Southern Water Reviews 

955
TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.3

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 235 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Consumers frequently complained about soaring water bills and expensive pricing structures that continue to rise without any clear justification. People also mentioned unhelpful customer support, confusing billing errors, threatening collection letters, and significant difficulties in reaching a human representative to resolve urgent service issues. Though some customers noted positive experiences, field staff and support agents were occasionally praised for their dedicated efforts. Reviewers mentioned that specific team members were polite, efficient, and very helpful when arriving on time and successfully resolving operational problems like drainage or account access.

What people talk about most

Price

Customers had negative experiences with price, reporting that their bills have drastically increased by up to... See more

Service

People report negative experiences with service, describing it as inefficient and completely unhelpful.... See more

Customer service

Customers consistently note negative experiences with customer service, reporting a complete lack of... See more

Payment

Clients share negative opinions on payment, reporting widespread frustration with confusing billing cycles... See more

Staff

Users describe negative interactions with staff, often reporting that phone representatives are unhelpful and... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Thousands of litres of water still pouring out of leak outside Sainsburys' in central Winchester - been going on for weeks despite public protest, articles in Hampshire Chronicle. Can Southern Water b... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Another year, another drought. The Southern Water Cycle Spring rains -> let overflow, runoff and waste get dumped into the river because the system cant handle it. Summer Droughts -> react slo... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

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 t... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Of course we are all now assidously ensuring we conserve water after a dereliction of duty by Southern Water over the past 40 years to ensure it had capacity to capture the ocean of water we received... See more


Company details

  1. Water Utility Company

Information provided by various external sources

For customer questions and reporting leaks as well as press queries and the latest news and updates - we're here to help Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.


Contact info

1.3

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

955 reviews

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1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

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Replied to 9% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 week

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1.3

All reviews

(955)

221 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Just watched a lazy Southern water nan…

Just watched a lazy Southern water nan get out his van open rear door then go sit back in his seat for over 2 hours donf f a

August 3, 2026
Unprompted review
Southern Water logo

Reply from Southern Water

Hi Larry,

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

We take all customer feedback seriously and are keen to understand more about your experience. A private request has been sent asking for further information, which will help us review the concerns you've raised.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,
Southern Water Customer Services

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I'm trying to report a massive leak

I'm trying to report a massive leak, which has been going for 2 days. Can't get hold of a human or actually leave a report on their system.... Only a drought going on....

July 30, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Get rid of Southern Water bosses, thousands of litres leaking in central Winchester

Thousands of litres of water still pouring out of leak outside Sainsburys' in central Winchester - been going on for weeks despite public protest, articles in Hampshire Chronicle. Can Southern Water bosses be removed? we are all doing our best to save water, Southern Water couldn't care less. Our bills have tripled, their salaries and bonuses continue to rise. What a total shambles! Get rid of them all, Burnham government, please!

July 28, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Our sewer was blocked we phoned…

Our sewer was blocked we phoned Southern water, although it took a while to speak to someone , from then it was excellent. The team arrived at the time of the text message and did a fantastic job. Dave and Leon were brilliant. Thank you

July 26, 2026
Unprompted review
Southern Water logo

Reply from Southern Water

Thank you for your review, we will pass your message on to Dave and Leon.

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The Water the water don't quite taste…

The Water the water don't quite taste like what outta No the Water in Southern Robbing yer bank with out telling you, then over 1 month laters via several phone calls i have gotten to know the entire staff team. and still no 100 quid recompense or a bloody call back for the 4th time now... if i could switch to outter mongolia i would

July 1, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Trying to pay my water bill

Trying to pay my water bill. Was issued with a new smart meter so I cancelled my extortionate direct debit and will pay for what I use..however it's impossible to submit a meter reading because the website won't accept it. My last bill was 150, for the half a year yet I'm paying nearly three times the amount by direct debit. No explanation, can't call, in a queue for ages.

July 24, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Staff are overpaid and lie

Staff are overpaid and lie. After they knew I was unable to read the meter they didn't take a reading. A year went by, and I was told they were supposed to take it every 6 months and that "the meter was not talking to their computer but it was fixed now". Another year went by and I was told the same thing. 3 years no meter readings. Overcharged by 120 units and, after asking for the revised bills, they have mashed up my water usage to fit the higher unit rate charged from my account, with absolutely no bearing on my usage. According to them I use 3 times more since they increased their rates, 280litres a day up from 40litres, which is impossible. The customer service person apologised for their "incontinence". Because Southern Water fed incorrect data to Bournemouth water, I've also been overcharged waste water. They charged me £238.68 knowing they had not read the meter. This is going to the Ombudsman.

July 1, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Harassed for payment!

They sent me a bill. Nothing out of the ordinary except less than 7 days later another email! Pay your bill in 7 days! Do they not realise people are living in a cost of living crisis & are living hand to mouth waiting for each pay day to make ends meet sometimes made even more stressful by having a life ending illnesses!!!. Ive never Not paid & always clear my bill within 30 days. I feel Harassed seeing as there are customers out there that don't pay & wont pay yet they get left alone!.

July 22, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They sent me an outrageous bill of…

They sent me an outrageous bill of £1,400 and then one of them called to threaten me very rudely about paying it as they will not be sending an engineer to generate a new reading. I am ready to challenge them this time with the Ombudsman. This has got to stop.

July 21, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Non existent "customer service" and "complaints" teams

Now waiting for nearly two weeks for my complaint to dealt with.
I have sat on WhatsApp for many hours and received many scripted faux apologies. They know that I am in my seventies, am certified as deaf and have severely limited visual capacity.
Southern Water are a national embarrassment.
Lawrence Gosden has failed as CEO and should be replaced by the company's investment bank owners, Greensands Holdings Limited.
If customers had a choice of supplier they would undoubtedly change - but this is a monopoly and they act like a monopoly.
Shameful.
And still no reply!

July 11, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Operative attempted to gaslight me into thinking no repairs done

I had two simple questions for the Customer Services operative and she failed to answer both.

First, I wished to know the year and date in which Southern Water had sent out a team to effect a repair to my water meter/the stopcock under the pavement outside my house. It was at least five years ago, and the only repair they have ever needed to do since I had the meter installed.

I have no email record of this. Presumably confirmation of appointment was done by SMS messages which are not kept by the phone beyond a certain period, hence my request to her.

I was alerted to the need for the repair by my own plumber at the time, as I explained to the operative. He had used a technical term to describe the fault.

I also wanted to know the technical name of the fault with the meter/stopcock which they had repaired and which my plumber had alerted me to.

The operative claimed they have no such record of any repair, and that if any repair had been carried out, they would have a record of it!

I asked her if she was implying I was lying about the repair!

I gave further details of the pavement being closed off for the area, and mentioned the name of Clancy (one of their sub-contractors) being on the yellow pavement signs temporarily put up while the work was done.

She later claimed her findings were confirmed by the "Technical Team" for which she had put me on hold for ten minutes. She insisted that no repairs had been done to the meter/stopcock at my property!

From this, I can conclude several possibilities:

1. Southern Water is inefficient, inept and not good at keeping a history of repairs at domestic properties.

2. Staff are not trained properly and are incapable of finding requested details i.e. the date of the repair and the name of the fault.

3. Staff are deliberately trained to obfuscate and put off the customer with what – to me – was obvious nonsense. This is presumably to evade liability and responsibility regarding works done, guarantees or future works.

4. Staff are not trained in other ways. Near the end of the 20 minute call, she asked me "When did the repair take place?" I replied: "That was my question to you at the start of this conversation!"

I left the operative in no doubt that I was not impressed with her ineffective and disrespectful "support".

Southern Water: a national disgrace in everything from customer support to water quality.

Just lamentable.

July 14, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Totally useless company

Totally useless company. I have had an issue with direct debit payments. They collect the payment early and the direct debit guarantee dos not seem to apply to them. Frequent calls to their customer services does not resolve the problem. They have a narrative they seem to follow but does not resolve the issue.

July 20, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Another year of destruction

Another year, another drought.
The Southern Water Cycle
Spring rains -> let overflow, runoff and waste get dumped into the river because the system cant handle it.
Summer Droughts -> react slowly to water leaks, enforce? A hose pipe ban, and drain an already delicate chalk stream.

Oh yeah and my water bill keeps going up.. despite not having a house pipe, re-using my waste water and using rain barrels...

June 30, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Animal Welfare concerns

We had white cloudy water all day, I called to find out what the issue was, explained we had 30 horses, dogs and puppies and was concerned about their welfare. I was told by the person I spoke to that they would investigate and would call me back in 10-15 minutes…. Guess what, no call back, even though I had said I was concerned about their welfare of my animals!!! I then called back after 75 minutes and was told it was air in the system and the person I first spoke to should have known that… who did I believe? If they were correct then TRAIN YOU STAFF.
Absolute disgraceful service, if my animals become ill, I will be taking legal action, value of my horses is around £1 million.

July 17, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have had a stage 2 complaint…

I have had a stage 2 complaint regarding missing guaranteed standards payments since 20 April..it’s been 3 months and no contact from them at all..i have to chase everything up myself and still no resolution!!!!

July 14, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Southern Water is what you get when you…

Southern Water is what you get when you have a protectionist monopoly that psychopathically destroys and drains the environment while holding its inhabitants hostage as a business model.

The people that are in the boardroom are basically sociopaths.

July 13, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I am absolutely disgusted and appalled…

I am absolutely disgusted and appalled by the service from Southern Water here in Southampton! If I could leave minus 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, I WOULD!!!

It’s been a whole week since a big leak in Settle Close, Southampton, and a number of residents, including myself, have called SOUTHERN WATER. Literally, they had no interest on the phone! It’s A DISGRACE! IT’S OK TO TAKE PEOPLE’S MONEY, MAKE HUGE PROFITS, AND PUT BANS ON USING HOSEPIPES, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO FIXING SOMETHING AS URGENT AS A BIG LEAK, YOU JUST IGNORE IT.

WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN DOING? YOU ARE WORTHLESS AND JUST POCKET PEOPLE’S MONEY. TO MAKE IT WORSE, ONE OF THE RESIDENTS SAID YOU WON’T SEND ANYONE FOR ANOTHER 3 WEEKS. IT’S D.I.A.B.O.L.I.C.A.L.

July 6, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Shocking company!!

Shocking company!!! if i could have given no stars i would have. They lie, will not address the problem they have hung up on me twice!! please note i have not been rude. Harrassed with large bills, taking advantage of the elderly, also knowing hat i am on pallative care. Absoultly outrageous been going on since march.

July 6, 2026
Unprompted review

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