They have accused water company salespeople of using scare tactics to encourage the eldery, new migrants and people on low incomes to sign up to long contracts locking them into regular payments.
 

Tactics range from telling people their tap water comes from a sewage treatment plant, to attributing cancer and deformities in babies to the water supply. In fact, the water comes from dams and rivers which are tested daily to make sure it is safe to drink.
 

Raveen Jaduram, chief executive of Manukau Water said: “These tactics are scurrilous. We respect people having the choice to filter water but we don't respect salespeople who are lying to influence that choice.”