YORKSHIRE Water is quietly making much bigger cuts in bills for customers with meters than for those without, The Press can reveal.

The company has sent out letters telling customers they will enjoy an average 3 per cent reduction in their bills in the coming financial year because it continues to be efficient and wants to pass the benefits back.

It goes on to say 'some customers may find that their bills decrease by less than the average percentage' but does not say by how much, or why. Nor does a press release issued on February 3.

Only when The Press began making inquiries did it emerge that 'unmeasured' customers will see an average reduction of 1.3 per cent, while 'measured' customers will see a larger average decrease of about 5 per cent.

A spokeswoman said: "We use the average percentage across measured and unmeasured to try and keep it simple for our customers, whilst also quoting the same figures as our regulator Ofwat uses.

"Each customer's bill will be different dependant upon the rateable value of their property if they are unmeasured, and if they are on a meter, the amount of water they use."

She said letters were mostly sent with a customers bill where they could see exactly what they were paying specific to their household.

She revealed that 912,000, or 46 per cent, of Yorkshire Water's domestic customers were metered and 1,083,000, or 54 per cent, were unmeasured.

She said Ofwat’s regulatory guidelines required all water companies to charge different rates for unmeasured and measured customers.

"Unmeasured customers are charged more than measured customers due to the larger quantity of water they use," she added.

An Ofwat spokesperson said the onus was on companies to understand their customers’ priorities and communicate effectively with them, adding: "That includes explaining their bills. That’s vital if they are to build trust and confidence.”