Northumbrian Water Group plc Reviews 172

It has now been 6 months (see two previous reviews) since NWL dug up my drive for no reason, admitted they wanted to refit a broken meter and have been guesstimating my bills for now over two years.

After ‘repairing’ my drive which left sunken areas and gaps with no blocks as they had buried them, they returned and laid completely different colour blocks in the gaps. This was despite taking two of mine to colour match them. The man who turned up to lay them was so embarrassed he suggested digging up a different area and lining the wheelie bins up over them. I ended up painting them to try and vaguely blend in.

I raised the issue of my two -year guesstimated bill for the third time again today, they will ring me back, like they said last time.

I never received the £50-£70 compensation they told me I would receive.

I have rang three times now for information for my insurance and once they gave generic pointless info, and the second time they sent a long list of irrelevant information on a separate issue that, had occurred 2 months later and tried to pass it off as the same day.

They don’t take notes, they don’t record anything, they don’t follow up and they don’t honour their promises.

For decades I have been paying significantly higher water bills than my next door neighbours, despite having lower usage. My bills kept rising even as I cut back on water consumption. After paying these inflated charges for years, I finally commissioned a private survey to understand what was going on.
The survey uncovered a major issue: my property and my neighbours’ property share the same incoming water pipe, with the supply entering my home first. This means I have been paying for part of their water usage for an unknown number of years. This is not a minor error - it is a long term overcharge caused by the way Northumbrian Water’s infrastructure was set up.
Northumbrian Water eventually came out on 3 October and installed a meter on the pipe that enters my property. At the time, I was told I would be contacted about the next steps and how the historic overcharging would be addressed.
It is now six months later, and I have received no update, no explanation, and no progress. For an issue that has financially affected me for decades, this level of silence is unacceptable.
I am still waiting for:
• An explanation for the six month delay
• A plan to permanently resolve the shared supply issue
• A full review of my billing history
• A calculation of the overpayments I have made
• A timeline for reimbursement
Northumbrian Water has had more than enough time to respond. The lack of communication and accountability is extremely disappointing, especially given the seriousness of the issue and the length of time I have been overcharged. I hope Northumbrian Water will now respond to this.

Totally incompetent.

Blaming/Charging me water usage for a non-existent leak, despite their engineers confirming on 2 occasions that there is no leak. All whilst abroad with internal water turned off.

Cannot accept that their "smart meter" may not be that "smart".

They don't care ultimately. They have a monopoly on water supply in the region.

They're coming in 3 weeks to check the smart meter. ie kick the tyres.

Had a drain blocked, first time ever to call Northumbria water, within four hours, jack was there and solved the problem, Jack was excellent

Disgrace how they trick customers. They gave me 4 versions of my charges even told me to contact a third party where I could claim 15/20% discount. When I contacted the company they had no head what j was talking about and to get back to them. I complained and complained about my bill until they finally agreed to read my meter.
Bunch of tricksters

I've just finished speaking to Hailee who advised me where to locate outside water meter. 10/10 for her patience and help today.

Customer service was excellent. Answered my query and arranged a technician at the first available time slot

Have just used the WhatsApp to sort out an issue, the agent Molly was excellent and answered my queries very promptly. makes a nice change for quick and efficient service.

Reporting a leak using the WhatsApp service was brilliant Molly was the agent who picked up my message she was very efficient and professional in dealing with my situation. Fast and efficient well done Molly

One of our neighbours recently reported a leak. Following a thorough inspection of the area, your operator identified an underground leak around the stopcock area. Within 24hrs, Warren and Dylan arrived to dig out the surrounding pathway and soil, and went about locating and repairing the leak. Warren took the time to explain what they were doing and how the repair work would proceed. A first class and professional service! Thank you gents. You're a credit to your company.

I contacted Essex and Suffolk water (part of Northumbrian Water) about my elderly father's high water bills. It turned out that this was due to an internal leak and the company then made a fair adjustment to his bills covering the time period he was affected.
It was so refreshing to have contact with real people who understood his situation and were helpful throughout.

Brilliant service from everyone at NWL who was involved in our water leak issue. Everyone who visited and worked on the issue, to the amazing Lorraine in the Billing Task Force.All were professional, helpful and truly customer focused. So rare for any company but for a utility company it’s so refreshing. Just a huge thank you!

They helped me sort ourt a leak through whatsapp as I was not in the country at the time, so it was difficult for me to call. Very good service there.

Darren called me beforehand to arrange a time. Arrived promptly and was very helpful and polite, even explaining that his boots were a bit dirty but the weather was awful and I’ve wooden floors so easily mopped up. Was very attentive and solved the problem. He is an asset to your company

On Friday 6/2/26 I was notified that there was a burst pipe about half a dozen doors away from me. I received several updates from NW during the course of the day. By the evening it said the leak had been fixed. After NW left they placed "road closed" signs around the hole. At this point I have to point out that the leaf occurred in a small lane at the rear of some cottages. Consequently, shutting the lane restricted access to the rear of the properties.
On 9/2/26 I rang NW and asked when things might get back to normal. They said that they need to leave things for a couple of days to ensure the burst is not reoccurring. Perfectly understandable. It wasn't until 11/2/26 that a digger turned up to back fill the hole. Great I thought things will be back to normal. However, I then noticed that despite the hole being filled they had left the "road closed" signs and barriers in place. I rang NW and asked why this was the case. I was told one team dig the hole, one team fill the hole, and another team take the signs away. I was told NW they would ring me back and tell me when the signage would be taken away. I am still waiting.
So for a leak that took a couple of hours to fix access to the rear of these properties has been prohibited for nearly a week.

Spoke to Mollie with the online chat feature answered all questions perfectly thank you

Excellent customer service from Victoria via WhatsApp. Issue caused by a 3rd party but resolved quickly

Every time I deal with Northumbrian water I get absolutely nowhere.
I received a letter to renew support plus so sent requested information..still waiting.
Absolutely hopeless,this is exactly what happened last time then they removed a large unauthorized payment from my account so will again have to cancel direct debit to prevent this happening again.

Tenant moved out so informed water company of this as outstanding debt owed from tenant. They said to me as the landlord they would offer free water supply for me to decorate, wash floors and make coffee/ tea for a few days then bill new tenant when property is rented out.
Unexpected that a utilities company made such a kind
offer to me. Pleasantly surprised

Cone in middle of road on top of broken leaking drain. Issue ongoing several months was not fully fixed. No reply from their CEO who was emailed on 10/1/26. Not safe, not acceptable and no ownership. Would post pic but trustpilot won't let me.