Property Damage

Informant

Hi All,

Felt compelled to create a login to ask if anyone ever had experience with a water company needing to damage their own property to perform maintenance?

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by my utility company to be informed that there was a blockage in a drain that serves my street, under the pavement nearest my house.

They'd sent someone round whilst i was at work and decided that the path of least resistance would be to get at this blockage by using a run off drain inside my garden. they would also require to knock down a portion of my wall to achieve that.

The work could take anything up to a week apparently, although could be shorter if it goes well.

All they've mentioned is that they will "put it right". In my mind, this could mean anything from replacing the wall entirely, to ending up with a wall that has different coloured bricks, or as hoped exactly as it was before. This particular bit is of importance as i've had a couple of anecdotes of work done by this utility company to private land where residents for want of a better phrase have had an enduring nightmare trying to get reparations sorted. i am leaning at this point to be mistrustful of them due to said anecdotes.

I haven't responded yet, but i will ask them to outline exactly what is being suggested and exactly what is needed from me in a letter. Is there any advice anyone can offer for me on anything i should request from them or anything i can do to make sure i cover myself/my property?

Finally, am i within my rights to ask for anything like a good will gesture? I believe up to a week of having contractors in my property ( i work from home), having my access impaired, having my garden made to look like a bombsite, the associated mess that goes with it, and finally the possibility of further inconvenience and cost to myself if we don't agree on what "making it right" is, warrant this. If so, what is reasonable? I certainly am not interested in holding them to ransom for the purpose of making a fast buck, but i believe the inconvenience factor *may* make my request reasonable.

Thanks guys, bit of a strange one for a Sunday night i know, very grateful for any advice or humour offered.

LyndaS

Informant wrote: »

Hi All,

Felt compelled to create a login to ask if anyone ever had experience with a water company needing to damage their own property to perform maintenance?

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by my utility company to be informed that there was a blockage in a drain that serves my street, under the pavement nearest my house.

They'd sent someone round whilst i was at work and decided that the path of least resistance would be to get at this blockage by using a run off drain inside my garden. they would also require to knock down a portion of my wall to achieve that.

The work could take anything up to a week apparently, although could be shorter if it goes well.

All they've mentioned is that they will "put it right". In my mind, this could mean anything from replacing the wall entirely, to ending up with a wall that has different coloured bricks, or as hoped exactly as it was before. This particular bit is of importance as i've had a couple of anecdotes of work done by this utility company to private land where residents for want of a better phrase have had an enduring nightmare trying to get reparations sorted. i am leaning at this point to be mistrustful of them due to said anecdotes.

I haven't responded yet, but i will ask them to outline exactly what is being suggested and exactly what is needed from me in a letter. Is there any advice anyone can offer for me on anything i should request from them or anything i can do to make sure i cover myself/my property?

Finally, am i within my rights to ask for anything like a good will gesture? I believe up to a week of having contractors in my property ( i work from home), having my access impaired, having my garden made to look like a bombsite, the associated mess that goes with it, and finally the possibility of further inconvenience and cost to myself if we don't agree on what "making it right" is, warrant this. If so, what is reasonable? I certainly am not interested in holding them to ransom for the purpose of making a fast buck, but i believe the inconvenience factor *may* make my request reasonable.

Thanks guys, bit of a strange one for a Sunday night i know, very grateful for any advice or humour offered.

The supplier will generally make good to a reasonable standard any damage they cause.

I would not expect bricks of an entirely different colour/design/size to meet that standard. If the wall is old and new bricks cannot be matched to the existing bricks, then the supplier may attempt to recycle the existing bricks and/or use some of a very close match.

You can certainly ask for a goodwill gesture if you think one is appropriate in the circumstances. Personally, I do not think one is - the supplier will show you their goodwill by attempting to repair the damage caused to a good, reasonable standard.