South West Water Reviews 

Impossible to contact!

I’ve been trying to contact them to add my partner to the account with no success

I’ve tried phoning to be told we are experiencing high call volumes- the standard response for years now by too many customers- if that’s the case get more staff!

Last attempt I was number 29 in the queue!

Tried the what’s app route to be told there are long waits, that they would message back as soon as a agent was free - 2hrs later I get a message and as soon as I start message I get that the agent is having technical issues and would get back to me asap - still waiting

I wonder how long it would take for them to contact me if I stopped paying my DD

Am new customer worse luck to this company, so been calling to say moved to area but every time called am on waiting list in the forties so hours wait to speak to someone, but I work so can't sit on phone while on a roof working.
Anyway tried what's app you have to speak to a robot so tried that but obviously the robot can't answer your questions. So not happy

I only use between 4 to 6 cubic feet of water per quarter. I was shocked to see South west water charging water charges on drinking water & sewage water. Why should the consumer pay for these standard charges, its not fair & damn right wrong. I buy bottle water, as even filtering the tap water, doesn't taste right! Run the cold tap for 5mins just to clear the water. I will now cut back further on my water useage.
I only flush the loo twice a day. I do washing twice a week & shower 3 times a week, so I will cut back. SW water won't be getting much £££ out of me. Ordered a water butt so I can use collected rain water for the garden.

Increase of bill 60% - requested a water meter through the online form on 25th March still not heard anything from South West Water, what a great service we get. Very unhappy customer paying for the fat cat salaries who are running this shambles.

My elderly mother has been unable to get hold of anyone in writing or by phone. They've massively overbilled and has waited on the phone for more than an hour - that's not reasonable for someone without health concerns.

I've tried for my Mother and have had no success either.

If anyone can get them to help it'll be appreciated.

Waste of time. Just received an email advising a bill had been prepared for a property and account that was cancelled last November. Rang and waited only for an advisor to obviously not know what to do - and was then cut off!

Seem to have employed a load of people on their phone lines who haven't a clue as to what there meant to be doing. And waste time leave you on hold for 20/30 mins then multiple times the line then goes dead

Just got my bill through £39 in arrears for the last 12months. But they have now increased my direct debit by £30 per month an increase of £75%. Best if it was Nationalised. No use phoning them the rubbish system cannot divide £39 by 12 then add their ridiculous increase of 32% then my direct debit should have gone up £14 not £30.

Should be no stars !
Tried to use various means to reduce newly inflated Direct Debit.
Woman on phone didn’t do what she’d agreed to and then tried WhatsApp conversation by txt but as the conversation seemed to go round in circles and ending up back where I started but a lot more stressed I’m now convinced the whatsapp conversation isn’t with a human but some computer!
I only wanted to reduce DD and drastically cut my water consumption. But it was hopeless.
Advice to anyone wanting to do the same …… DONT BOTHER CONTACTING THEM BUT CANCEL DIRECT DEBIT AND PAY WHAT YOU WANT BY STANDING ORDER
At least that way you are in control with out having to contact them.

What other product varies so much in price around the UK? And it just falls out the sky for free. SWW have been charging a lot more for a long time for what exactly? Where I live the main supply pipe was put in around the early 1900's and keeps breaking. Engineers say time and time again that it needs replacing but the SWW management only look at a yearly budget which wastes money long term with bodge repairs on top of repairs. Apply that thinking over the whole SWW patch and look at the waste. The tight fisted government have removed the small but welcome £50 support. My 2025 bill has gone up 30% for what benefit to me? The product has not improved. SWW charged more historically 'to clean up the beaches', yet now they are charging more to do it again. A rip off with a monopoly lining their own pockets and share holders. Look at all the leaks with the lack of investment under private operating. Water and other utilities should be publicly operated by competent people with integrity (hard to find these days) where costs are shared equally across the UK and kept low. In a tourist area those people visiting enjoy SWW services without paying the extra costs the locals do all year round. Unreasonable building in the SWW area may well have put a strain water/sewerage services. Make the developers pay. Others who line their pockets and leave infrastructure wanting. The UK, a shambolic mess from decades of mis management from the top down. Why were the utilities privatized? The old household rates and combined water bill was reasonable and provided a pretty good service. Now those who pay, pay more for less. A very strange business model.

South West water were apparently sending bills to my address in someone else's name which I never had sight of since it's illegal to open someone else's mail. I discovered I now have a CCJ (which is not in my name!) on my credit file which I would have to pay to get removed. I explained that since I'd had no correspondence from them for 4 years then surely this should be written off since this was their error. Whilst admitting this they still insisted I should have opened the mail they'd sent which was not in my name and refused to get the CCJ removed from my file. This all came to light last year. They refuse to negotiate or put things right so we are deadlocked. I am a 77 year old pensioner allergic to chlorine so can't use their awful quality water anyway and this has caused me untold worry and stress but I won't be bullied by these people. Appallingly shocking and shameful customer service
South West water are the worst ever. The water is undrinkable, the sewage outfalls are disgusting in this day and age and their people skills non existent. Everyone should refuse to pay for such an abysmal service and force them to clean up their act in every way!

Email for CEO Southwest water susan davey pennon-group. (Unable to add email address on this site)
I would urge everyone with a complaint to contact her or the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) the independent voice for water consumers in England and Wales by calling 0300 034 2222 or use their online form with your complaints.
Southwest water are the worst company I have ever had to deal with. They are quite happy to take my money and then send my two fictitious bills for water I haven’t used. Which ever way you try you are unable to contact them. We have no choice but to use their inadequate service unlike other utility companies. Basically this company are levitate scammers

I don't know where to start. I had a letter that
said I can go back to unmetered, rang the 'helpline'
and was told I can't.
Nonone knows what they are talking about and sadly EAL staff dont help the situation when they cant understand your query.
CASE- 0015480917

South west water I would say that water was once the best in the UK they are now the worse have to use filters before drinking and this is still on going shouldn't have pay them anything at all

Water supply ok although have to use filters for awful taste .
Main concern is consistent stench from Countess Wear treatment works which SWWA always have an excuse for. You can bet none of the Board Directors or the invisible CEO ( yet again this week ) have to endure , and to make matters worse a whopping 37% increase in the rate .

We, are among 13,000 homes in the Plymouth area that lost our water supply on the morning of the 21st of April 2025. As of this moment it has still not been restored. This is utterly pathetic, but completely characteristic of South West Water.

As if this were not bad enough there were too few bottled water distribution points, too widely spread. The area of Horrabridge, where I live, is in an extremely rural area: It is on Dartmoor for Christ's Sake! Bottled water, if you get it, is fine for drinking, but what about flushing toilets, laundry and bathing? We have been part of crowds of people visiting the River Walkham in Horrabridge, taking water from the river with buckets. The scene was medieval!

The peformance of South West Water has been a disgrace yet again. It's CEO should be sacked immediately. I assume this to be the result of privatisation, wherein money that should be spent on plant and maintenance is syphoned off for top management pay and perks, plus Shareholder dividends.

I have cancelled my Direct Debit for my water. No doubt I will be made to pay eventually, but you will have to fight me for it. I urge all those affected to do the same thing.

Stephen Lockley.

Dreadful and exploitive company that do not support its customers and overcharge for a dreadful service. Despicable and about time they were called to rights. We should be compensated not overcharged.

Called today regards update on a local problem because their website does not give any updates. I was waiting for an answer for just over 30 minutes and i gave up waiting took a screen shot of the time waiting. This is clearly unacceptable. Always very quick taking your money. I suppose the fat cats are getting plenty. Utterly useless.

It’s a shame that I have to give them one star. They completely disrespect their so called customers. As with other reviews our bill has increased by 54% ! What other organisation, other than a giant monopoly could get away with such abuse of their customers. Aided and abetted by ofwat and a government who simply don’t care. They have remove the £50 grant to add insult to injury. What is the point of a regulator who doesn’t regulate. Their standards are woeful, and then they charge 54% more. When you contact them because you wonder if a mistake has been made they have been trained to calmly palm you off, suggesting you get a water meter, which they can’t provide !
Wil someone in government please read their reviews. If they weren’t a government supported monopoly they would not survive such blatant profiteering ! Shocking !

I received a bill from South West Water and I don't even live in the South West Water area!.
The bill had another customer's name on it and her address, account number, amount owed and a number of other items of information pertaining to her.
This was a clear Data Protection / GDPR breach. They have shared her details with me and have got hold of my address from somewhere.
I contacted the online webchat and it took them 45 mins to finally decide they would have to look into it. 20 minutes to an agent and 25 to a manager. I did not think this was good enough and asked them for an email for the CEO or senior manager.
He refused three times to do this, which is unacceptable. I managed to obtain the CEOs email address and wrote to her directly. I have received a holding reply.
My concerns were
-this SWW customer could be using my address fraudulently, to avoid bill paying
-someone within SWW was using my details fraudulently or
-someone else was doing this.
The agent and manager showed no empathy for my concerns, no understanding of GDPR or any urgency in dealing with it. The manager was also deliberately obstructive as refused to provide work email contacts for a senior manager.... a reasonable request in the circumstances. These email addresses are not secret.