South Staffs Water Reviews 190

Still waiting over a week for a response to my initial email, no one has called me back to discuss this matter….my issue is if SSW price rises on average are 8.5%, how come my direct debit payment has rocketed by over 40%…could someone please sort this out before the first of May which is when this extortionate direct debit payment is due to be taken, what a shambles of a company…if I could jump to another water company I would have started the process by now, this is just terrible customer service.

We have a water meter. Monthly direct debit has increased from £45 to £69 in one go. So I ring South Staffs Water on 4th March 2026. I speak to someone called Safion and explain this increase doesn't seem right. No change in usage etc. Safion says someone will come out in the next few days and take a reading, after which my usage/bill will be reconciled. I hear nothing. Sign in to my account on the web site on 13th April 2026. Last physical reading....17/9/25. So no one has been and nothing is being investigated. Why even bother having a customer service team? My message to whoever runs this company...you have a score of 1.7 on Trustpilot, and I can fully understand why. Maybe you'd like to do something about it.

Local area blockage in winter, send a couple of pros. Fixed quick and well. Not a bad company I thought. However! 3 months later, for water meter installation, rude incompetence from the contractor workmen, trashed tarmac at the end of our drive, didn't clean up properly, water not running clean after 24 hours of excessive running and flushing. Rang to complain, rude on the phone, when I asked for ticket number and name, gave it the old "you're breaking up I can't hear you" routine. When I asked about reimbursement for excessive water flushing they said ask the ssw team when they arrive. they send a contractor out instead of SSW, who said we can't fix your dirty water, it's brown in the mains, Nothing we can do.
I followed the advice in the leaflet and get treated like a chump. Needless to say, this is getting sent to local MP. I suggest everyone else who can't tolerate this nonsense does the same.

Disgusting customer service.

Never a thank you for bills paid practically in full. If few pounds short they will only send demands with no appreciation of customers who dont put them on a Direct Debit or standing order. Even when you communicate areas that should improve they ignore.
Now they want to reply like they care is a joke!

They are a shocking company who try and enforce their policies and water meters without customer consultation and are currently under parliamentary scrutiny because of these issues. Their customer service is non existent as their staff appear to read from a script and have no wish to help their customers. If I could I would change. The latest is emails sent out saying that we will receive our bills soon but given no idea how much these bills are going to be. Their attitude is disgusting and they are not customer focused at all.

Not had a water bill for over 5 years although requested one a number of times, reported them to CCW org who they promissed that they would send me paper bills still not received any bill.
So I am now going to stop my direct debit to them so they will have to send me a bill and then I will send them a cheque.

Just dreadful. Told me to take a meter reading and let them know how much used at the end of the month so I can manage T bills.
Then later on said I cannot give them my meter readings at anytime and would need to wait 6 months for a bill.

Also sent me a letter with my new direct debit after water meter fitted , Then quadrupled the price of my direct debit when I rang them. They said the letter was nonsense an to ignore it as nobody can “only” use the amount they originally sent in the letter.

Awful , deceitful company and avoid at all costs.

They are criminals

South Staffs don't care about customers, they don't want to communicate with you just hide behind technology. Text - we are going paperless! (whether you like it or not) so you can check your details online. All well and good for those who are able and capable to do so but not for all. What happened to YOU provide a service and then present a bill to be paid? Who is paying for the customers time to retrieve your companies data in order to pay?? YOU charge enough to provide the service in the first place so you should present a professional bill. Disgraceful !!

Reply to Southstaffs - Read the above so that you can get an idea of the issues! Not rocket science to sent a bill!

After a few communications between SSW and myself, I finally got satisfaction to my queries but not only the answers I wanted but information to further help.
This was followed up with a call telling me my monthly standing order because of my situation, would be reduced. What a wonderful result, thank you SSW.

Bills spike up without a warning. Charged us for estimate readings for a while without taking actual meter readings, and then sent us a huge bill after getting the actual readings. That kept us in a difficult position having made to pay a huge sum suddenly though the fault is not ours. And the water charges and waste water charges are too high. This is so unfair situation because we have to stick with them no matter how dissatisfied we are because there's no way we can change the supplier...

So! Came home Tuesday/Wednesday to 8 bottles of water on the doorstep. Apparently south staffs had fixed a leak. BUT reckon now is a part blockage so the leak couldn't of been much of a leak if it's part blocked and why not just do it while things are dug up.So didn't have any water now it's hardly running. We have no word if the blockage has been done we are just assuming not because the water isn't running properly. Will be calling the number today to report this issue and and expect it resolved in reasonable time frame. People should not be left without water in this day n age.

Walsall South Staff Water, Trevor was really polite and quickly resolved our no water supply. Thank you, Trevor

It is not value for money. As always, one gets a PR written excuse for massive price rises with no coherent or sensible explanation as to the cause. Except greed presumably. They do not appear to read reviews.

just phoned South staffs to pay 26 pounds I don't believe I owed, from about 6 months ago, I'd told them when I was moving and they still took the direct debit so I canceled the direct debit mandate and the next one was returned, then the other day I had a text from a debt collection company called ARC as i won't deal with, as thay sound like crooks, I originally thought that they'd acquired the debt from a company called oops who definitely are scammers because South staffs didn't know anything about them and that bill a few years back was only about a week old and just after a South staffs data breach, but the main thing that makes this unacceptable is South staffs have all my contacts details so why not just phone or send an email, considering I told them when I was leaving to set debt collectors onto someone isn't nice and for some people who are on the edge could start a downwards spiral

Disgusted at southstaffs water, fitted a water meter without telling me, changed my payment plan without explanation. Still owned money as I was payed up until April next year, estimated a bill considering it's only been fitted 3 weeks then what to take more money from my account. What a joke trying to sort it. Only if we could change water companies. Looks like it's a win win for water companies.
Still awaiting what water cost rate I'm on , they just make crap up and hope we go for it. Stopped my direct debit and asked for one bill a year.
Everyone did that then money will be a issue for them....

I'm a single woman with no children living in a one bedroom property alone. My tenecy started on the 9th April. I moved in weeks later only to find south staffs demanding £47 for water I supposedly used in April. Very high standing charges for one month alone.
Then I got another bill in November for £220 for 6 months of my so called usage.
I I went on holiday for 2 months only to find these estimated bills posted through my letter box.
I phoned them and asked why am I being overcharged? They talk alot of nonsense. Just go around in circles.
They said the average yearly amount a single person pays is £330.
Why am I being charged £220 for 6 months and the £47 I had to pay for nothing?
The overall amount a year for a single person living alone Cost £534
Thats ridiculous
I'm being overcharge
High standing charges
I'm on low income how do they expect me to pay £220 in full.
I'd never use direct debit
So they can help themselves when they feel like it.
I'm beyond fed up of this company
I'm disputing this silly bill amount

Awful to deal with. Let your details be stolen and not tell you. Website is never up to date. Hard to get money back because youve over paid as there error

As many other people have said their service is just appalling.
My bill has more than doubled each month because I was £60 in debit due to the huge price increases they inflicted on everyone earlier this year! I asked why the shortfall of £60 meant a monthly increase for the next 12months of £21 - no credible explanation was given by a very condescending advisor.
I asked about my water meter and was told I could check it myself by going out into the street and lifting the manhole cover - unbelievable.
To top it all off my tap water is cloudy unless I run it for a couple of minutes first.
I would absolutely go elsewhere if I could.
Awful company with rude staff.

Absolutely appalling, outside the property the meters have got mixed up and we have been charged for the neighbours water. Sent a Bill for over £1100 outstanding. Keep trying to contact them and just get abrubt replies

This company has serious flaws in it's system that the customer gets the blame for ,I was paying weekly for my bill and always was Infront with my payments,I started to get emails ,text messages and letters saying you owe X amount,so I called them up after waiting an hour on hold ,the lady on phone said oh I'm sorry about this it's our system because you have paid early it's registered that you haven't paid the week after ,I said how can it when I am Infront with my payments, she said I can only apologise it won't happen again , so I carried on paying Infront as I always do , and once again loads of messages and emails and letters saying I owe them money , this time they said we are passing on to dept collection,once again contacted them and they said exactly the same this won't happen again , and again after I had been making my payments in advance I had more letters , I emails them as couldn't be patient again waiting for over an hour to get to speak to them, they still said the same ,I said well should you update you system so this does keep happening it's your fault not mine ,no answer from them , I sent another email telling them if this happens again you can take me to court as I'm not contacting you again when it's your systems fault not mine , and they will look foolish at court when I have all my proof of payment well before it was due , they are a very poor run company that we as the customer have no choice but to be there customer as there is no alternative as well they know , probably why they have such bad customer service,and an out of date not fit for purpose system,south staffs water you should be ashamed of your self disgusting how you have treated me with your threats of action for something that was your fault !!!!!!!!!!