 to 4,500 bailiff enforcements for the year 2024-2025, with overall use peaking in 2023 and 2024 after the COVID-19 pandemic.