Southern Water Pay Bill: Account & Billing Help

There are many ways to pay Southern Water, such as direct debit, payment card, online banking or even a one-off payment. We’ve broken down all the Southern Water pay bill options so you can find the best option for you.

Knowing your options for paying your water bills is important. Since everyone’s finances are different, you should take advantage of the variety of payment methods you can use with a water company. Fortunately,there are a lot of Southern Water pay bill options so you can find which one best suits you.

What Is the Average Water Bill for Southern Water?

The average water bill for Southern Water will be £402 for 2022-2023. This is an £18 decrease from last year’s average of £420 and is also lower than the average UK water bill. Southern Water customers should expect to pay:

1. £171 for their clean water services
2. £231 for their wastewater services

This means that a Southern Water customer will pay around £33.50 a month on average.

Curious how your water bill compares? Water customers up and down the country pay different amounts for their water services. If you’re curious to know how much the SES Water bill compares to the rest of the UK, check out our Average UK Water Bill guide to find out more.

Southern Water Set Up Direct Debit

To pay your Southern Water bill, the easiest Southern Water pay bill option is direct debit. By setting up a Southern Water direct debit, Southern Water takes your bill from your bank account at the payment interval you choose.

To set up Southern Water direct debit, login to your Southern Water account and follow the instructions. When setting up your direct debit, you can choose how often Southern Water takes your direct debit:

• Monthly
• Every six months

If you choose to set up your direct debit for every six months, a Southern Water engineer will visit your property to take a water meter reading so your bill will be for your actual water usage.

If you choose to set up your direct debit monthly, the Southern Water engineer will still only visit once every six months to read the meter and the Southern Water pay bill team will adjust your bill to match your usage. However, you can give a meter reading yourself so that your bill is not an estimate.

Need help getting started? If you've just moved into a Southern Water property, sometimes it can be hard getting started paying your water bill. That's why we've created a handy guide to walk you through the steps on How To Set Up Your Water Bill.

Southern Water Payment Card

With a Southern Water payment card, you get the freedom to choose your own payment plan that fits your needs and budget style. When you set up your payment plan and receive the Southern Water payment card, you can choose from:

• Weekly payment
• Fortnightly payment
• Monthly payment

Once you receive your Southern Water payment card, you can use it to top-up at any PayPoint location.

To set up a payment plan and get your Southern Water payment card, you need to call the Southern Water pay bill team on 0330 303 0277.

Southern Water One-Off Payment

A Southern Water one-off payment is a great way to top-up your Southern Water account if your direct debit is every six months. You can pay whatever you want, as often as you want.

You have two options available to make a one-off payment: online or by phone. Southern Water accepts all major credit and debit cards, apart from American Express.

Do you have a water meter? Only 40% of UK houses are fitted with a water meter. This means that the majority of the UK is billed on the rateable value of their property. If you are an unmetered customer, you might benefit from better water rates if you get a water meter. Check out our water meter guide to find out more.

Southern Water One-Off Payment Online

Making a one-off payment online is easy and fast, in takes just a couple of minutes, but you’ll need to get these details ready:

• Your eight or 10 digit customer account number
• With your payment reference number, you can find this at the top right of your bill
• Your email address
• The last name as it appears on your bill
• Credit or debit card information

To pay, go to the website after you have the above information. You can choose to pay either by logging into your account, or you can continue as a guest user without logging in.

Southern Water One-Off Payment by Phone

Similar to making a one-off payment online, you’ll need the same details ready, except your email address. You just need to call the Southern Water pay bill team on 0330 303 1263 and follow the instructions of the automated system to make your Southern Water one-off payment by phone.

It’s accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you can choose to pay when it’s convenient for you.

Southern Water Pay Bill by Online Banking

For customers who prefer to pay Southern Water by online banking, you can pay by making a one-off transfer or you can set up a standing order to make regular payments.

To make a one-off transfer or set up a standing order to pay Southern Water by online banking, you only need the Southern Water account number and sort code, and you must enter your payment reference number in the transfer's concept.

You can find your Southern Water payment reference number at the top right-hand corner of your bill.

Southern Water Pay Bill in Bulk

You might want to make a bulk payment for multiple accounts, if you’re a landlord, for example. To make a Southern Water bulk payment, send a payment remittance to the Southern Water pay bill team's email address [email protected]

Southern Water Pay Bill Complaints

Sometimes we experience financial difficulties, and the water bill is not your priority. Customers who are struggling to pay their Southern Water bill can call the specialist Southern Water pay bill team on 0800 027 0363. They will look at what options are available for your specific situation, and help to make sure you don’t get into debt and dig yourself deeper. You can also email the Southern Water pay bill team if you would prefer not to speak to them on the phone. The email address is [email protected].

Complaint about Southern Water? If you have a complaint to make against Southern Water, the first thing to do is to contact the water company themselves. Unfortunately, you can’t switch water suppliers so you will have to be patient and let them handle it. If they do not respond in 8 weeks or you are dissatisfied with the response, you should contact the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). Do not contact the water regulator Ofwat since they will not be able to help you.

The options that are available to customers who are struggling with their Southern Water bill are:

1. WaterSure
2. Water Direct
3. NewStart
4. Essentials

They each have their own requirements for eligibility, so we’ve broken them down below. If you’re eligible, you can get in contact with the Southern Water pay bill team and apply in the following ways:

We recommend you speak to the Citizens Advice or StepChange if you’re struggling to pay your Southern Water bill. They both offer free and confidential advice to people who are experiencing financial difficulties.

Southern Water Pay Bill with WaterSure

The Water WaterSure Scheme is a tariff for customers who have a low income. You must have three or more children under 19 years old who are in full-time education. You may also be eligible if you don’t have three children under 19, but have someone living in the property who has a medical condition that requires the use of large quantities of water.

You can apply for WaterSure talking to the Southern Water pay bill on the phone, via email or on the Southern Water website.

Full requirements for Southern Water WaterSure:

You (or someone in your household) are receiving one of the following benefits or tax credits:

• Child Tax Credit (you must receive more than the family element)
• Housing Benefit
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA).

AND

You have three children, in full-time education, living at your home.

OR

You, your child, or the person receiving the above benefit or tax credit have a medical condition requiring the use of large quantities of water. Medical conditions that qualify for Southern Water WaterSure are:

• Abdominal stoma
• Crohn’s disease
• Desquamation (flaky skin disease)
• Eczema, psoriasis or varicose ulceration (weeping skin disease)
• Incontinence
• Ulcerative colitis
• Renal failure (where they need home dialysis)

If you have another condition which means you have to use a lot of water, you can submit a doctor’s note along with your application to support your case.

Your application should be sent to the Southern Water pay bill team. They will let you know if you have been approved for the WaterSure tariff. It is important that you also include some supporting documentation with your application, such as:

• Photocopy of your ‘notice of entitlement’ for benefits or tax credit.
• Doctor’s certificate or a letter from a GP confirming that your condition needs extra water
• Photocopy of a prescription or doctor’s certificate.
• Photocopy of your ‘notice of entitlement’ to Child Benefit for each child.

Is Southern Water a hard water area? Like most of England, Southern Water supplies hard water to its customers. This is due to the higher concentration of minerals in the drinking water. To find out more about how to handle hard water, check out our Water Hardness guide.

Southern Water Pay Bill with Water Direct

Water Direct is for customers who are claiming one of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit or Pension Credit

The way Water Direct works is that your Jobcentre Plus can pay your Southern Water bill before you receive your benefits. You can avoid getting into debt with Southern Water by doing this.

For customers who meet the above criteria, and are more than £50 in arrears, you can also discuss setting up a payment plan with Jobcentre Plus to take a fixed amount from your benefits to pay your arrears and cover your current water bill.

To apply for Water Direct, you can speak to your Jobcentre Plus office or contact the Southern Water pay bill team.

Southern Water Pay Bill with NewStart

Southern Water NewStart is a great way for customers to pay off their Southern Water debt and are struggling to make payments. To be eligible for NewStart you should:

1. Have arrears with Southern Water
2. Not paid your Southern Water bill in a while

To apply for Southern Water NewStart, gather some information before you begin your application, such as:

1. You payment reference number which is at the top right of your bill
2. Your National Insurance number
3. Your name and address
4. Details about your income and expenses

Once you’ve got that information ready, set aside about half-an-hour to fill out your application for NewStart. It’s easiest to do it online via the Southern Water website, but you can also apply via telephone by talking to the Southern Water pay bill team on 0800 027 0363.

Can Southern Water shut off my water? Southern Water can't shut off your water. If you do not pay your bill, your credit score might be affected and you might receive warnings from collectors, but your water supply will remain. If you are experiencing no running water, check out our No Water in House guide.

Southern Water Pay Bill Essentials

Southern Water Essentials is available to those who don’t qualify for the above help, but are still struggling to afford their Southern Water bill. Those who qualify for Southern Water Essentials will receive at least a 20% discount on future water bills if you’re supplied with both water and wastewater services from Southern Water.

Wastewater only customers who are eligible for Southern Water Essentials will receive a 25% discount on their Southern Water wastewater bill.

To qualify for Southern Water Essentials if:

• Your a household income of less than £21,000 per year, excluding Personal Independence Payments (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance

OR

• There is someone who receives pension credits living in the property

For customers who are eligible based on their household income, they will receive a discount of between 20% and 90% depending on your household income.

For customers who are eligible for Southern Water Essentials based on pension credit, Southern Water will give a 20% discount.

To apply for Southern Water Essentials, you can apply online or you can call the Southern Water pay bill team on 0800 027 0363.