SES Water - Redhill

P. B.

Wendy from ses water answered my call today as I've moved out on my own and don't have a clue what I'm doing. Not only did she help explain how the billing process worked but also gave me great advice regarding my direct debit. It was so refreshing to speak to someone who is not only helpful but also genuinely pleasant, gave me a laugh and made me feel better about how all this works.

Shukki

A big thank you to Rob Baldry of the water quality department. Rob has helped us massively in investigating why the lead levels in our water has gone up since our new kitchen was fitted. He has been very kind and helpful in explaining and sending us relevant information to get a better understanding of the issues we were experiencing. He also arranged for Matt from Customer service team and Paul from the regulations team to further investigate the problems at my property. Both Matt and Rob were very good at their job and went above and beyond and gave very good advice. Also thank you to Laura from the water quality department too. I also reached out to Rob regarding the fault at the Cheam Water Treatment works and he gave us good advice there too.

mark J.

Shockingly bad treatment of customers while water supplies were out this week
No communication on the issues and what was being done to fix them.
No offer of help to businesses severely impacted in the Sutton and Cheam area.

Emma H.

Absolute joke of a company… we got a really high bill last year indicating a leak… 3 lots of plumbers confirmed that there was a leak on 3 different occasions… none of them had the right tools to fix it…

A while went past and apparently a new water meter was installed without letting us know,.. the leak stopped which indicated it had been fixed and the meter had been changed…

We then get a call from SES saying we won’t get any money back because there wasn’t a leak… despite 3 different plumbers saying there was a leak… I ask to speak to someone else… no one calls… no refund, no communication… absolute joke of a company!!

Mark M.

Company and customer services are appalling. Last year staff turned up ad-hoc to install water a meter at our home. No previous contact to arrange this. Wife refused access as she was looking after granddaughter who was 18 months. Became very aggressive and when I phoned company told that it was company policy just to turn up and if we didn't give access our bill would go up.
Fast forward to yesterday, my daughter noticed from her bank statements that her monthly direct debit was not going through since October and she had not been contacted by them. Apparently DD suspended for a review as she was £3 in credit- again apparently company policy without notifying her
They then demanded she pay them several months at once which she cannot afford and left her in tears when court being threatened by person on end of phone. He suggested she ring back to speak to someone in another dept. She did and he answered.

No doubt their shareholders will get their money 🤑
Pity we can't change water company like we can with gas/electric. This companies attitude to it's customers is appalling.

I've left one star as you can't post unless you give them one.

Karen T.

Summary:

1. Staff are blaming customers for not paying their direct debits and saying you need to renew your direct debit? When in fact it’s a clerical error on their part.
2. The water bill has clerical errors saying the next payment is £0.00 and will come out in the year 2999.
3. The complaints email address is bouncing back
4. The phone lines are down today
5. It takes ages to speak to anyone and you are sent all round the houses
6. There are serious admin and technical issues going on at SES how can we trust that our bills are correct.

I received a shocking bill this month which I am discussing with the team for an outstanding balance of £654.54.82. The SES team are arranging for me to see if there is a leak as this jump seems massive compared to what it was.

It was also brought to my attention when I called SES that I have missed payments and that it was up to me to renew my direct debits payments and that I should have kept an eye on things. I have checked my last bill from the 5th of Sept 2023 and it said the next amount to be taken out was £0.00 and on closer inspection it says the next payment will come out in the year 2999? I was made to feel stupid and that it's all my fault by the SES team, when in fact it is a clerical error.

A direct debit should be automatic? Why did I not receive anything to tell me I needed to make further payments until now? I have paid part of the outstanding amount today (£200), however it's all very confusing and it seems it's impossible trying to keep an eye on the bills when the information is incorrect. Also, the water meter is outside in the road, so how can I monitor things? This hasn't happened before so I'm not sure what's going on at SES also the whole process of contacting SES and sorting this out has been very time consuming and I would like some form of compensation as I feel the people that took the call have behaved disparagingly towards me making out it is my fault when it is not.

Ms B.

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 take advantage of this situation and put people in difficult and stressful financial situation!

Saj N.

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!!