"AVOID! "

went online for a quote for a house I was looking at buying they had cancelled the OWNERS water and signed me up for a contract despite me NOT living their or owning the house. They won’t allow me to cancel the new contract and the tenant who lives and owns the house has their original water contract terminated. These people will assure you it is just a quote but go ahead and cancel contracts and rope you in with no way of cancelling. I don’t even live or own the house just a wanted a quote but they have now started an account with me who doesn’t even live there just wanted a quote. DO NOT GO HERE!!

"2024 water bill up by +15% vs 2023! "

2024 water bill up by +15% vs 2023! Why??
Average inflation rate in 2023 was 7% so why charge more than twice the inflation?
In 2023 the price went up by +11% vs 2022 and average inflation rate in 2022 was 9%.
So basically this company is charging way above inflation rate and because we cannot change to another water supplier, we are unwillingly ripped off!

My bill in 2024 is now £49/pm for one single person occupying the property and this went up vs £42/pm in 2023.
Where am I supposed to get the money from for these extortionate and unjustified charges?? This unreasonable price increases cannot continue as water will not be affordable to us!
If the charges continue to raise at this rate, the bills will soon be £100 a month!!!

SES STOP THIS!!! STOP RIPPING US OFF!

*EDIT*
Following the reply from SES: whilst your company is making investments, they should ensure that the charges to the customers are fair. +15% price increase is not fair when inflation is +7% and the year before SES already charged +11%. So this year the difference in the bill is +£7 each month of the plan - we are talking CONSIDERABLE amount of money, not 2 or 3 quid.
Your words that “SES are working hard to save money where possible” does not reflect in the price bill! These are just empty words that mean nothing.
The point is that SES are a monopoly in this area and as customers we are completely helpless as cannot move to another provider.

You are saying I could ask for help if I cannot pay my bill but SES should NOT be putting me or their other customers in that position in the first place! It is stressful for people and one way or the other we have to pay your bills!

It is really worrying to see and experience the massive jumps in pricing in the past couple of years.
My bill is now nearly £50 per month for a single person! Considering SES’ past huge price increases it is worrying to think what’s coming in next years, what SES pricing strategy is - will you charge another 10-15% next year and the year after…? What will be the cost of water in next 5-10 years say if the price increases are this huge each year?…
As SES is a monopoly for the area where my house is, they should ensure that the prices are fair and in line with inflation rate, not hugely above, no matter what your reasons are.
Peoples’ salaries do not go up in the increments SES is charging so why do SES think that Increasing prices +11% then +15% is manageable, reasonable and fair?!

SES please get real and just because you are a monopoly, you should not make the use of this situation to your advantage and put people in difficult and stressful financial situation!

"15% increase in water charges "

15% increase in water charges 2024
A total rip off.
Modern day Robbery.
This 15% increase far exceeds the inflation rates RPI (retail price index) & CPI (consumer price index)
Lining the CEO Ian Cain & directors & shareholders pockets.
They get water free from rain. All they have to do is treat it and pump it . Not rocket science

"Not my meter"

Not my meter
No first bill just a statement for £92 and a letter saying. that they were going to cut me off.
Second bill £745.90, Third bill £19.12
Unhelpful customer services, when asked to credit me, they stated that they were going to impose fines and charges if I did not pay.
NOT MY METER!

"You can't change the email associated with your account "

Ses replied to my review asking me to contact customer services & they would help me further to change the email associated with my account I'd like to point out that when I emailed customer services nobody responded so after 6 weeks of no response I phoned only to be told you can't change the email associated with your account? Without shutting down the account & opening a new one which doesn't make any sense

"Amazing Customer Service"

They have the most amazing customer service. They always look after vulnerable customers and are kind and patient. Never chase. If you are struggling to pay the bills and honestly just absolutely superb. I've seen a few of the negative reviews and obviously it's a bit of a surprise. So I hope they sort that out but honestly the chief executive of this organisation, should feel very proud of themselves. It is world-class standard. I hope they never drop this and I promise you in this world of technology and AI, good humans running businesses will always be my number one preference,

"SES Profiteering Dictatorship Company"

Now being dictated to by SES to have a water meter installed. Have been told it is because we are classified as a dry area. So why every time it rains we are looking at a river of water running down the front public path and then have a lake round the corner which covers the whole of the path, the road and runs right into the playing field opposite and the bus has to stop either side of this lake to let passengers on/off the bus.
SES Water say it is nothing to do with them, the council say it is SES Water/Thames Water problem so whose responsibility it this. We have been trying to resolve this issue for nearly 30 years to no avail.
Totally fed up of having to bail the water out of the front garden to prevent the house from getting flooded out.

"Have been on estimated readings for 7…"

UPDATE OF SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME: SES have contacted me as a result of this review. After initially speaking to one customer service agent (who was sticking to the standard script of telling me why their figures were right, rather than letting me explain why they were wrong), I spoke with a manager who allowed me to explain the issues and the position, and they understood my concern (ie that, after 7 years of estimates, I shouldn't be charged for the catch-up at today's higher rate per unit). They also accepted an issue I presented that there was an "adjustments" figure on the bill itself that was not being taken into consideration in the bill total, so the bill simply did not add up.
The manager agreed to make those adjustments to the bill, leaving my total at a much more acceptable amount which I have paid. So top marks for the final outcome, but very disappointing that it took this fourth call before I could speak with someone who was able to listen, understand, and ultimately resolve the matter satisfactorily.

ORIGINAL POST: Have been on estimated readings for 7 years (because they couldn't find the meter). Now they have found it, they are charging me in full at the current (much higher) rates as if the water has been used in the last week, rather than prorating the charges over time against the old rates. Of course, there is no-one you can speak to who understands the issue. I have phoned three times (was cut-off one of those times), but all they can do is take a payment, say they will deal with (which they don't as nothing appears recorded on file from past calls), say they will escalate it (which I hope they will but I am still waiting after several days and not confident). Oh and the bill itself doesn't actually add up!! How their systems can produce bills with numbers that don't add up is shocking,

"Can’t even collect a direct debit."

Recent bill in September 2024 stated my direct debit (which has worked fine for the past 7 years) would be taken in October 2099.

Thought it was an error but money not taken and October has come and gone. Can’t get through on phone and my account page on their website gives an error message.

Tried emailing but got an automated reply stating it will be a while.

Clearly they don’t want bills to be paid.

Edit:- as I mentioned I’ve tried calling but not answered and I’m not going to hang on for hours. Also tried emailing but no reply. Interesting I got a reply on trustpilot but no reply by email.

"SES wasted waterNow they want me to pay for it"

Jan 23 I had water meter which i requested to be activated in March23 this never happened. I understand I should have bee asked for two meter reading around 2 weeks apart then my bill would be re assessed. Around June 23 I became aware that i had a leak on my pipework which got fixed and SES informed given meter reading. I had several phone calls with Customer service one a very confused young man, then around 3 weeks ago another phone call and the operator a very nice lady told me I wasnt on a meter my request wasnt activated when requested in March.
I have been offered up to a 50% reduction in the water that was wasted due to the leak at this present time, told bill co only be assessed every 6 months. My contention is why should I pay for water that was wasted due to not being on a meter as requested the knowledge of the leak would have been discovered and march and I would fix it.
Complaint went to level 2 the next step can take 75 days even to be reviewed with CCS
The whole situation is easy to resolve but nobody is listening and certainly sees that the company has any responsibility in this situation
Does anyone actually care not to my experience