Chris Weston
Chief Executive Officer
Thames Water Utilities Limited

17 September 2026

Dear Mr Weston,

Re: Formal complaint – Surface Water Drainage Charges and inadequate customer Care

I am writing to you personally following considerable difficulty trying to obtain a clear and informed response from Thames Water regarding your letter dated 11 September 2026, headed “Your Surface Water Drainage Charges.”

Following receipt of that letter, Thames Water asked me to communicate with your customer service team through WhatsApp. Over the last two days I have exchanged numerous messages with different representatives, including individuals identifying themselves as Harshitha, Sai Kumar, Nikhil, Pela and Rajasri.

All of the representatives have been polite. My complaint is not about their manner. The problem is that they appear unable to properly understand or investigate the substance of my concerns regarding my account and the implications of Thames Water’s letter. Rajasri has confirmed to me that he is working from India. From my exchanges with the team, it appears that the representatives are largely limited to reading information displayed on the account system rather than being able to consider the history of the account, interpret Thames Water’s correspondence, explain the basis of the surface water drainage charges, or exercise sufficient discretion to resolve the matter.

As a result, I have repeatedly had to explain the same issues to different representatives without receiving a satisfactory answer. The WhatsApp exchanges have become lengthy and circular and have failed to address the questions I originally raised.

This is causing me considerable and unnecessary stress. I have now spent a substantial part of the last two working days dealing with this matter, which has also resulted in a loss of productive working time. I do not believe it is reasonable that a customer should have to devote this amount of time to obtaining a clear explanation of charges imposed by Thames Water.

My concern is therefore not simply about the individual charge. It is also about the apparent lack of an effective escalation process when frontline customer service representatives are unable to understand or resolve an account-specific issue.

I would be grateful if you would arrange for this matter to be reviewed by an appropriately experienced member of your UK-based customer relations or executive complaints team who is able to:

1. review the full history of my account and Thames Water’s correspondence;
2. explain clearly the basis of the surface water drainage charges referred to in the letter of 11 September 2026;
3. address the specific concerns I have raised rather than simply repeating information shown on the account system;
4. confirm whether the charges applied to my account are correct and provide the supporting calculation or evidence; and
5. provide me with a single named point of contact so that I do not have to continue repeating the same information to different representatives.

I would also ask Thames Water to consider whether its present WhatsApp customer service arrangements are appropriate for complaints requiring detailed account investigation. Messaging can be useful for straightforward enquiries, but it is proving wholly inadequate for resolving this particular matter.

I would appreciate your intervention so that this can now be dealt with promptly and properly. I would also ask that the time, inconvenience and distress caused by Thames Water’s handling of the matter to date be taken into account when my complaint is considered.

I have submitted a complaint but have no Thames Water response with a reference.

I look forward to receiving a substantive response rather than a further referral back to the same WhatsApp process.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Eves
Thames Water account number Hidden