Southern Water Omdömen 

Southern Water are the worst company I have ever had to deal with.

There has been a leak behind my meter on the public pavement in my road. The water from the leak was going into my neighbour's property, causing damage. The leak was reported to Southern Water as soon as I was made aware of it. I explained at this initial stage that my water meter was spinning despite no usage from me and was reassured that my bill would not be impacted.

Southern Water eventually sent Clancy to 'fix' the leak and the problem was marked as resolved, even though we could hear there was still a leak and water was still entering my neighbour's property. We then had to go through the whole process again, multiple phone calls to explain, eventually leading to the leak being fixed after 3 months.

Almost immediately after this my water bill and my neighbour's both almost doubled. Since then I have tried contacting Southern Water approximately 15 times and either I end up in an endless loop between customer service agents or I get hung up on as they 'transfer' me.

The customer service is shocking and takes a ridiculous amount of time, at every stage I am asked to give multiple personal details that I've already given on the call to the previous agent. The conversations are heavily scripted and sometimes their answers do not match what I have asked. The call always ends with them promising the escalation team (based in the uk) will call me back. I've stated multiple times that I can't take calls until after 3pm and have had that logged on my account. Every time the escalation team calls me it is before 3pm and they leave a message with no details, saying that I have failed to pick up and that they will try again x more times. I've had 6 of the voicemails now. Every time I call back as soon as I can, spend over 30 minutes waiting, just to be told that I cannot be transferred to the escalation team (even though the most recent voicemail said that was possible). I've also tried the online and WhatsApp services but these are even worse. One agent was insistent that my bill was higher 'simply because my usage had increased', despite explaining the leak and then cut me off.

I really do not know how to move this issue forward or how to get somebody useful on the phone to talk to, apart from refusing to pay the increased rate.

Alongside increasing water bills despite poorer service, this the company dumps polluted water into our seas and rivers, allows water to leak forever after it is reported and pays ridiculous amounts of money to its directors despite an abysmal performance. It feels like a criminal enterprise to me, absolutely unacceptable. I dread to think how many vulnerable people are paying well over the correct price for their water because they have hit the same issues as me and have given up.

Incompetence is too kind a word to describe Southern Water's customer service. "We have sent you a private message", it said, implying it's taking interest and getting on with doing a proper job. Needless to say, no such "private message" has been received by me. One way or another, the country must rid itself of this disgraceful firm. However, it's big and powerful; a single customer is a mere grain of sand on an enormous beach. So how to get rid of them? Suggestions, please, here on Trustpilot.

After two years in a new apartment in Brighton , Southern Water tell me they "forgot" to charge for waste water and sent me a bill about for two years in one go.
They then estmated future useage at 400% of typical usage.
On phoning them I was given a whole bunch of excuses, basically untrue, including that the new meter reading includes waste water charges. I explained to the lady this was untrue as the water meter is incoming supply. In fact Waste water is calculated as a percentage of m3 useage. She appeared to not know any of this, which gives me the impression Southern Water are incompetent in setting up new supplies to a 200 apartment complex, in forgetting they have waste water, plus they have telephone operators unaware of the basics of water and waste charges. Totally useless and that's an understatement
!! Updated - Southern Water called me on 17th September and resolved my issues 100% to my satisfaction.
The representative (Elizabeth) from Southern Water listened to me and was very friendly and helpful. I'm a fan of Southern Water once more!

While I've had no difficulty getting through to customers services I've found it very difficult to understand the customer service agents. Clearly English is a second language for many of the agents which makes thing frustrating for both parties, needing to slow down and repeat things many times. I don't know if these call centres are UK based or overseas - I strongly disapprove of overseas call centres, but if UK focus really does need to be placed on native speakers.

Beyond this, dealing the faults team is a lottery, comms are poor, cases get close when there is no conclusion.

As we all know, these companies are more about extracting profit via debt structures and holding companies that shield the real workings from the customer, rather than truly investing in the services/environment.

Disgusting company. Scamming the life out of me with assessed charges, due to them lacking the infrastructure to fit a meter. Paying literally double my consumption, and not a thing I can do about it. Staggering how a company can operate like this with impunity.

Raw sewage being dumped into Langston harbour, it's unacceptable! Apart from the unsanitary waste disposal "solution" the area smells so bad none of the local residents can have the windows on their home open, due to the smell, driving past if you don't hold your breath it will make you involuntary physically gag, not to mention the ridiculously high prices they are charging, it won't be long untill the majority of customers will refuse to continue to pay

Still haven’t dealt with my complaints. Asked for details after last review (although if you looked hard enough you could find them in your company system). Still sending demands for money. This is like a water based version of the Krays. Nationalise now.

Now threatening a poor ill health person for two months so far with absolutely no care or compassion spent time in hospital because of the stress, absolutely disgusting nasty company

Discussing this water people.
I have reported a water leakage 4 weeks ago and they still haven't fix it, and the ting is is right next to the fire station.
They previous told me when i reported that the fire people already reported it and was on a 3 day to repair, so 5 weeks and still the same.

I don't care about hose pipe ban any more.

Would give zero star rating.
Unprofessional and rude useless company run by greedy corporate individuals who are grossly incompetent.

Disgusting

If i could leave i would!!!! Absolutely appalling customer service, my bill has shot up over £700 this last year, what we done tap tests, weve had an engineer out and no leaks!!! Ive asked them to test meter as it must be faulty, but they claim it cant possibly be, my bill has shot up from £80 to now £140 a month!!!! There is just me and my husband who live in the household, we both work, so not home all day running the taps!!! None of our habits have changed this last year to say we are using more water, but southern water do not believe us.........they asked if we had a dog???? Like that would cause that much of a jump in bill!!!!! Told them we live in a 2 bed house, not a mansion!!!! Im not a gardener, so rarely water that, and i rarely wash the car, so how we are using £140 a month is beyond me, having spoken to few of our neighbours they pay between £30 and £80 a month! Ive lodged a complaint and will take it further! There has to be a billing fault or faulty meter!! They said could be internal leak, we have had a plumber investigate, there is nothing. They will not investigate and basically saying if thats what the meter says then must be true!!!! Like i said, i will be taking this further, they are a complete rip off company, everytime i have contacted them, after approx 30 min wait, im told a different story everytime!!! No-one listens!!!

Reply from Southern Water regarding sewage outside my kitchen window.

Thank you for your contact received on 29 July 2026, about the rain water, affecting your drains at the rear of your property.

I am sorry, you have experienced this.

I can confirm the sewage drains are shared between 52, 50, 48 and 46. This drain joins the shared public combined drain in the road, down the alleyway between 46 and 44.

Hydraulic Overload

In times of heavy rainfall combined sewers and surface water sewers overflow because they do not have the capacity to cope with the volume of water. Rainfall can also infiltrate a foul sewer causing the sewer to overflow and/or unusable sanitation for customers.

All sewers are built to nationally agreed standards, but at times of extreme rainfall the sewers cannot cope and become full, this leads to everything backing up & flooding at lower points of a system.

If hydraulic overload occurs in your shared sewer, please contact Southern Water. This will be logged for information only and a reference number will be provided.

If you experience surface water flooding when it is currently raining, please call us on 0330 3030 368 if the problem still exists once it has stopped raining and there has been a 3-hour window to allow the water to naturally drain away.

Only after the 3-hour window we can attend, to investigate further.

Contact Details

I hope I have fully addressed your concerns; however, if you need any further assistance, please contact a member of our Operations Customer Service Centre on 0330 303 0368.

Yours sincerely,

We had a similar problem where I lived before. Answer, the rain water was not connected to the sewage pipes but had their own pipes and when it rained hard the road surface water was drained via pipe to the garden. There is a large field at the bottom of our homes so why is the rain water not piped to that? The Southern Water reply just demonstrates how so called experts have no brain cells these days.

Most confusing billing cycle ever. No consistency or transparency. The lady at customer service tried to help, but the bills don't make sense. Even the dumb letter they send isn't dated. They need to do a complete rehaul of customer communications.

Imagine a private company holding a public resource as a monopoly, offshiring its customer service to another part of the globe, where that country has water not privatised by a goverment who isn't charging through the roof for their resources as a monopoly.

Absolute scum of the earth.

Literally have no choice but to deal with these Muppets. The are extortionate, the highest increase in water bills across the country and to what? They leave leaks for weeks and when the finally get around to repairing, the thing breaks a couple of weeks late (Brading high street, Staplers road as examples) then take a number of weeks again to rectify their own ball ups. Then theres the irresponsible act of flooding the sea with turds at the slightest hint of rain fall and pass it off as emergency relief. Held to ransom over thos bunch of cowboys for a basic human right. Should re privatise and save the bonuses for the public.

National Disgrace

Absolute disgrace this quango making extortionate profits for the clown show executives. Rip off prices no meter readings and a circus for customer service. It has to stop.. now we have a regional alert for raw sewage in the local beaches on the south coast. Sack them no bonuses....

Absolutely awful. Possibly the worst company I've ever been unfortunate enough to have dealings with. It's absolutely criminal that we are given no choice, they have a forced monopoly and use it to squeeze money out of people while cometely ignoring all the massive infrastructure problems. The bosses should be in prison.

I told them I was moving out of the area. They confirmed by email that they had closed the account. They sent me a further bill. I told them again I'd moved. I cancelled the direct debit. They have now written to complain about that, two months after I had told them I'd moved out and they confirmed in writing the account was closed.

Owned a flat for nearly 10 years. Water bill paid by managing agents all this time.
Randomly decide they will open an account in my name without contacting me first, then sent me a bill which whilst incorrect in itself, is also well over the usual amount for the size of property and number of bedrooms. Did not bother to contact me, the board of directors or managing agents first. They have previously done this to another flat in the block.
Contacted them to inform them of this. Despite this being 100% their mistake, informed I needed confirmation from the managing agents. Forwarded this, and now informed this is not sufficient. Cannot satisfactorily explain to me why they opened an account without contacting me when nothing about the property or block has changed in over a decade.

We moved into a house in the New Forest in July and quickly realised that the tap water had a strong smell and taste of petroleum/hydrocarbon products. We contacted Southern Water and were advised not to drink or use the water in the house at all while they investigated the possible contamination.

We were told that bottled water would be provided as a kind of gesture. The first delivery, on around 6 August, was just 40 litres — essentially enough for one day (4 people living in the house).We were expecting further deliveries, but they simply didn’t arrive.

After calling again, we were told the water could arrive any time from Monday to Friday. Nothing came. We later contacted the technical team again and were specifically told that a delivery would be made by 3pm the following day. It still didn't arrive.

We are now missing around 400 litres of bottled water that we were told would be provided, while simultaneously being instructed not to use our own water because of suspected hydrocarbon contamination.

I understand that investigations can take time, but if customers are being told that their water supply may be unsafe, Southern Water has a responsibility to ensure they have an adequate supply of safe drinking water. Being repeatedly given delivery promises that aren't kept is simply unacceptable.

Very disappointing handling of what is already a very stressful situation.

P.S. a new lot of 40L water was delivered last Monday. We are still missing 480 L of water which was never delivered.

P.S. 26th of August 2026, no water delivered this week. Still waiting for the water analysis results