11 February 2008
Utility firm Southern Water has been hit with a £20.3 million fine from Ofwat.
The penalty was levied due to poor customer service and misreporting of information to the regulator, it said.
As many water customers have no choice over their provider, accurate passing-on of performance information is essential in order to keep the market competitive - and those firms found to not have done this are fined heavily.
"We expect companies to comply with their obligations and this fine sends a clear message that non-compliance is not a cheap or easy option," Ofwat Chief Executive Regina Finn said.
"Southern Water behaved unacceptably in deliberately misreporting customer service performance to Ofwat and systematically manipulating information to conceal its true performance over an extended period of time and the company has acknowledged this."
The firm provides services to around two million customers across the south.
Ofwat's fine was announced following a two - year investigation of Southern Water's business practices.
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