Northumbrian Water Group plc Avis 

Disgraceful company who are openly hostile towards customers.

I am living in a flat share which is shared between professional tenants. No one had paid the water bill since before my arrival in some time.

After my arrival Northumbrian Water found my name and instigated a CCJ for the water debt in my name, despite this debt accruing before I moved into the property.

Multiple calls I was gaslit by their staff and patronised in a very arrogant way - including one of their call centre operatives telling me they could "easily" afford the repayments when I mention I may struggle to keep up with them.

On top of this they will keep dumping sewage into the regions rivers and beaches without a care in the world.

Privatisation of water/sewage infrastructure was one of the biggest mistakes in UK government history. Now these companies continues to saddle themselves in debt to pay off venal, greedy shareholders, pollute our public spaces, and charge us ever-increasing sums of money for it.

Just received water and sewage bill informing me how much I will pay from August. A 29.5% increase. Good to know the Cayman Islands registered, Hong Kong based owners, are making good profits.

Abysmal customer service over the phone. All I wanted to do was tell them I'd moved house. Wait time estimated at 5mins,still waiting after 23mins. Rather then have a pathetic looped recorded message apologising they might as well say "We don't give a toss about customer service, we don't employ enough staff and we don't really care about how long you have to wait. In fact customers are a nuisance to us. We're much happier pumping s**t into the rivers and seas"

I am a very small business and have no water or disposal facility in my unit but because I have access to running water and a toilet both in a public area of the building it am paying a monthly sum of around 40 quid a month to fill my kettle and go to the loo
Have challenged them via wave and ccw but got no where

I’ve never found a funnier script than the one that NW use, to try and manipulate, and gaslight vulnerable customers! Had a temporary issue with payments. Offered to pay back in instalments, but told I had to pay X back per month. This wasn’t affordable for us, but they tried to use the excuse that “this is for your wellbeing, so you don’t fall into further arrears”. 😂 What an absolutely lovely gesture. You’re absolutely right NW, paying more than we can afford is totally the way to go. It’s ok, we just won’t eat because your way is keeping us safe. Disgraceful. At the end of the email, this agent also signed off with “Mental Health is a topic important to me”. Yes, probably to increase people’s mental health challenges! Its ok though, we need to ensure investors receive their dividends first!

Just had 2 men out Adam and Andy
To clear our blocked drain. Both men are a credit to you from arriving to leaving they were professional, Friendly they explained everything then disinfected once finished

My son rang today at 12.30.. because we had a blocked drain in Glen terrace Chester le street, a van arrived by 1pm then Katie in a car behind..
they were both extremely professional, … cleaned my drain and cleared the debris, checked with their camera for any other blockage in the street… then explained everything they had done Can’t thank you all enough, from the telephone call to the prompt response..
THANK YOU WELL DONE

I think their water is dirty. It feels slimy and often leaves a black mould around our taps. I now have dandruff and an itchy, red scalp and I’m sure the water is a contributing factor. I’ve been to the doctors and she prescribed me some dandruff shampoo; so let’s hope that helps. I brought some water back from Lancashire and there was a distinct difference in the taste. It was much nicer and cleaner.

Took them over 6 weeks and 9 attendances at my property to sort out,repair and make good a block
Paved drive. Disgraceful. Blockage NOT caused by me either!

I've just received my latest bill, I'm using less water than the previous six months. Hurray!! Direct Debit is increasing by 25% next month though. Got to keep those shareholders happy, eh?

I must say that Mal & Kohl went above and beyond when digging down to find my water inlet pipe and fit a new outside stop tap on Monday 7/4/25.
A great service from them both.
I cannot thank them enough.

Job number 17991955. Thank you to Malcolm and Jason for their great work. Very friendly and explained what they had to do and why. Work area kept with in barriers. Made sure we had room to get in and out of our property safely.
Well done lads.

I give 10 as I was extremely satisfied, Northumbria water customer service is very high rated not just from me but all my family and friends. They are very polite and respectful over the phone and in person, also they are very understanding and always go that extra mile to help you. I really can not fault them in anyway shape or form. Infact I shall also go on Google to set a top rating aswel as this survey text. Thanks guys you are Ace. Regards, Paul Miller

I am a pensioner. My pension hasn’t gone up by 21% like my water bill has. How am I suppose to pay for the increase without reducing my heating or getting cheaper lower quality food?

I say, since we're all having the same issue with this monopoly company, you know, legally, they can't shut off our water for not paying our bills......
Let them take us all to court and we can show them the loop features in all their websites that mean you can't get the actual information you need to apply for a water meter, lodge a complaint. Paying 51 £ a month as a single occupant that showers at the gym is utterly insane!

Discovered a sewage leak from a manhole in the garden. Not urgent as leak was outside away from the house andall toilets unaffected.
They quickly diagnosed the issue as root damage and were able to clear it manually although as the drain was too far from the road for their pressure hose it was not possible to completely clear it.
As the drain is on my property and doesn't serve other properties this is something I have to solve. Fortunately I took out plumbing and drainage cover with Homeserve when we moved in which covers this, so they will send someone tomorrow.
Happy with my experience with Northumbrian Water. They were able to resolve the immediate problem as part of determining responsibility.
I suspect a lot of people do not know that a sewer running across your own property and serving only you is your responsibility. Really glad I took out plumbing insurance. Let's see how Homeserve perform. (First claim, but other interactions have been good so far).

Like the majority of customers, our bill has increased by 20% this February, absolutely disgraceful when you consider that they pumped days of raw sewage into the River Tyne at their sewage treatment works (STW) Hexham site last May (video evidence by canoeists) also at their STW Broomhaugh site (video evidence by anglers), yet they deny any wrongdoing, despite wiping out the majority of the dace population in the main river. An ecological disaster, which the EA seem powerless and unwilling to do anything about. Corruption, lies, greed, coverup, the whole lot.
1 hour wait time when you call them, online complaint form does not download.
They then have the cheek and audacity to display information banners at any roadworks stating they care about the environment and the fish in our rivers! Ironic how water companies that deliver our water are the biggest polluters of them all. Cowboys.

Why do you think it’s acceptable for your employees to park their work vans in housing estates and in streets over night for days at a time? If the employees have no place to park on their own property, they should not bring a vehicle home! Many vehicles are causing issues on small streets, one neighbour had a van parked in front of her house for a week without it moving. Members of the public are fed up and are prepared to take action themselves, which will be very costly for NW.

Spoke to Kris yesterday after ten days of problems with Essex and Suffolk water ( Sub-Company of Northumbrian Water ), i rang to make a complaint, but Kris was absolutely fantastic and turned a complaint into a positive review on here, absolutely answered all our questions and found any answers to things he wasn't sure about. Top class service.
Thanks Kris
Jason

My water bill is going up to £64 per month, that is a rise of almost £17 per month since 2023. I don't qualify for help, but it is a struggle to pay it. I also have Homeserve with them too.That is £25 per month. I am going to cancel that, because I can't afford it any longer.