thoughts on emptying or lack of a septic tank

babyblade41

Just thought I'd ask opinions how to proceed .
Booked a company who I've used before to empty septic tanks before our sale goes through as part of the deal ..would have done it out of common courtesy anyway.

30th November man with a truck comes out and says he'll sort it and no need to hang about as it will take a while .

After about 20 mins I take man a cup of tea and find he'd left and put receipt through the door.

Can't really read receipt but kept for new owners.

Fast forward to Xmas day .. OH goes outside and saw something not very pleasant and we are starting to leak sewage so all morning he is trying to pressure wash as much through the water treatment plant .. Both tanks are still full .

Day after Boxing Day and I call company who state the driver lifted 800 gallons. I still need someone to come out when my OH is home so booked for today

OH said there is no way they took 800 gallons in 15 mins and as the tanks are full he couldn't have done anyway.

Driver from the same company came today and he said there is no way anything was taken from either tank and spent well over an hour and removed 1000 gallons

Now I could leave it and think it's done now and why cause extra bother but driver said to me they will still try and charge me blaming blockages and tanker initially didn't have the jet wash on board to finish the job.

What should I do apart from not paying again which I won't do but is it worth causing a stink (pardon the pun) ?

G_M

Going simply on what you have said, it seems clear the 1st driver did not do the job the company was paid todo. So yes, I'd write to the company thanking them for returning to do the job they should have done 1st time, and explaining why you are witholding payment on the 2nd job.


Of course, there are usually 2 sides to every story, so until you (and we!) hear the company's version of events we can't be sure.


As an aside, I'm sure you are familiar with the new 2015 regulations which state (amongst other things) that

When you sell your property
You must tell the new owner, in writing that they are responsible for a septic tank discharge
This must include:
 A full description of the septic tank and drainage field
 The location of the septic tank and drainage field
 Details of any changes made to the septic tank or drainage field from the original design
 Details of the maintenance required for the septic tank
 Records of maintenance that you have had done to the system. You must keep these for 7 years.

agrinnall

You paid for tanks to be emptied and at the second attemt they have been, so definitely decline to pay anything more. I'm not sure that a complaint about the failure to empty the first time will be of much value, but I would certainly advise your buyers what happened so that they can decide whether to find another company to empty the tanks when it's next required.

babyblade41

G_M wrote: »

Going simply on what you have said, it seems clear the 1st driver did not do the job the company was paid todo. So yes, I'd write to the company thanking them for returning to do the job they should have done 1st time, and explaining why you are witholding payment on the 2nd job.


Of course, there are usually 2 sides to every story, so until you (and we!) hear the company's version of events we can't be sure.


As an aside, I'm sure you are familiar with the new 2015 regulations which state (amongst other things) that

Yes , thanks for that.. Everything in a folder ready to pass on.

I had the water treatment plant serviced every year as well..

Interesting to hear the "other sides story of events" although this driver said it is a common occurrence .. I wait to see and post an update

babyblade41

agrinnall wrote: »

You paid for tanks to be emptied and at the second attemt they have been, so definitely decline to pay anything more. I'm not sure that a complaint about the failure to empty the first time will be of much value, but I would certainly advise your buyers what happened so that they can decide whether to find another company to empty the tanks when it's next required.

I absolutely already have , it just annoys the hell out of me when people don't do the job properly

I am of the vain to just pop them an email stating that the tanks are now empty and clean and that the driver did take a picture before the 2nd attempt to stop any bills being sent across.

I am happy to leave it at that just thought others may think I'm letting off the hook

Thanks for the replies , it always helps to get another perspective

G_M

babyblade41 wrote: »

Yes , thanks for that.. Everything in a folder ready to pass on.

Very efficient and I commend you. But I assume from this you mean you will pass this on with the keys on Completion?


That may indeed satisfy the regulations.


But personally I had assumed the regulations required this information to go to the buyer before exchange, to satisfy them that the regs were being met and to assist in their decision to buy. Part of the searches etc.


I'd be interested toknow the answer......

System

babyblade41 wrote: »

OH said there is no way they took 800 gallons in 15 mins

I used to drive tankers. I could pump out 20 tonnes of sweetened condensed milk which is quite thick in about 45 minutes. That was about 15,000 litres or around 3300 gallons.

quotememiserable

Tarambor wrote: »

I used to drive tankers. I could pump out 20 tonnes of sweetened condensed milk which is quite thick in about 45 minutes. That was about 15,000 litres or around 3300 gallons.

Depends on your pump sizes though. Why would their driver say 'this will take a while' and when the job was actually done it took an hour.

Doozergirl

Septic tanks should need emptying around every year. I can't imagine what the OP was doing over the course of a month for it to overflow if it had been emptied initially.

My concern, OP, is that by allowing the tank to overflow, it's possible/probable that the drainage field has been contaminated and stops working as it should, resulting in it needing replacing.

I would be writing a clearly worded letter to the company explaining that your tank overflowed after you believed it had been emptied. There's no way you could have created 1000 gallons of sewage in a month and the only method you would reasonably have of knowing they hadn't emptied it would be that inevitable overflow. It will be a case of watching and waiting to see if the drainage field is affected.

Davesnave

Doozergirl wrote: »

My concern, OP, is that by allowing the tank to overflow, it's possible/probable that the drainage field has been contaminated and stops working as it should, resulting in it needing replacing.

I would be writing a clearly worded letter to the company explaining that your tank overflowed after you believed it had been emptied. There's no way you could have created 1000 gallons of sewage in a month and the only method you would reasonably have of knowing they hadn't emptied it would be that inevitable overflow.

While I agree, the OP was already sailing close to the wind if they met with an overflow within a month of the supposed emptying.

The OP had prior experience and could also have checked the situation by looking in the tank, which is certainly something I'd have done if the lorry had disappeared within 20 minutes. They're always with me for an hour or more.


Of course, neither of these things removes the ultimate blame for the spillage from the disposal company, but they have plenty of 'wriggle room.'

The difficulty is now that no one will be sure how much the drainage field has been affected. It could be several months before a problem shows up clearly.

babyblade41

G_M wrote: »

Very efficient and I commend you. But I assume from this you mean you will pass this on with the keys on Completion?


That may indeed satisfy the regulations.


But personally I had assumed the regulations required this information to go to the buyer before exchange, to satisfy them that the regs were being met and to assist in their decision to buy. Part of the searches etc.


I'd be interested toknow the answer......

I photocopied everything over to my solicitor and she passed it on , the originals are in the completion folder with all the other bits needed for a small holding . ie
Roofing guarantees for stables, and they have bought some industrial petrol machines for keeping ontop of this place

Funny their solicitor never asked but they are coming from a leafy suburb in London to a rural small holding in Herefordshire so not high on the agenda.

I'm going to mains sewers now, first time in a long time so will be quite nice not to have the treatment plant in the garden