Yorkshire Water in court for allegations of underreporting pollution incidents and overcharging customers

During a one-day Case Management Conference (CMC) on Tuesday 19 March 2024, a panel of three, including the President of the Tribunal Justice Marcus Smith, set Monday 23 September 2024 as the date for the Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) hearing.

The panel also considered whether the five water companies should appoint a single joint expert and submit a joint response to the claims and the timetable leading up to CPO.

At the CPO hearing, the Tribunal will be asked to approve the claims as suitable to proceed as opt-out collective claims on behalf of eligible class members and approve Professor Roberts as the Class Representative.

Professor Carolyn Roberts, an environmental and water consultant, is bringing the claims on behalf of all affected household customers represented by law firm Leigh Day.

Prior to the CMC, Professor Roberts and the five water companies agreed a number of key issues, including that the five water companies accept that each of the claims against them should be heard together.

The CPO is the first stage of the case. If Professor Roberts is successful, the cases will then proceed to trial, which Leigh Day say will take at least two to three years.

The legal claims allege that the water companies have been breaking competition law by misleading the Environment Agency and Ofwat as to the number of pollution incidents, being discharges or spills of untreated sewage they made into rivers, lakes, coastal areas, and other waterways causing damage to the environment.

The number of pollution incidents a company reports to regulators is a key factor in determining the price they can charge consumers for their services. The claims argue that customers have been overcharged as a result of the companies’ underreporting. 

It is estimated that, across the five claims, more than 20 million customers are impacted with potential compensation payments of approximately £800m in total if successful.

Zoë Mernick-Levene, head of Competition Practice and partner at Leigh Day said: “We are happy with the outcome of today’s hearing and welcome the Tribunal’s decision to set a swift timetable for a single CPO hearing. This brings us one step closer to securing redress for millions of impacted consumers.

“We're delighted that the five water companies have recognised that although these are separate claims, they raise very similar issues that should be heard together as highlighted by the fact that the Tribunal has listed a single CPO hearing for September 2024.”