Southern Water customers 'disgusted' by bill hike

Southern Water increased its bills more than any other supplier in April

Southern Water customers have expressed their "shock and disgust" at recent increases to their water bills.

Working families from Kent and Sussex told the BBC the rise was forcing them to bath their children less and slash spending beyond basic necessities, while one mother-of-two said the water supplier warned her about bailiffs when she asked about bill support.

It comes as Southern Water increased bills by an average of 47% from 1 April - the highest of any British supplier.

Antonia Barton, Southern Water's chief customer officer, said bigger bills were never welcome, but added communities had told the company it needed to invest more to deliver "real change".

She added water costs had been "kept artificially low for too long".

'Scaremongering'

Natalie, a teacher from Chichester, told the BBC her water bill has jumped from £433 to what she called a "staggering" £675.

The mother of an eight-month-old baby and five-year-old son said she is stressed about finding the extra money as she is currently on maternity leave and will lose her statutory maternity pay next month.

"I can't make any of my other bills cheaper. I can't reduce the weekly food shop... so it means I won't be able to do as much with the children," she said.

"We can't afford to go anywhere."

She claimed when she called Southern Water in tears asking about possible support she was warned if the bill was not paid it could lead to debt arrears and bailiffs.

"It was scaremongering," she said. "I felt backed into a corner, like I had no choice."

Natalie said the "crazy thing" was that despite she and her husband being working professionals with full-time jobs it was still difficult to pay for the "basics in life".

"How are we in a position as a country where paying for clean water is a struggle?" she said.

Southern Water said in a statement they had increased their package of financial support for customers "needing a little help to pay".

They added a further 18,000 customers would be added to its 45% discount scheme – among a "raft of other measures".

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Callum Grieg told the BBC he nearly fell off his chair when he saw that his yearly water bill for his one-bedroom flat had increased by more than 50% to £658.

While he and his wife Shelly got by "paycheck to paycheck," he said the water bill increase, along with other rising costs, meant any saving was "out the window".

He said this inability to put money aside was stopping the couple from building their future, like saving to buy a house.

'Slap in the face'

Mr Grieg added the couple had already stopped spending on most things that make life "more than just existing".

He said he was unable to install a meter due to the design of his property.

Citing Southern Water's record on sewage spills, supply outages and its payment of bonuses to senior figures at the company, he called the increase a "slap in the face".

"I just don't know why we put up with it," he said.

Both Mr Grieg and Natalie, who did not want to give her surname for professional reasons, do not have water meters at their properties, which means they are charged a fixed rate no matter how much they use.

People in Brighton and Hove have protested against sewage spills

Southern Water said back in January it had awarded contracts worth approximately £540m to improve how it handles sewage in South East England.

It has previously said 2024 bonuses for its chief executive, Lawrence Gosden, and chief financial officer, Stuart Ledger, would be paid for by shareholders rather than customers.

Heidi Taylor, from Deal in Kent, said it was "heartbreaking" that higher water bills meant she could only run a bath for her two-year-old son once a week, previously an important part of his bedtime routine.

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Since her three-bedroom home was metered, she told the BBC she was "horrible" imposing water-saving measures like three-minute showers and capping washing machine usage to three times a week.

"Policing ourselves like this... it feels like we're living in a dystopia," the 32-year-old added.

"You shouldn't have to do that in your own home. Water is a basic human right."