Overpaid for a service - help please

matt_smith_21

Hi, hope someone can help here.

Unfortunately on Sunday I had 2 blocked manholes in my garden that had been caused by concrete that had fell into the manhole when my patio was laid by a local contractor. The trouble here is I paid the guy in cash as a family friend to carry out what is typically quite low risk work. So going back to him to foot the bill isn’t really an option.

Because my first thought was clearing the blockage, I made contact with a drainage company found online and arranged for them to come out and sort the works out. Whilst I had seen the hourly rates, the final fill came in at, surprisingly, over £1500 because of various reasons, most notably because it wasn’t just a standard blockage.

My issue is that I obviously don’t really have a spare £1500 to be clearing manholes. I have since contacted Severn Trent Water who told me they could have attended for significantly less as the foul sewer is the old fashioned kind that is also carrying waste from the rest of the street. I have written to them to see if there is anything they can do to contribute.

My home insurance is useless in that it is worded that accidental ‘damage’ is covered, but not blockage.

Whilst I still think I have been overcharged, the drainage contractor have been helpful and reduced the bill by an amount as I queried several lines of the invoice. They are also willing to put something on paper to send to the insurance company that it wasn’t just a standard blockage to try to assist me in this way.

Can anyone offer some advice of where I can go with this, as losing such a large amount is absolutely heartbreaking when I don’t feel as though it was my responsibility entirely.

Thanks

KatrinaWaves

You have no rights just because someone else would have done it cheaper.

I also would be surprised if your home insurance covers a contractor covering something in concrete...

davidmcn

You've not given us much to go on - what was discussed with the drainage company at the outset about the cost? How have they calculated their bill? Why do you think you've been overcharged? For all we know, £1500 (or whatever they've since discounted it to, and you haven't told us that either) might be a fair price for the work involved.

The fact you paid cash to your original contractor doesn't prevent you from pursuing him for any damage he caused. Or do you not want to pursue him because he's a family friend? Surely a friend would put it right?

Aylesbury_Duck

I think you're going to have to chalk this one up to experience. I'm also doubtful that your insurance would cover it. It sounds as if the drainage company are professional and have already worked hard to get their bill down and you said yourself you understood their pricing when you booked them.

I think the "solution" is to view it in a different light. It sounds like you saved money on the patio by employing a mate and paying cash-in-hand. How much extra would a proper contractor (with their own insurance) have cost? Maybe the difference between what Severn Trent would have charged and what you paid the drainage company isn't much more than what you saved on the patio work. You can't have it all ways. You've employed cheap (presumably uninsured) labour and it's backfired.

Manxman_in_exile

Paying a "mate" to do a job is frequently a recipe for disaster - like lending money to a "mate" or a family member.


If you don't want to sue them if (when) they screw up, pay somebody else to do the job properly.

matt_smith_21

Thanks for replies folks and responding respectfully. To give further information to a few points raised;

Blockage caused by concrete not done maliciously. The guy that fitted the patio very apologetic and will attend to put right any damage obtained getting into the manholes to pump out. I have no intentions of pursuing this person with legal intentions as it’s just a bit of a difficult situation. There was nothing he could have done to rectify the situation immediately - this needed to be in the hands of the drainage specialist. A patio would be typically low risk for a cash transaction - as you say I may have had my fingers burnt on this occasion.

The building and contents cover specifies we have protection for ‘Accidental Damage to main services on the property’ - I pursued this yesterday and was rebuffed as the pipe was never damaged, just substantially blocked. My argument that accidentally causing concrete to fall into the drainage is not a typical blockage and in fact is damage to the drainage system was not accepted.

My initial thoughts regarding the drainage contractor were that I had been conned into paying well over the odds for the service. I didn’t like the way it was operated on my door step at the time but having spoken to the office staff since I at least have reassurances that they are a legitimately operating company.

I am waiting on a response from the water board as to whether they can do anything to assist as whilst the damage isn’t because of ‘me’ it was still a public sewer we have pumped out and taken full Cost for.

Thanks for your help guys. I appreciate the responses even if you would have handled situation very differently. Given the stress of the situation and manholes backing up into my garden, hopefully the stress gives you an idea of the actions which may have been rash, may have been necessary. Sorting it myself and not going via the insurer first was perhaps the wrong way to handle it but it was action with good intention.

If anything has any further to add. I’d be grateful to read it, even if you just want to confirm that I can’t do anything further.

Thanks

KatrinaWaves

I'm just a little confused why you think the guy who blocked your drains with concrete on the cheap is a lovely chap who you don't want to get in trouble, but the guys who actually came and did a good job at fixing this problem are conmen?

matt_smith_21

I don’t think that’s quite what I said. The person that caused the concrete damage is someone I know through a friend and has not acted maliciously to cause the incident. (I could pursue a damages claim against them, don’t really intend to, but I may just have to take this on the chin this time)

The contractor did exactly what they were supposed to do and clear the damage, but it came with quite a hefty bill - a world apart from what I was expecting to receive when agreeing original rates.

Having spoken to Severn Trent Water since the incident, their response was that it was unlikely to have cost anywhere near that amount had they came to clear it directly.

When I analysed the invoice of the drainage contractor, they agreed that I was right in some of my arguments regarding labour and plant charges, and agreed the reduction to the amount.

I’ve already stated that since the incident I have assurances about the company that did the work so my concern isn’t that they are ‘conmen’ moreso that the rates were perhaps Higher than others would have been - but in the rush of sorting the situation, it’s not really a shop around sort of market.

If I have no comeback, I am ok with that as I am taking advice from a website with helpful posters. My final attempt at some assistance is the water board who are due to respond imminently. Their initial response is that they have a duty to clear public sewers and will also clear private drainage at a cost to customer.

Hindsight is great here, but I am not a stupid person. Unfortunately a few circumstances have arrived at the same time and ultimately cost me a lot of money.

Aylesbury_Duck

matt_smith_21 wrote: »

Thanks for replies folks and responding respectfully. To give further information to a few points raised;

Blockage caused by concrete not done maliciously. The guy that fitted the patio very apologetic and will attend to put right any damage obtained getting into the manholes to pump out. I have no intentions of pursuing this person with legal intentions as it’s just a bit of a difficult situation. There was nothing he could have done to rectify the situation immediately - this needed to be in the hands of the drainage specialist. A patio would be typically low risk for a cash transaction - as you say I may have had my fingers burnt on this occasion.

The building and contents cover specifies we have protection for ‘Accidental Damage to main services on the property’ - I pursued this yesterday and was rebuffed as the pipe was never damaged, just substantially blocked. My argument that accidentally causing concrete to fall into the drainage is not a typical blockage and in fact is damage to the drainage system was not accepted.

My initial thoughts regarding the drainage contractor were that I had been conned into paying well over the odds for the service. I didn’t like the way it was operated on my door step at the time but having spoken to the office staff since I at least have reassurances that they are a legitimately operating company.

I am waiting on a response from the water board as to whether they can do anything to assist as whilst the damage isn’t because of ‘me’ it was still a public sewer we have pumped out and taken full Cost for.

Thanks for your help guys. I appreciate the responses even if you would have handled situation very differently. Given the stress of the situation and manholes backing up into my garden, hopefully the stress gives you an idea of the actions which may have been rash, may have been necessary. Sorting it myself and not going via the insurer first was perhaps the wrong way to handle it but it was action with good intention.

If anything has any further to add. I’d be grateful to read it, even if you just want to confirm that I can’t do anything further.

Thanks

I think KatrinaWaves sums it up perfectly. Stop beating yourself (and the drainage company) up over it. You made a decision which in hindsight turned out to be a bad one - it happens to all of us. You say you "didn't like the way it [the service] was operated on the doorstep" but it wasn't a doorstep-sell in that sense, you invited them to attend and do the job. You now have an unblocked drain that was attended to promptly. How long could you have spent ringing around trying to find the cheapest quote whilst the drain remained blocked? Sometimes you pay more for a prompt resolution. It's no good comparing that price to what you might have paid after the event because after the event there is no longer the urgency.

I would be pleasantly surprised if the water company make a contribution because you didn't even give them a chance to assess the problem. You're also viewing it from an odd perspective - you make it sound like you've done a public service paying to unblock a public sewer but it was only blocked because of your patio work!

As I said in my first reply, I suggest viewing it differently. Yes, it's cost you around £1500 but rather than you "overpaying for a service" you've spent £1500 correcting an expensive mistake made by your contractor. The target of your frustration is misplaced.

[Deleted User]

Not a chance of Severn Trent Water stumping up a 'contribution', I'm afraid you made the choice of going private without consulting them and they're not going to help after the fact. One to chalk up to experience.

davidmcn

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

Not a chance of Severn Trent Water stumping up a 'contribution', I'm afraid you made the choice of going private without consulting them and they're not going to help after the fact. One to chalk up to experience.

It would be an interesting conversation. "I put some concrete in your pipe. I then took the concrete out. Please pay me some money."