The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

burtha

Morning all, hope everything goes ok today Pops,neighbours are just trying it on,try not to worry,seem odd that photos ect has just come to light now , i have had a odd weekend,was mil birthday party only did a few hours of sorting cake and decs ect then party on the night time ,so was tired most of yesterday,not like me ,.. Still had kids homwork yesterday,sure we never had as much !! So after that we all chilled out on sofa . Housework today,have 2 extra kids tonight and tomorrow night ,friend works nights and her hubbie has had to take work away from home , so i may be a bit loud tonight lol , must go and find the hoover...then some ear plugs ...x

Popperwell

AOT,
I found that Asian market last time I was at Newcastle...its great! But I did not need anything.

Everyone asking about the journey to my HA...they did not want to know.:mad:

They say the water company does all water/sewage work. If it is seen as a dispute between neighbours I have to go to the county council. Again they don't want to know.

They even suggested that the neighbour coming into my garden and doing what he says he did with my drain/photo's is not trespassing so by that line anyone could enter my property.

I came home and tried for legal aid at the only solicitor on town and was given a number to call who put me in touch with a National CAB advice line costing 5p a minute.

Thankfully after it costing £1 they've gone off to look into my case and will phone me back. Don't know what they will say or if the advice will be any good.:(

The only kind gesture today was the bus driver who took me to the offices was doing the return trip and saw me struggling to get to a bus stop on the other side of the road quite a distance away and he pulled into the layby and waited for me. I did not know it was him and thought the bus had arrived early so was catching up on time. And he'd pull away as I reached the bus.

But he was waiting for me...

greenbee

One thing worth bearing in mind Pops, is that if your neighbour is a home-owner then they won't want to get into a dispute as it can cause problems for them when it comes to selling.

Did the water company tell you WHERE the blockage was? If your drains were all working and other people's weren't then obviously it wasn't in your garden.

If you do have the details, maybe a polite note back explaining where the blockage was, and that in future if there are any problems they should be reported to the water company immediately (making a note that the new legislation means that anything that is in the shared part of the drains is the water co's responsibility to clear, so it is only where they identify a blockage in the drains belonging to an individual property that there is a charge) as the sooner it is reported the less damage it will do.

You may or may not want to explain that if the blockage was on your property it would have affected your drains, but not anyone else's... only if a blockage is in the shared part of the drain can it affect more than one property.

Personally I'd be tempted to point out that I don't wear nappies, but if they'd ever seen the items they are claiming were in the manhole in your garden, they'd realise that the only way they'd get into the manhole was by being dropped into the top as there is no way you'd managed to flush them down the loo :cool:

Do you have neighbours that you get on with who you could discuss this with? It maybe that they can help you to come up with a response (and it would also make sure that they understand the need to report the problem asap as well, rather than waiting for you to be in, in the hope that your landlord will foot the bill if there is one...).

Popperwell

Got a phone call from the CAB helpline...no advice:mad:best they could do is arrange an appointment at the local office for 8 days time.

Greenbee I thought I got on with all my neighbours not there is much contact. There be even less from now on...

I wonder why the emergency place I rang connected to my HA did not tell me to phone the water company if they do all the work?

paidinchickens

Aww Pops its a sign of the times I think, the culture of "not my job/department" but if they are doing the job of 10 people or under threat of losing theirs can we blame them.

What I'm saying is don't take it to heart about being fobbed off even if you feel everyone is against you at the moment.

PiC x

Mrs_Chip

Pops

Who wrote to you from the Water Board? I would write to them and ask them to clearly specify where the blockage was and what it was. The may even be able to do it by email for quickness.

The crux of this is to identify whether you were responsible for the blockage. Once you know that you will have everything you need to tell these people to go whistle.



.

shegar

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Pops

Who wrote to you from the Water Board? I would write to them and ask them to clearly specify where the blockage was and what it was. The may even be able to do it by email for quickness.

The crux of this is to identify whether you were responsible for the blockage. Once you know that you will have everything you need to tell these people to go whistle.



.

Excellent advise MRS CHIP.........Thats what you need to know is "where is the blockage"...........

Typical of the council not wanting to know, all they want is their money for rent , end of..........
CAB.......are under tremendous pressure right now, 8 days isnt too long in a way , when you consider alot of people have real real serious urgent problems............

What did I say to you all when I done a post on here on saturday morning..?........I had just managed to get through to my energy supplier NPOWER , so that I could fix my energy prices , yes and just heard on the radio that NPOWER have raised their fuel prices at 11% ..WOW...:eek:...So thank god I hung on the phone for 45 odd minuets to get through to them , that call was well worth it............I knew that once one company put their prces up all the others eventually do the same ............

Bit damp and cloudy today , not cold at all, well its 15 degrees here.......Sheila .....

Popperwell

Shegar,
I signed up for a duel fuel deal with the same company until 2017 and have missed the increase too.

The blockage on the water company's site was classed as a soft one and they think it could have come from anywhere as all the pipes join a main system so it could even be from neighbours that face on to the back of my house. They think I am getting hassle and should seek legal help that they would not get involved I what is seen as a dispute.

No one wants to get involved on the opening of/photo's taken of my drain.

katieowl_2

Pops. I'd write back to whoever wrote to you and tell them that no products of the type they say blocked the drain are used in your household. End of. If you want me to draft you an arsey response I'd be quite happy

If it had been there for a long time (not saying you did, but YKWIM) like when your mum was alive, it would have been a problem LONG before now. So to simply tell them it's not possible that it was you should deflate them!

Kate

Popperwell

Thanks Katie,
Will keep that in mind...I have just talked to another solicitor to see if I am covered for free help and they think I am not but will call and let me know.

So perhaps I will have to pay lots of money for a situation not of my doing. Heaven knows what that will cost.