Severn Trent has been fined £35.8m by Ofwat.

In addition to a £2 million fine imposed on Severn Trent Water by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, has fined the water company £35.8m for “providing poor customer service and supplying false information”.

The fine equates to 3% of Severn Trent’s turnover – £34.7m (2.9%) for “deliberately misreporting some key customer information”, and £1.1m (0.1%) for providing “sub-standard services” to customers.

Ofwat’s Chief Executive, Regina Finn, said: “Severn Trent Water’s behaviour was unacceptable. The size of the fine reflects how seriously Ofwat takes the deliberate misreporting of information. This sends a clear message to the company and to the rest of the water sector – Ofwat will protect consumers and companies must comply with their legal obligations or pay the price. Any further attempts to deliberately mislead Ofwat could lead to even bigger fines in the future.”

In a statement, Severn Trent confirmed it was studying Ofwat’s decision and would respond in due course.

Earlier in the year, Ofwat fined Southern Water £20.3m (3.6% of its turnover) and Thames Water £9.7m (0.7%) for failing to provide “robust information and for poor customer service”.

To read ICM’s article regarding the SFO fine imposed on Severn Trent in November 2007, click here.