homeserve 9 November 2007 at 9:32PM in Water bills 8 replies 7.8K views

lapat

hoping somebody can help as im the one of the ones usually answering questions on this water forum.

i have a suspect problem with my drains. i.e i have had a few rats in my back garden. i have had the enviromental health out on two occasions and they wont do anymore until i get my drains checked as they say they are fighting a losing battle although its me thats caught three and they have caught none.

now to the crux of it enviromental health are saying we must have a cracked or displaced drain.
i contacted homeserve and they have said im not covered for a survey i will have to pay for this via a third party. and if its damaged they will repair.
no i have read the small print on the contract and the only thing i can find is a clause saying they will do the survey/work if its detramental to health. now i would concieve rats peeing(weils disease) over my garden detremental to my familys health..and apart from this i think if there is a crack in the drain i believe it where next door has had there extension built in the last 12 months. and as usual neighbours dont want to know...!!!!!

any advice or similar situations would be greatley appreciated.

the only good thing is they come out to play at night so i havent actually seen them.

Cardew

Hi,
I can understand your concern, but why would the environmental heath people suspect a cracked drain to be the reason for rats coming into your garden?

Rats will find their way into a garden by any route if there is something in the garden that attracts them.

aleksrothis

Hi,

You don't say if you've tried contacting your water/sewerage company directly? If not, why not give them a ring? Some companies will come out and survey for free if there's a suspicion that rats are using their sewers as a route...

lapat

aleksrothis wrote: »

Hi,

You don't say if you've tried contacting your water/sewerage company directly? If not, why not give them a ring? Some companies will come out and survey for free if there's a suspicion that rats are using their sewers as a route...

no water company will come out to survey sewer never mind private sewers

the problem has now been sorted out and it had nothing to with my drains they were living in next doors garage where they were storing sacks of spuds etc......scruffy bast*rds

stewart_parker

hi i to had a drain problem and rodents seen around the area i had a policy with HOMESERVE (ha ha)anyway the drain was blocked they unblocked it ok then a friend of mine told me i had a collapsed drain homeserve said if i could prove it they would pay(LONG STORY SORRY)I got a camera dropped down the drain and paid for the damage to the drain myself about 3000 pound all in with having a young family did not want to take chances with rats running around.yes you have gussed trying to get homeserve to pay anything towards is impossible firt of all i would suggest anybody thinking of a policy with this company is wasting there time and money...the contractor who did the work for me also said nobody wins with homeserve and they deal with sort of thing all the time...take heed and get out spread the word

anony_mouse_5

Ref sewer inspections it depends on who has responsibilty of the sewers,
Water companies are responsible for sewer mains however the council may be responsible, it also depends if it is purely your individual supply (your responsibility)
or if it is communal,
Speak to the water company they may at least look into that part of it.
its worth a try also consult your deeds as the plans should show the sewer line.

if you have homeserve they only cover up to the boundary of your property you are responsible up to the connection to the main sewer line.

Bushy2006

anony_mouse wrote: »

if you have homeserve they only cover up to the boundary of your property you are responsible up to the connection to the main sewer line.

Not only will Homeserve not cover drains beyond your boundary line but if your drain is shared - as is the case with the vast majority of private drains in England - Homeserve will only pay your share of the cost. An acquaintance currently has a claim with Homeserve. The drain concerned is shared by three neighbours, all who have Homeserve policies, but he can only claim 1/4 of the cost - and because the problem is on his property his neighbours cannot claim on their policies.

I stopped paying Homeserve premiums when we had problems 3 years ago because they would not deal with issues outside my boundary. The person mentioned above and all of his neighbours will be stopping their premiums.

As an aside, the government and water industry are currently discussing legislation that will make all shared drains the responsibility of the regional water company. I suspect this will take years to enact, but the sooner the better as the current situation causes so many problems.

mary43

I had a collapsed drain in our driveway about three years back. No rats or anything like that.......just a big hole that appeared where the drain was.I contacted Homeserve and they said I wasn't covered for that unless there was a sewage problem. I then checked with my house and contents insurance and thank goodness, I was covered with them. They sent a chap out,popped a camera down the drain a couple of time, then they send a team of workmen to do the job. It meant digging the drive up (thank goodness it was before I'd had it paved), and out into the road but they got the job done in about three days.Being an old house it was just the fact that it was a very old drain and had its day.

Check with your house insurance and good luck

inchway3

Disgusting Company. Do not have anyhing to do with them! All my family cancelled their policies. Between us we tried to maye 7 different claims (legitimate) and they wouldn't come out to any of them! Once we had water pouring through the ceiling at 3am and they couldn't find a plumber to come out to us. We had to get our own out of yellow pages which cost £380 and they wouldn't re-imburse us. Complete cowboys!!