Southern Water: Login, Contact or Moving Home Problems Solved
Southern Water serves around 2.5 million customers through parts of South Hampshire, West Sussex and small areas on the coast in East Sussex and Kent. Southern Water is owned by several holding companies representing large investors like JP Morgan and Macquarie, an Australian financial firm, which took a majority ownership stake in August 2021.
Southern Water Login
Having a Southern Water login allows you to access your account and solve the majority of water supply and billing issues online at your convenience. Here are the main features you can access with a valid Southern Water login:
- View your account balance and information
- Pay an outstanding Southern Water bill
- Set up or change Direct Debit details
- View historical water usage information
- Move to paperless billing
- View past Southern Water bills
- Notify Southern Water about moving home
Southern Water is revamping its online account portal, making it easier to view your account information as well as making changes to your account. Unlike with Welsh Water, however, you don't need to re-register with Southern Water with a new login. Your existing login should still work.
However, if you're new to Southern Water or are an existing customer without a Southern Water login, you should register as soon as possible. It's completely free with just your email and the correct password, you will be able to access your online account once you've registered.
To register for a Southern Water login, you need the following things:
- Customer number which you can find at the top of your bill and consists of 8 digits.
- Last name that appears on the bill
- A valid email address
Forgot your password?
If you can't log in to Southern Water, you will need to reset your password. To do so, you need to click on the Forgot your password? link on the Southern Water login page. You will then have to enter the email address linked with your Southern Water account.
You will then be asked to verify your email address, which means that you will have to reenter it to ensure there are no spelling mistakes. After that, you will answer the security question you set up when you got your Southern Water login. Once all these steps are successfully done, you can go ahead and set a new password.
Southern Water Contact
To find the right Southern Water contact, you need to pick the team that is best suited to handle your query or request. Here are the main Southern Water contact number options.
Southern Water Team | Phone Number | Opening Times |
---|---|---|
Bill and Account | 0330 303 0277 | Mon to Fri 8am-7pm, Sat 8am-2:30pm |
Minicom | 0330 303 1265 | Mon to Fri 8am-6pm |
Moving Queries | Same as above | Same as above |
Automated Payment Phone | 0330 303 1263 | 24/7 |
Report a leak | 0800 820 999 | 24/7 |
Water and wastewater enquiries | 0330 303 0368 | Mon to Fri 7am-9pm, Sat and Sun 7:30am-10:30pm |
Emergencies | same as water and wastewater enquiries | 24/7 |
Complaints | 0330 303 0223 | Mon to Fri 9am-5pm |
For each of these teams, you can also reach out to each of them via an online form on the bottom half of the Southern Water contact page. This is a great option for queries or requests where you want to have a response in writing from one of the customer care teams. If the issue is more urgent, calling Southern Water remains the best contact option.
Southern Water on Social Media
Southern Water has a significant social media presence with active accounts on the following platforms:
- Vimeo
You can reach out to Southern Water over social media to get your water query or account request solved. The best social platforms to do that on are Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, in that order. Linkedin is primarily for Southern Water jobs while Vimeo is a video sharing site, like YouTube.
Southern Water Moving Home
If you have a Southern Water moving home question, you need to be aware of which of the following three moving situations you are in:
- Change of address within the Southern Water supply area
- New Southern Water customer, previously with a different water company
- Moving away from the Southern Water supply area and need to close your account
Southern Water is one of the more flexible water suppliers when it comes to how far ahead you need to notify them about moving. You can let Southern Water know about your move both before or after your move-in date:
- Up to 30 days before moving
- Up to 90 days after your move-in date
As a new customer, you will need to provide some basic details, including new address, moving date (future or past), personal and payment details. This will let you get started with Southern Water.
If you're an existing Southern Water customer moving to a different property within the same supply area, you need your customer number to request a change of address. If you pay by direct debit or payment card, your payment details will transfer over with your change of address so there are no additional steps when it comes to payment method.
If you are an existing customer moving to a property supplied by a different water supplier, you can request a final bill and close your account when you let Southern Water know that you're moving.
Southern Water Problems
When it comes to environmental impact and sewerage practices, Southern Water problems have been fairly recurring for communities within the company's supply area. Southern Water critics point out that many of these problems are caused by the company's focus on the bottom line and shareholder payouts. Vocal critics across the media and social platforms contend that money that should go into water infrastructure and sustainability is instead going into the pockets of investors.
The most egregious of all the Southern Water problems is that the company misled regulatory bodies, in 2019, when it misreported sewage pollution it caused. As a result, Southern Water was issued with an eye-watering £126 million fine.
With the coastal nature of its supply and sewerage areas, recurrent Southern Water problems often come in the shape of sewage dumping and spillage into the sea. This issue is, understandably, of great concern to local communities and is often brought up in comments to Southern Water social media posts.
Southern Water problems are not only environmental in nature but also of the customer service variety. Southern Water has earned a "Bad" customer service rating from Trustpilot based on 226 customer reviews with an average score of 1.4 out of 5. Unlike the environmental criticism on Facebook, Southern Water customers have aired their issues with how Southern Water has treated them.
Common Southern Water problems mentioned by customers on Trustpilot include:
- Breaking promises regarding fixing driveway appearance after pipe maintenance
- Unexplained bill increases and inconsistent billing practices
- Broken water meter overcharging customer despite engineer confirming technical issue
- Toilet waste pouring in from an adjoining property for several days
- Several sewage flooding issues persisting over decades
Southern Water Pay Bill
There are several Southern Water pay bill options to choose from. They are listed below with details of how they work so that you can pick the best one based on your lifestyle and financial situation.
Southern Water Pay Bill Online
Southern Water lets you pay your bill online directly from their website. First of all, click on the the link from the homepage. With this method, you won't need to sign into your Southern Water account but you need to have all the following details to pay your bill:
- Customer number from your bill (8-10 digits long)
- Payment reference from your bill (13 digits long)
- Last name
- Email address
- Credit or debit card details
Direct Debit
Southern Water touts Direct Debit as the most convenient way to pay. You can set a Southern Water direct debit once you have logged in to your account.
Pay by phone
You can call the Southern Water automated payment line on 0330 303 1263 at any time of day or night to pay your bill. This is another way to make one off payments at your convenience instead of being stuck to a schedule.
Request a payment card
You can have Southern Water payment card that works anywhere with a Paypoint sign (local shops and post offices for example). With this payment card, you will be able to easily pay your outstanding Southern Water bill balance. To get one, just call 0330 303 0277 and you will be all set.