Leaky pipe: who's responsibility!?

MoLt3h · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:24

By the looks of it the water pipe between the main pipe going along the road outside our house and the house is borked. Our driveway is constantly getting flooded.

Now the water board have spent 3 days (!!) digging up the road outside trying to find the stop tap for it. Apparently the pipe itself however is our problem and its up to us to pay for the repairs. The repairs themselves will be in the region of £2000, of which the water company will put a measly £200 towards.

The companys argument for this is that the pipe is on private property and hence we have to pay for it to be repaired. Surely the pipe is thier property regardless??

We're not on a water metre so in all honestly we could just let it leak and it would cost us nothing extra.

Is it really our responsibility to pay the cost or are they just trying to pull a fast one?

No prizes for guessing which company it is....the lovely Thames Valley lot >_<

shine · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:38

If the pipe is your responsibility you have a legal obligation to repair it. If you don't Thames Water are entitled to repair it on your behalf and send you the bill.

Lowe · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:39

I think they're right.

Not that long back it was changed so that you were responsible for the pipework on your land. It used to be just stuff within your house, but now it's right back until the pavement. :/

shine · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:40

Look here to see who is responsible.

benjo plz. · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:41

Have a new pipe put in?

SiriusB · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:45

Seems a bit harsh! I mean it's not like you can check the damn thing like you do with all your inside plumbing.

It's buried 3 feet underground and it breaks, that's £2K you gotta cough up through no fault of your own?

SiriusB

Tesla · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:45

Sort of on-topic:

Is there a stop valve IN every house?

To turn the water off to our house we have to go out to the road, lift a flap and turn it off.

We have never been able to find any stopcocks in our house to suggest doing otherwise.

SiriusB · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:47

Never heard of that before! Dashing outside in yer undies trying to find the stopcock when a pipe bursts

SiriusB

benjo plz. · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:49

We have one outside next to the road, and one in the house.

kefkef · 2 Nov 2006 at 16:54

We have one in the road and one under the sink where the main water feed comes into the house.

As far as the water pipe is concerned. It more than likely is your problem, the water company is responsible for the mains pipe, but you are responsible for any pipes on your property and also extending out about 3-5ft from the edge of your property depending on your water authority regulations. You could check with your house insurance and see if it is covered. i believe some insurance schemes also cover this type of damage (i'm sure my Barlcays Additions Plus account has some kind of cover for this.)

"andy" · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:05

should be covered by home insurance the same as drainage and stuff is shouldnt it ?

jezsoup · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:08

shine said:
If the pipe is your responsibility you have a legal obligation to repair it. If you don't Thames Water are entitled to repair it on your behalf and send you the bill.

Is that before or after they repair all their own leaky pipes?

Bri · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:09

It's yours to fix, hard lines.

I don't think your household insurance will cover it either.

Our water board send letters every now & again offering separate insurance policies for something like £10.00 a month for this.

Dr_Evil · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:12

surely your home insurance will cover this?

welshtom · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:19

we have our own pipe, which is metered. when it burst we had a big waterbill and had to relay the pipe, at our cost.

Then again we are 200m from the water main, so slightly different but the distance shouldnt matter.

If its your private pipe with its own stopcock its prob you responsibility

Mr-White · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:25

so if its you're pipe can you take it with you when you leave, if ive paid 2 grand for a pipe i'm taking it with me ?

MW

welshtom · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:36

Mr-White said:
so if its you're pipe can you take it with you when you leave, if ive paid 2 grand for a pipe i'm taking it with me ?

MW

i would think so yea, although selling your house may be a little more difficult if you take it

WHAT!!! · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:43

Wounder what would be said if you try and do a DIY job on it yourself hehe.

Does seem harsh but anything on your property is your responsibility i guess.

jonahall · 2 Nov 2006 at 17:55

We had this a while ago. If it's on your property it's your responsibility. However our water company (Anglian Water) had - hidden away on their web site - a bit which said that as part of their campaign to eliminate leaks, they would do one repair per house for free. So we got away with it.

I suggest, firstly have a look on their website to see if they offer anything similar. If not, get someone else to quote - you will get it done for far less than £2000. It's not a difficult job.

MoLt3h · 2 Nov 2006 at 18:30

SiriusB said:
Seems a bit harsh! I mean it's not like you can check the damn thing like you do with all your inside plumbing.

It's buried 3 feet underground and it breaks, that's £2K you gotta cough up through no fault of your own?

SiriusB

Indeed is harsh. I like the idea that the casual home owner is able to maintain their supply pipes. How many of you dig up your drives once a year to do casual maintance on your pipes??

Does seem to be our responsibility...not sure about home insurance is going to cover it, they seem to be playing silly buggers with it.

Nice early christmas present this is then!