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| Severn Trent faces a £35.8m fine | Severn Trent faces a £35.8m fine |
| (39 minutes later) | |
| Ofwat is proposing to fine Severn Trent Water £35.8m for providing false information deliberately and offering the company's customers a poor service. | Ofwat is proposing to fine Severn Trent Water £35.8m for providing false information deliberately and offering the company's customers a poor service. |
| The water industry regulator is fining the firm £34.7m, or 2.9% of total turnover, with a further £1.1m penalty for bad customer service. | The water industry regulator is fining the firm £34.7m, or 2.9% of total turnover, with a further £1.1m penalty for bad customer service. |
| It says it will cut bills by £2.40 a home for two years as a result. | It says it will cut bills by £2.40 a home for two years as a result. |
| Severn Trent also admitted misreporting water leakage levels in 2001 and 2002, after a Serious Fraud Office inquiry. | Severn Trent also admitted misreporting water leakage levels in 2001 and 2002, after a Serious Fraud Office inquiry. |
| Severn Trent is likely to face a further fine from the criminal courts for the two counts of providing false information, to which it pleaded guilty. | Severn Trent is likely to face a further fine from the criminal courts for the two counts of providing false information, to which it pleaded guilty. |
| The case has now been before the City of London Magistrates' Court, with the next hearing now set for the Old Bailey on 6 May. | The case has now been before the City of London Magistrates' Court, with the next hearing now set for the Old Bailey on 6 May. |
| 'Unacceptable' | 'Unacceptable' |
| "Seven Trent Water's behaviour was unacceptable," said Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn. | "Seven Trent Water's behaviour was unacceptable," said Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn. |
| We fully acknowledge and accept that the company is responsible for its failures Tony Wray, chief executive Severn Trent Check Severn Trent's sharesSend us your comments | We fully acknowledge and accept that the company is responsible for its failures Tony Wray, chief executive Severn Trent Check Severn Trent's sharesSend us your comments |
| "The size of the fine reflects how seriously Ofwat takes the deliberate misreporting of information. | "The size of the fine reflects how seriously Ofwat takes the deliberate misreporting of information. |
| "This sends a clear message to the company and the rest of the water sector - Ofwat will protect consumers and companies must comply with their legal obligations or pay the price." | "This sends a clear message to the company and the rest of the water sector - Ofwat will protect consumers and companies must comply with their legal obligations or pay the price." |
| Tony Wray, chief executive of Birmingham-based Severn Trent Water's parent company Severn Trent PLC, said "a previous regime" at the firm was responsible. | Tony Wray, chief executive of Birmingham-based Severn Trent Water's parent company Severn Trent PLC, said "a previous regime" at the firm was responsible. |
| 'Promptly alerted' | 'Promptly alerted' |
| "When my new management team and I uncovered misreporting and poor service in our customer relations department we promptly alerted Ofwat," added Mr Wray. | "When my new management team and I uncovered misreporting and poor service in our customer relations department we promptly alerted Ofwat," added Mr Wray. |
| SEVERN TRENT WATER 8 million customersBased in BirminghamServes customers across the Midlands | SEVERN TRENT WATER 8 million customersBased in BirminghamServes customers across the Midlands |
| "And [we] took steps to implement proper controls and an ethical working culture with the highest standards to ensure there can be no repetition of this unacceptable behaviour. | "And [we] took steps to implement proper controls and an ethical working culture with the highest standards to ensure there can be no repetition of this unacceptable behaviour. |
| "We fully acknowledge and accept that the company is responsible for its failures." | "We fully acknowledge and accept that the company is responsible for its failures." |
| Mr Wray told the BBC that those responsible for providing the false information "are absolutely no longer with Severn Trent". | Mr Wray told the BBC that those responsible for providing the false information "are absolutely no longer with Severn Trent". |
| Severn Trent Water serves more than eight million customers from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, and from mid-Wales to the East Midlands. | Severn Trent Water serves more than eight million customers from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, and from mid-Wales to the East Midlands. |
| Shares in Severn Trent PLC ended the day up 1p at 1445p on Tuesday. | |
| Previous cases | Previous cases |
| This is not the first time that Ofwat has fined a water company for its provision of data and sub-standard customer service. | This is not the first time that Ofwat has fined a water company for its provision of data and sub-standard customer service. |
| Back in February Ofwat fined Southern Water £20.3m, or 3.5% of its annual turnover, for poor service and reporting misleading figures. | Back in February Ofwat fined Southern Water £20.3m, or 3.5% of its annual turnover, for poor service and reporting misleading figures. |
| It said that Southern Water had systematically manipulated information to hide its true service performance. | It said that Southern Water had systematically manipulated information to hide its true service performance. |
| Southern Water chief executive Les Dawson said at the time that the announcement drew a line "under a shameful period in the company's history". | Southern Water chief executive Les Dawson said at the time that the announcement drew a line "under a shameful period in the company's history". |
| And last year, Thames Water was fined £12m, or 0.9% of its yearly sales, for "inadequate" reporting and customer service. | And last year, Thames Water was fined £12m, or 0.9% of its yearly sales, for "inadequate" reporting and customer service. |