Image source, Getty ImagesByThomas Espiner and Emer Moreau, Business reporters- Published28 minutes ago
Thames Water has apologised to a customer after trying to take £145,000 from his bank account due to a meter reading error by the company.
Adam Bainbridge, a teacher from north London, discovered while routinely checking his accounts on Thursday morning that Thames had debited £145,562 from his bank account.
His wife Julia told the PA news agency that Adam "got the shock of his life" and had trouble paying bills that morning as a result.
Thames Water said the money had been returned to his account and that he had been offered "a gesture of goodwill".
The company confirmed to BBC News that it had returned the money to Adam's account and had apologised to him personally.
Julia told PA that the debit took Adam's account "considerably" into overdraft.
She said: "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.
"We're a family rushing around looking after a three-year-old trying to get ready for the nursery run and all the rest of it."
Julia said Adam initially could only speak to a Thames chatbot, which said the error would be rectified in the next payment. He then contacted his bank and the money was returned to his account.
"As it was this morning, Adam had some bills he wanted to pay off his card and things that were due out of his account and everything was blocked.
"It's such a staggering amount of money."
The billing error comes at a time when the number of complaints made by households about water companies to the industry watchdog has risen by a record 84% in a year, driven by customer concern and confusion over bills.
Water customers in England and Wales have been hit with steep price hikes in recent years. The regulator Ofwat has also allowed firms to put up bills by 36% between 2025 and 2030.
Thames Water, the UK's biggest water company, owes roughly £20bn to lenders and has been working with creditors and government officials to prevent collapse.
Adam told PA that when he saw the debit he felt "really shocked, because 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. We're a residential house in north London.
"It just seems that the billing is completely detached from reality."
A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We apologise unreservedly to Mr Bainbridge and his family. This was the result of human error originating from an incorrect meter reading.
"We can confirm the money has been returned to Mr Bainbridge's bank account and we have spoken to him today to say sorry.
"We are introducing additional checks to our processes to prevent this from happening again.
"We have also offered Mr Bainbridge a gesture of goodwill and are continuing to work with him to ensure the matter is fully resolved."
Earlier on Thursday, Julia wrote in a LinkedIn post: "Working parents have enough to contend with in the morning without a utility company emptying their bank account."
"How does a payment of this size get taken without basic checks?"
She also wrote in a comment on the post: "The bank were relatively quick to return the money while Thames Water 'looked into it.'"
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