Can Water Companies wriggle out of doing a free repair to a leaking pipe on property

Yorkshire_Pud

Situation is Severn Trent have told my neighbour that they don't qualify for a one off free pipe leak repair because STW 'stopped doing that a few years ago' and that the ONLY qualifying criteria now is if the customer has no water supply.

I know they push Homeserve of which they get a cut and don't want to do anything for 'free' but their own website has a detailed guide to free leak repair with much broader criteria than quoted yet the engineer and a manager in their office do not admit it even exists!

I wonder if they keep the PDF, written in 2007, as evidence to OFWAT that they are honouring their commitments to prevent water leakage, meet targets etc. whilst then blatantly refusing to honour any of the stated criteria?

Any advice as to how I can help my elderly neighbour to maybe get STW to honour their so called free service?

I'm thinking a complaint to STW and contacting OFWAT? Does this make sense? Am I wasting my time?!

Thanks for any help, I'm angry on my neighbours behalf.

Cardew

Ofwat do not deal with individual complaints. You need to contact the Consumer Council for Water - http://www.ccwater.org.uk/

They are very helpful and if anyone can put pressure on Severn Trent, they are the organisation.

Whilst it was always accepted that all water companies would carry out a one-off goodwill repair, there have been a number of posts that indicate that policy has changed.

Yorkshire_Pud

Thanks cardew I will bear CCWater in mind.

I know it was a goodwill gesture but I think STW should update their free leak repair PDF as it seems to be very out of date and I thought the 'goodwill' was to an extent stipulated by OFWAT as a standard response to customers to meet leakage targets.

Maybe Homeserve pipe cover is worth it after all but most media stories say its not necessary as covered by either water company or house buildings insurance.

Yorkshire_Pud

I have been informed by an advisor at STW that they stopped doing their free leak fix service on private property on 1st June 2015.

I was told that the PDF I referred to about their policy was out of date and only found by Google and they wouldn't be able to get rid of it now its on the Internet but going through STW official site would not get that information.

So here we are in 2016 with water companies allowed to only be responsible for the supply up to the stop tap outside the boundary:(

I know that's how its been for a while but it just seems wrong to me.
Why not gas pipes only up to the boundary and electric cables only up to the boundary and phone lines only up to the boundary and postmen only delivering to the boundary etc etc.

Ridiculous that these minted Water Companies can get away with it. It should be a basic right to have the water supply protected from source right up to the internal stop tap. I'd even pay more water charges as an insurance for all if that what it takes.

Cardew

There seems to be no standard policy with the water companies. See below(all from their website)

Southern Water
Will you repair my leaking pipe for free?

For domestic properties, we offer up to one hour's free detection work to help locate the leak on your private supply pipe.

What financial help will South West Water give me?
► If you have a leak on your internal plumbing, you will need to get a plumber to help you fix it. we will not be able to help you fix an internal leak or help you with the cost of repairs.
If you have a leak on your private underground service pipe, while we will not help you find and repair the leak, if you send us a copy of the invoice for the work and providing that it was done within 30 days of you becoming aware of the leak, we will make a 'once only' discretionary contribution of up to £100 towards your costs. If your service pipe has been replaced in its entirety, again send us a copy of the invoice for the work and our discretionary contribution will be up to £250.

Northumbrian water

Our policy on free repairs
This applies to domestic customers. In many cases we will fix leaks on your underground pipes free of charge.
We will do this if:
• The supply pipe has an outside diameter of up to 25mm (this applies to most domestic properties). • We find a leak less than 1.35m down. If we need to dig further we will discuss this with you first, as we will make a charge for this extra work. • The supply pipes are no more than 50m in length, measured from the stopcock in the highway. • The pipes are not under or immediately adjacent to buildings or structures (including sheds, patios, decking etc). • We are not prevented from excavation by the presence of drains or other utility services, or a requirement to provide some form of structural support. • The problem is on an external pipe (for internal pipes you should call a plumber).
We will repair one leak within a three year period for the same property free of charge. However if we determine that your supply pipe is in very poor condition or has reached the end of its useful life, we may ask you to renew the part of the pipe that belongs to you within a reasonable period.
The success of the repair is dependent on the age and quality of the supply pipe and we are therefore unable to provide a guarantee. We recommend that customers give consideration to pipe renewal, which carries a ten year guarantee if the work is carried out by us or our service partners.