Householders in the Ledbury area are being warned not to pay any bills from Water Plus, following a run of incidents where demands for payment have been sent out by error to people with a HR8 postcode.

The advice comes from an “alarmed” Consumer Council for Water (CCW), which is currently investigating a number of complaints from the Ledbury area.

The CCW points out that Water Plus is a company that serves businesses, and therefore should not be sending out any bills at all to residential addresses.

The fear is that elderly or vulnerable people in particular might pay the bills, some of which ask for £100 or more, even though the residents are not and never have been Water Plus customers.

And this does not seem to be the first time that the problem has arisen.

Adam Boyns, policy manager at CCW, said: “We stepped in previously to help some residents who were incorrectly billed by Water Plus and we’re alarmed to hear that people are potentially encountering further problems.

“If you’re a householder you should not be being billed by Water Plus, which only provides services to non-household customers such as businesses, charities and public sector bodies like councils.

“We’d urge anyone who has been unable to resolve their concerns with Water Plus to get in touch with us and we will investigate their complaint.”

The CCW is currently investigating three complaints about wrong billing by Water Plus in the Ledbury area, but said that is unlikely to be representative of the true scale of the problem.

A CCW spokesman told the Reporter: “In the first instance customers complain to the water company and then can turn to us if they’ve been unable to resolve it.

“So we only end up with a fraction of the overall complaints.”

One puzzled local resident to receive a bill is Wellington Heath parish councillor, Mark Beaumont, who has received not one but two unwarranted demands for payment out of the blue from Water Plus –- one for £100 and the other for £50.

The Reporter understands that another resident on his street has also received an unwarranted Water Plus bill.

Cllr Beaumont, who has issued an online warning about the problem, on behalf of the parish council, said: “These bills could upset elderly people who may not be diligent enough to see they are not correct."

A spokesman for Water Plus said: “If a business in the Wellington Heath area has received a water bill and their address or contact name are incorrect, then they need to update their details by contacting us to let us know. Our customers can do this through our online contact form at https://www.water-plus.co.uk , or use the other contact information on their bill to get in touch.

“We’re really sorry if some people in the village have received bills that they should not have and we’re looking into what’s happened.

“If you are not a business, and you have received a bill, please email us at: customercare@water-plus.co.uk with the address and account number on the bill so we can update the information we hold. We may also need to speak to you to ensure market data and information is up to date in case any business properties have changed to household properties.”