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Thu, 01 Oct 2026

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 Thames Water apologises after £145,000 customer billing mistake

The firm has apologised to the family.
Thames Water has made a mistake that has left one of its customers stunned and in financial trouble. Adam Bainbridge, a teacher from north London, woke up on Thursday morning to find that his bank account had been debited £145,562 due to an incorrect meter reading by the company. This was despite Thames Water admitting that it was a human error caused by an incorrect reading. As a result of the mistake, Adam's account went into overdraft and he struggled to pay bills on time. His wife Julia expressed her shock and frustration at the situation, saying: "It was pre-8am when we looked... obviously then you try to do some ring rounds, no one's online, no one's answering any phones." The company has apologized for its mistake and confirmed that it had returned the money to Adam's account. It also offered a gesture of goodwill to make up for the error. This incident comes at a time when complaints about water companies in England and Wales have risen by 84% in the past year, driven by customer concerns over bills and billing errors. Thames Water is one of the largest water companies in the UK, but it has been struggling financially and owes around £20bn to lenders. Adam expressed his shock at the mistake, saying: "You don't feel in control of what's being taken from your account... It seemed that the numbers being calculated had absolutely nothing to do with reality at all." Thames Water said it was introducing additional checks to its processes to prevent similar mistakes happening again.