Claims against solicitor - Drainage searches!

mezzawezza

1 month ago I completed on a property (built ca 1820). All was fine until I emptied the bath upstairs and the water came up out of the downstairs toilet. i.e. the drain is blocked somewhere.

A drain company could not find a drain, and it appears that an extension was built over the inspection cover. I did not get my own survey done (only the basic one for the mortgage company)

A bill of £1100 to unblock the drain using CCTV etc has failed to solve the problem.

A few questions:
1. I never received a copy of the drainage search from my conveyancing company. Are they legally obliged to provide it?
2. I never received the Property Info form from the vendor. Again, should the solicitor not have provided it - and would the vendor not have to reveal the fact that the extension is over the inspection cover?
3. The solicitor is not responding to my questions on this subject.

So can I make a claim against either the solicitor for negligence, or the vendor, or both?!

Thank you in advance.

Cannon_Fodder

Strange, I thought the drain company made it come out of the loo...

mezzawezza wrote: »

I have a blocked drain and a certain South-West drainage firm has billed me over £1100 for attempting to unblock a drain, use of CCTV cameras etc...

Now I wouldn;t mind paying this if they had actually unblocked it, but they've made the situation worse, with the result that flushing the upstair's loo sends the water coming UP through the downstairs loo.

I paid by Credit Card.

Can I make a claim from the credit card company for failure to provide the service that I've paid for?

many thanks

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2364973&highlight

SplanK

regardless of the missing information - it would have not told you if the drain was blocked, or where there drain is in most cases especialy in older houses where records were either not kept or have got lost over the years. IIRC a drainage search only tells you information like who the pipes belong to, water quality tests......

it is up to you to get the draines checked over if required before purchase using somebody who specialises in drain survays...

Also, a bill of £1100 to unblock a drain.... and for it not to be fixed is a bit odd... what are the reasons for the fault not been resolved?!

mezzawezza

SplanK wrote: »

regardless of the missing information - it would have not told you if the drain was blocked, or where there drain is in most cases especialy in older houses where records were either not kept or have got lost over the years. IIRC a drainage search only tells you information like who the pipes belong to, water quality tests......

it is up to you to get the draines checked over if required before purchase using somebody who specialises in drain survays...

Also, a bill of £1100 to unblock a drain.... and for it not to be fixed is a bit odd... what are the reasons for the fault not been resolved?!

Thanks Splank,
The issue is not that it's blocked, but that there seems to be no inspection cover WITHIN the property boundary. If it's in the neighbour's garden, presumably this WOULD come up in a search, along with agreements over access to it. Or the drainage cover has been covered over by an extension built a few years ago. That's the reason for the drainage people NOT solving the problem.

SplanK

not always... our inspection cover is in next door but 1's drive way it seems! That never came up in our documentation

neither would the fact that the extension was built on the inspection cover for your sewer... only the people who owned the property before you would have been able to tell you that... or a drain inspection prior to buying the house!

mezzawezza

It's further complicated by the fact that there was no HIP with the property. I'm trying to find out exactly when the estate agent started marketing the property and if it was since 10 Sept 07 (3bed houses), it should have had a HIP.

Thrugelmir

For a property built in 1820 a full survey would normally be highly advisable in any event.

Having used CCTV to inspect the drains one assumes the cause of the blockage is known.

Cissi

Sounds to me a bit like you're clutching at straws trying to find someone else who may be responsible for what could turn into a major cost (as in way more than the £1100 that you've already spent) - totally understandable, but I doubt you can pin this on anyone.

Have you tried your buildings insurance? There is a chance they might cover it if it turns out to be accidental damage/roots etc. Speak with the drainage company first, they'll have a good idea of whether or not you have a case.

getmore4less

So what happens when you flushed the loo

Did you not test this during a viewing?

timmyt

mezzawezza wrote: »

1 month ago I completed on a property (built ca 1820). All was fine until I emptied the bath upstairs and the water came up out of the downstairs toilet. i.e. the drain is blocked somewhere.

A drain company could not find a drain, and it appears that an extension was built over the inspection cover. I did not get my own survey done (only the basic one for the mortgage company)

A bill of £1100 to unblock the drain using CCTV etc has failed to solve the problem.

A few questions:
1. I never received a copy of the drainage search from my conveyancing company. Are they legally obliged to provide it? the lawyer need not do one, nor is it conclusive. If it does show a main under the extension, you might have a claim against the lawyer
2. I never received the Property Info form from the vendor. Really...what did you receive. You didn't go cheap and use a poor quality lawyer? Did they not send you a written report on the papers with copies attached? Again, should the solicitor not have provided it - and would the vendor not have to reveal the fact that the extension is over the inspection cover? not necessarily, would you if you were not asked
3. The solicitor is not responding to my questions on this subject.

So can I make a claim against either the solicitor for negligence, or the vendor, or both?!

Thank you in advance.

sorry but what a mistake you made not having a survey. You would do it on a car but not on a house...ouch!

Richard_Webster

The drainage search only shows the location of public sewers, not private sewers or drains that only serve the individual property so unless the manhole was on a public sewer the drainage search would be irrelevant.