Suing a water company

toxteth

Help!!! I'm not sure what to do.

I have had a problem with rats gaining entry into our house and very bad smells since January. Initially I contacted our insurers as we suspected that there may be a problem with our sewer pipe. They sent out an independent company who confirmed that there were holes in the pipe, but the pipe was the responsibility of our water company.

I'll condense this down but initially that water co. told us that they had inspected the pipe and it was ok. This was clearly untrue as they had to gain entry through our house and had no access. They then arranged for the sub contractor to come out with CCTV, after failing to turn up several times they eventually did come and found "no significant problems". I then had a process of insisting that there were problem as the independent co. had a DVD which showed holes in the pipe. They refused to view this as they had done their own DVD.
We had 3/4 additional visits with from the sub-contractors on our insistance, each time they stated that "there were no significant problems". Eventually we spoke to the Consumer Council for Water who contacted the water co. directly and miraculously they then found "something that needed to be investigated".
They dug the paving up in our garden and found 2 holes the size of cricket balls, and then a further 2 sections each a foot long where the pipe was missing. They have now repaired it.

During this period rats have borrowed into the house (it is timber framed), urinated and deficated on the insulation throughout the bathroom causing a stench whenever the heating is on. Eaten through plasterboard, and causing further damage throughout the house We have caught somewhere between 40-50 rats, some as big as 12 inches.
During this period my wife was heavily pregnant and we now have a small child. She had pneumonia during the pregnancy and I suffered with athsma, both of which we believe was caused by the rat infestation. We have considered trying to sell the house but cannot afford to at this time.

The water co. will only offer to compensate us on a like for like basis on any damage i.e a depreciated value. They will also not offer any compensation for our problems. We have a very limited income and are not sure where to turn.

If you have read this then thanks for taking the time, even better if you have any suggestions. We are considering a "no win no fee' legal case, but are not sure if this is the best route

macman

You are talking about a private drain, not a public sewer?
If the drain is under your property, then (unless it is a shared drain in a pre-1937 property) you are responsible for it-not the water company.
Does the part of the drain that was defective serve other adjoining properties?
How old is the property?

Cardew

macman wrote: »

You are talking about a private drain, not a public sewer?

That was my first thought. However I now think the OP does mean a public sewer.

The rats that are ever present in sewers simply use the holes and missing section to leave the sewer and infest his house.

As the sewer is buried, where do they emerge from the sewer?

toxteth

It is a public sewer.

The rats have managed to borrow through the earth up through shallow foundations next to the toilet

macman

So you are saying that it is a public sewer that happens to run under your property?
Somewhat confusing, as you referred to 'our sewer pipe'-which implied exclusivity.

toxteth

Not under, but behind the property

macman

By 'property', I meant the land, not just the house.
So you mean that it runs under your garden at the rear of the property? If so, that is probably not a public sewer.
It's a drain, whether 'shared' or not depends on whether the adjoining properties share it. Which was why I asked for that info and the age of the property?
If shared, did the defect occur in the common part, or the part exclusively draining your property?

HappyMJ

toxteth wrote: »

We are considering a "no win no fee' legal case, but are not sure if this is the best route

No win, no fee means if you do win then the lawyer will take twice what he would have otherwise for the risk involved in taking on your case so you will end up only with a very small amount from the final award but as these cases actually rarely ever get to court you'll end up with almost nothing and the lawyer with everything. I don't think your case is tight enough to win anyway so I would take the water company's offer to compensate you for actual damage caused to your property. That seems to me to be a fair offer. You could try asking without the assistance of lawyers for compensation for your time and inconvenience caused. You would be better off in the long term just doing it yourself.

Edit: Has anyone come around to your house and sprayed a biological disinfecting spray/detergent everywhere possible. That will help remove the smells from the urine. The liquid will break down the urine and neutralize it hopefully removing the smell.

crazyguy

Toxteth,

Read here and if you can claim do it yourself: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/594/contents/made ,

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/all?title=Sewerage

Didnt read it !

toxteth

The fault was in the common part of the drain.

The smells are eminating from soaked insulation behind the wall. Therefore we need to strip the walls of tiles/plasterboard in order to access it.

macman

toxteth wrote: »

The fault was in the common part of the drain.

The smells are eminating from soaked insulation behind the wall. Therefore we need to strip the walls of tiles/plasterboard in order to access it.

Then if the property is pre-1937, the water utility is liable. Under those circumstances, were your neighbours not also affected?