SES Water

Our trip was on Friday 16th August for members of EdenARA (Edenbridge Active Retirement Association). We had 29 members attend. The visit was first class from start to finish. From making contact, the initial booking, the e-mails confirming the date with Lisa Downes. We arrived at the appropriate time in our relevant groups to be welcomed by Lisa and her Team. We spent time in our groups in the Blue Room which was amazing and informative not only the the school children who visit but for us adults too. Each Tutor took a group and we set off in our allocated time slot, up the dam. The response on arriving at the top was "wow what a spectacular view it was worth the climb". It got even better as we experienced the view from the Bridge and Valve Tower. With much more to come we entered the long tunnel into the cool on a very hot day this was just what we needed and welcoming. We then walked into the treatment works itself, again members could not believe what was involved. My group asked many questions and these were answered promptly and professionally. Finally, arriving back at the starting point, members were able to enjoy the water refreshment of course!! We waited then for the rest of the groups to return before I gave a very heartfelt thank you to Lisa and her Team on behalf of us all for their kindness, support and hospitality. I think EdenARA members will remember this visit for sometime.

Received a letter stating I missed SES Water payments from incompetent Daniel Taylor therefore, they cancelled my current plan. I checked my bank accounts and clearly for the last 4 years standing orders have been successfully completed. Tried calling SES Water, customer service is appalling. I was asked to call back. Not a chance... SES water messed up they can sort it out. Useless!

I had a water leak. SES water came in the morning and discovered a blocked sewer. Thames water arrived early afternoon and fixed it. All in a few hours.

This has to be the most ridiculous situation I have ever come across! I have just moved house, a representative of SES Water informed me that I needed to take a water meter reading on the day we moved out, that is exactly what I did. I have just called SES to give my last meter reading, oh and I didn't pass the security questions!! Those questions were 'What is the name on the account?' I guess I ought to know that, right! Then the second question: 'What's the address of the account? Well, having lived at the address for 21 years and reading the address of the last bill, I must have got that right. However, the representative told me, " I can no longer discuss this with you as you haven't passed the security questions". I told the representative, "I'm reading it off the bill...my answers must be correct, what question did I get wrong?" " I can't tell you thast you must call back when you have the correct information". I then lost the plot and ended the call. So, I cannot give the final meter reading for the address I have lived at for 21 years because, apparently I don't know my own name or the address I've lived at for 21 years!! Well SES Water please don't try to bill me for any usage as you won't get payment...WHY? because according to you I don't exist!

Very informative with a range of activities to keep the children motivated. The adults were all knowledgeable and had a great rapport with the children. Overall a great experience. There was good feedback from the children

I have never been a customer of SES yet they are chasing me for a debt from previous tenants. They say they have been sending bills to my address - they have not! DFespite me asking on multiple occasions for the outstanding bills so that i can review they will not share (they say they will on the phone but they never arrive). I have shared all of my up-to-date contact details... does anyone have any experience with this company in court? If so it'd be great to hear from you. You can't reply here but i'm easily contactable through my business (Must & Lees Wine Merchant)

Left an appalling mess after repairs thick cement everywhere over cars and pavements clearly the area they fix isnt of importance to SES Update to the reply: I have already "reached out" when I called the ses telephone customer support line and also emailed you. All I received was : could take up to 10 days. This is not only a dangerous spill of significant cement from your works but a health hazard to families with young children and older persons. You should be ashamed to leave this mess.

Had a horrible experience this morning with a boy with a funny accent called Daniel. Very patronising and sarcastic over the phone, didn’t want to listen to anything I had to say and was just clueless! Once passed over to the manager I was able to have my issue resolved.

Reported a leak in garden beginning of last week to be told not there problem sent email with pictures not heard a word losing 1000s lurkers of fresh water a day and not there problem great work SES don’t mind taking out money

Well pitched, informative and fun - everything science teaching should be.

This company is a joke. I cannot get my head around the fact that they are in business. Reading other reviews going back 4 years people are still experiencing the exact same issues. Is there a point writing this review? Probably not! People wrote the same things 4 years ago and I am experiencing the same 4 years later so will anything change or improve! Of course not! This review will be ignored equally as other’s was 4 years ago! They pay people “ to assist customers “ who don’t do anything but lie to you, make false claims, they say they did what you asked, corrected their own error, etc and when you call next they claim there is nothing on your account. So your 5 calls spending 30min to 1 hr on the call with them was COMPLETELY POINTLESS. The next time you call your name won’t even be on the account so they REFUSE TO SPEAK TO YOU, but!!!! They are very happy to have your email address on the account (which is your name) or your phone number that you called from and they can see or your bank details and name on bank account is also yours but you are not the account holder! They said send an email from the email address, and when I did 10 days later I got a response that they can’t reply to me because I am not the account holder - the email address that is registered on my account! How else can I describe this other than a JOKE??? This company is a joke! There is also a concern around overcharging- I was issued 4 bills as my closing bill at my previous property. They ignored my final readings and they instead estimated. Then after 5 calls I managed someone to press Save after amending details on my account and got a new bill ( with my final readings which was less than the estimated - charging me even more!). - the concern is real! I called and someone told me if I don’t pay the bill ( incorrect with estimated readings) my credit rating will be affected. Instead of offering correction and sorting their error ignoring my final submitted readings I was threatened! I have never been asked by any company to PAY AN INCORRECT BILL OR ELSE MY CREDIT RATING WILL SUFFER!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( and this person even lied about his name because he knew I will make a complaint). Unfortunately we don’t have an option to just dump this awful company and get water from elsewhere and this is why things are happening this way and nothing will ever improve. I made a final call today and spoke to an English girl who finally sorted everything. I cannot believe how you can speak to several people ( all were male and with Indian accent) who didn’t do anything, made up things, refused to send someone to take my opening readings to start with as my meter is under the main road and I cannot access it. How on earth can this feel like that every 3rd of 4th call is answered by a real customer service agent and the rest are just scammers?? I think calls should be monitored and those who are there to pass time without doing any work should be fired. Took me 3 weeks of back and forth calls to sort my old and new account just to complete a move out and move in request that should have been able to completer on the website without having to call at all if any of my submitted details weren’t completely disregarded.

Further Update 18 09 24 I have received another shocking bill from SES asking for even more money £70 per month for five months this time: £350. This is after I have payed £490 and received a credit of £40 which totals £530, surely this amount is enough to: 1. Pay off x5 missed payments of £25.16 due to SES cancelling my Direct Debit. 2. A water leak which was for only x1 month. 3. Continued payments up to Sept this year 2024. £490 (already paid)+£350 (to pay) = £840 My bill used to be £301.92 per year approximately, how come it has jumped to £840 There seems to be something seriously wrong with the calculations. Also the water is so chalky, it leaves a film of white powder on everything and ruins the bathroom fittings. I live in a small house we don't use a lot of water. It seems Pennon acquired SES water last year, they are the owners of South West Water, one of the UK utility firms fined for illegal sewage dumping in the previous year. It's all gone down hill since they took over and they are trying to scam customers out of money. ------------------------------------------------------------ New update 26/04/24 16:30 pm, got through to someone at SES, they have no record of the SES person that came to check for a leak 23 04 24 and took a meter reading. They will now send another person on the 1st of May to take a reading and then another on the 16th of May to take another reading so they can be sure I am not using water the equivalent of 8 people living in my house. The reading they took this week and the other in March will not suffice for some reason, I'd like to know why, however the person on the call had some bizarre round the houses answer that made no sense, if fact many of the people I speak to at SES make non sense, what training are they given??? What on earth is going on with this company, they have no record of things and staff do not seem to know how to answer questions. Latest update 26/04/24 SES came round to check the water meter and they have made a mistake. I am not currently using x8 peoples worth of water a day. I have tried to call them and get asked a selection to be put through to and it says lines are busy and it cuts me off line goes dead. This company is a joke. Please SES can you update my bill as I cannot get through to you!!!!!! 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(which will take 5 weeks) 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.

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! 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 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 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!

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

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,

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.

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,