The water companies have made the headlines this morning on the BBC which is reporting that “more than half the UK's water suppliers have been sending their customers "unacceptable" debt collection letters."

The letters, which are actually from the water companies themselves, appear to be from an external debt agency – the BBC refers to the issue as news which “follows the revelation of similar practices in banks, energy firms and the payday lender, Wonga.”

The BBC says the name of the debt collection company typically appears in large print at the top while a link to the water company is often only contained in the small print, and sometimes no link is made at all.

The BBC’s You and Yours consumer investigation programme on Radio 4 was told by twelve of the UK's largest water suppliers that they had taken part in the practice, with five saying they are currently still doing it or might continue to do so in future. Thames Water is among those flagged up by the BBC as continuing with the practice.

According to the report, Ofwat  has told the BBC it “still had concerns about the practices of two water companies”  but declined to name them.

Click here to read the BBC report