Thames Water - you may have a leak

jayencee

I have received an A5 size card through the door from Thames Water saying "we believe you may have a leak - what to do now". The card says they have been looking for leaks in my area and offering a free leak detection service.

Has anyone else had this and is it genuine or are they just trying to drum up business? Obviously, if they find anything, the cost is down to me to get it fixed. I am not aware that there are any leaks. I would ring them but they close at 4.30 and it is a premium rate number!

Any advice?

Gothicfairy

Drum up business for what ? Water companies profits don't work that way,their yearly amount is already fixed.

It is also not clear that any leak would be down to you as it would depend on where it is.


try https://www.saynoto0870.co.uk for cheaper numbers as well

Advice : Call or email them and see what they have to say.

jayencee

Just an update - we had them round and surprise, surprise, they found a leak! Gave us two weeks to get it put right. Called out a plumber (who incidentally sub-contracts work for Thames Water) who replaced the stop !!!! - no more water leak. Sent off proof of fix to Thames Water, who then sent rund another technician (who supposedly came round but no-one actually saw him) and said leak wasn't fixed, and that as we hadn't used a plumber off of their "approved list" they wouldn't give us the subsidy - I hadn't requested a subsidy! Asked them to send round a technician when all householders were in (we are on a shared supply) so we could make sure water turned off in all houses. Technician said he could find no evidence of a leak and signed a docket to that effect (that was 2 weeks ago). Since then, another two technicians have been round (on separate visits) and with no warning, checking our water pipes for leaks. They have now started the process all over again with the "you have a leak" card. I rang yesterday to point out that we had a visit and were told no leak. They now want to send out yet another technician to check the pipes whilst we are all in. I wouldn't be so sceptical if all their technicians were working to the same hymn sheet, but some say we all have to be in to turn off the water, others say it doesn't make any difference! Anyone else had this saga going on?

mart.vader

Unless things have changed radically in the past few years, Thames Water do not care a jot, who repairs the leak, just as long as it gets repaired. (They get "brownie points" from OFWAT for reducing the overall leakage rate, which is why they brought in the subsidised leak repair)

It costs TW money for every leak they fix under this scheme. This is to fix a leak say, under your front garden or front path. (I don't think they will repair any leaks under your floors.) An independent plumber would charge you much more than that. see below.

Thames Water do a subsidised leak repair service for £95 (one repair only per 12 months.) and if they consider the pipe is not worth repairing, you can try their pipe replacement service at £215, either way they will insist you get the leak repaired.

For the water that has already been wasted by the leak, you should ask for a leak allowance form.

I can't comment much on jayencee's post, except to say that TW are hugely inefficient, and I am not surprised to hear that they have sent round several techs to check. In order to "prove" there is a leak, they need to know that no-one is using water, at the time.

The question is, who was correct: the tech who said there was no leak, or the tech who said there was a leak?

jayencee

they don't subsidise repairs any more, only replacements, and it will cost a lot more than £215 to get it fixed. If there genuinely is a leak, then we will get it done, but when so many of TW technies are saying different things, seems to me they will just keep "finding" leaks until we get it replaced!

vax2002

I would write back to say you have had all the pipework checked by a qualified plumber who has stated that the property has no leaks.
Unfortunately as your "technicians" are not on your(the householder) approved list of craftspersons they will not be allowed to work in your property as a technician is a term for a semi skilled operative and you only allow fully qualified tradespeople to register as approved contractors to work on your supply.

mart.vader

jayencee wrote: »

they don't subsidise repairs any more, only replacements, and it will cost a lot more than £215 to get it fixed. If there genuinely is a leak, then we will get it done, but when so many of TW technies are saying different things, seems to me they will just keep "finding" leaks until we get it replaced!

Here is the link : http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/9759.htm

"If we confirm that you have a leak on your private water supply pipe - which is the homeowner's responsibility - we may be able to help in a number different ways:

If your water supply pipe serves just your property, we offer domestic customers a subsidy of £215 to fully replace the supply pipe between the edge of the public highway and the inside stop valve, or £95 for a single repair.
The subsidy only applies if this is the first time you have had a leak. So, if you choose to only repair the leak rather than replace the pipe, we will not offer you a further subsidy if you experience another leak in the future.
If your water supply is shared between a number of domestic properties, the subsidy would be shared between the property owners.
Commercial customers (including landlords) do not qualify for the subsidy."