According to the data, tens of thousands of people a year have bailiffs sent to their homes by water companies in England and Wales.
Many thousands of these debt collector visits were for sums under £1,000, according to data published by the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) committee. Bailiffs are court-instructed debt collectors, who can seize debtors’ property, including electrical items, jewelery or vehicles.
This is a zip code lottery that determines whether a water company would send a bailiff to a person’s home to recover unpaid bills. While Wessex Water has not used bailiffs in 10 years, the water companies that used bailiffs the most in 2025 (adjusted for population) were South West Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water.
In the 2016-17 financial year, Yorkshire Water sent bailiffs to customers’ homes 405 times, but in 2024-25 there were 6,124 bailiff visits.
There were also high spikes in overall usage by some companies. In 2022, Severn Trent trained bailiffs 11,574 times and in 2019 Southern Water trained 15,707 bailiffs.
Criteria for sending debt collectors to people’s homes vary between water companies. For example, Northumbrian Water told the committee it did not send bailiffs to homes where residents were known to be receiving means-tested benefits, while Southern Water said these customers were eligible for litigation. Severn Trent also does not carry out checks on whether someone receives means-tested benefits before giving instructions to a bailiff. Southern has some limits on who he will pursue. He said if a client suffers from dementia or a critical illness, they will not be pursued for a debt through litigation.
The use of bailiffs by water companies that had broken the law was unfair, Labor MP John McDonnell said.
He said: “Only five water company directors have been prosecuted in the last 30 years. In contrast to the thousands of mainly poor people that water companies commit to bailiffs each year.
“The system is more interested in prosecuting families struggling to pay their water bills than the directors of companies responsible for polluting our rivers and seas while they line their pockets by profiting at the expense of both their customers and our environment.”
Some businesses told the committee they were trying to focus the use of bailiffs only on those who could afford to pay their bills but chose not to.
The water companies themselves are saddled with enormous debt, which critics say has made it impossible for them to adequately invest in infrastructure. Water companies in England and Wales are now more than £80bn in debt. The companies are also liable for environmental fines worth £200m for actions such as illegal wastewater discharges.
Efra committee chair, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “It is interesting and worrying to see the extent of the use of bailiffs over time and to see such different approaches. “The figures need to be seen in the context of the various cost of living shocks that have hit households in recent years.
“For any family or individual to be subject to legal action is no small matter and can be a cause of serious stress and anxiety. We urge any business to review their practices and ensure they are as respectful and compassionate as possible. We have referred this information to Citizens Advice and the Consumer Council for Water for further scrutiny.”
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Our approach to any customer who falls into arrears is to assess vulnerability and provide support where necessary, through early involvement, financial support schemes, clear communications and signposting external assistance with financial problems. Enforcement action is a last resort and is only taken against customers who we determine, using internal data and external credit agencies, have the ability to pay their bill but choose not to.”
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We work hard to ensure customers who are struggling get the support they need, such as our social tariff schemes. We are delivering our biggest investment plan to date, spending around £8.5bn to meet our customers’ expectations in protecting the environment and improving services.”
A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We only use enforcement measures as a last resort. Our priority is always to support customers who are struggling and we offer a wide range of financial support.”
Severn Trent has been contacted for comment.
