Severn Trent is facing a class-action lawsuit similar to those in the US over sewage spills

Former Oxford academic filed a class-action lawsuit in the US style against Severn Trent – one of Britain’s largest water companies – for allegedly not reporting sewage spills to authorities and charging customers too much.

Carolyn Roberts is a former Oxford professor and environmental advisor who has filed a complaint with the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The company provides water and waste service to over 4,5mn households.

Roberts plans to file similar lawsuits against other large water firms. She is represented by the law firm Leigh Day. She accused Severn Trent of misleading regulators regarding the number times they discharged untreated and raw sewage into waterways. This resulted in customers being unfairly overcharged.

Roberts said that households paid more because of “serious and repeated under-reporting” which should have resulted in penalties and reduced bills.

The Consumer Rights Act of 2015 introduced rules that allowed a single person to file an antitrust suit on behalf of millions of customers. Individual customers are automatically included in litigation, unless they choose to opt out. However, the tribunal must approve the class action before it can proceed.

Roberts stated: “Millions have paid their water bills based on the assumption that water companies were meeting their targets. However, every year water firms release raw sewage or partially treated sewage in violation of the rules.”

The Environment Agency requires water companies to report sewage and stormwater outflows. However, an analysis by the Liberal Democrats of Environment Agency data last week revealed that hundreds of monitors monitoring sewage spills in bathing waters across England last year were faulty. This could have led people to swim unknowingly in polluted waters.

Ofwat also weighs further action against 6 water companies due to concerns that they may have broken regulations at their plants.

Severn Trent called it a “highly-speculative claim without merit, which we strongly reject”. . . If pollutions occur, they will always be reported to the Environment Agency. All claims to the contrary are false.

The report added, “We have consistently delivered for our customers and received the highest 4-star status for environmental performance for the fourth consecutive year from the Environment Agency.”

Water companies and government are facing a variety of legal challenges as the anger grows over a mix of stormwater and raw sewage that is pouring into rivers, coastal waters and threatening environmental and human health. It would however be the first lawsuit of this type to be filed against utility groups.

class actions of the US style have grown more popular here in the UK. However, claims are not guaranteed. Seven class actions have been permitted to go to trial since the 2015 legislation. Many more are awaiting approval, and others are refused by the tribunal.

Water UK, the industry’s representative, stated: “This claim is utterly speculative and without any basis. The regulator confirmed that 99 percent of sewage treatment plants meet their legal requirements. “If companies do not deliver on their promises, customer bills will be adjusted accordingly.”