Help, plumbers invoices for apparent leak on my water supply pipe

MAB1988

Hi all, 
I need some advice on an issue we're having with a leak that we had on a shared supply pipe. The shared supply pipe feeds 6 different terrace properties with our property being the last in the run of 6.  I understand that from speaking to my neighbours that the supply pipe would have originally run down the back of our gardens however 4 out of 6 neighbours have all had extensions building over this supply pipe including my neighbour. 

We noticed the sound of continually running water a few weeks back and had HomeServe come out under our home emergency cover. The engineer took one look at where the supply pipe would have run and said that this was way too big for Homeserve as the leak could be anywhere and to trace it would mean someone ultimately having to dig up their extension. However he did conclude that the leak wasn't in our property due to the fact that we had virtually no pipes running under out property (being the last of 6) and no signs of damp, so no point using his leak detection equipment. With some persuasion I got the engineer to go and check out to see if he could detect anything in our next door neighbours house. He used some sort of device to listen for leaks under our neighbours kitchen floor, he detected the supply pipe and and also detected what appeared to be the leak and he confirmed that by the location of the leak this leak was not on the supply pipe but on the supply that feeds our neighbour's property before it reached our neighbours stopcock. The plumber said that this would be our neighbours responsibility to resolve. Homeserve wouldn't cover this under our policy as its not our pipe. He explained this to our neighbour and she arrange for her own plumber to repair.

Our neighbours plumber came this week and repaired the leak and confirmed that is was actually a leak on the supply pipe solely feeding our property. He has now sent an invoice directly to me for completion of the work. I have spoken to my neighbour and she expects me to pay the whole bill and won't have any dealings with the plumber on this matter as its our problem. 

Obviously before I pay any invoice I have questions regarding what the plumber found and what he actually repaired. 

A. The location of the leak was within the original foundations of her building, and around 6 feet away from the location of the path of the supply pipe supplying our property that was indicated by the Homeserve plumber. How do I look further into this? 

B. I've been charged for the digging up of my neighbours floor and the replacing of floor tiles. Are these costs my responsibility? My neighbour has built over our supply pipe (way before we purchased our property) and by covering them with concrete and kitchen tiles any access is impossible without damaging her fittings. So if we need access to our pipe should we pay the cost of replacing this? If it had been in the garden where it was intended to be it would have been a much simpler job to trace and access.

Also what other questions should I be asking here to make sure that this job has been carried out properly and this is actually my costs to bear. The plumber was a friend of my neighbour and is a gas engineer by trade so I'm not even sure if he is necessarily qualified to carry out this work to the appropriate standards. 

Any advice would appreciated. 
Thanks

Grenage

Who's responsible for the pipe? I assume it's the water authority if it's your supply.  It's also not on your property, so I can't see why you'd be responsible.

I'd be more concerned about your water supply line being repaired by someone not qualified to do so.

MAB1988

Grenage said:

Who's responsible for the pipe? I assume it's the water authority if it's your supply.  It's also not on your property, so I can't see why you'd be responsible.

I'd be more concerned about your water supply line being repaired by someone not qualified to do so.

Hi Grenage, 
The supply pipe is private and supplies 6 properties, the water authority have said that they cover up to the point of the pavement, but do not cover for any of the pipe from that point onwards. Any repair costs from this point onwards would be dependant on where on the pipe the leak was located. 

452

Grenage said:

Who's responsible for the pipe? I assume it's the water authority if it's your supply.  It's also not on your property, so I can't see why you'd be responsible.

I'd be more concerned about your water supply line being repaired by someone not qualified to do so.

Why would you think he wasn't qualified to do the work?

FreeBear

I would say - Her leak, her kitchen, and she is the one that appointed a repair person. Ergo, the bill is her problem.

Whilst you are the one to identify the leak and it's possible location, it isn't within your property nor on the shared side of the pipe so you have no liability.

TELLIT01

FreeBear said:

I would say - Her leak, her kitchen, and she is the one that appointed a repair person. Ergo, the bill is her problem.

Whilst you are the one to identify the leak and it's possible location, it isn't within your property nor on the shared side of the pipe so you have no liability.

The OP clarified that the plumber stated that the leak was in a section of pipe which only supplies the OP's property.  On that basis it doesn't seem unreasonable that the OP should pay for the repair to the leak.  Damage to other properties is more questionable as they shouldn't have built over the mains supply in the first place.

MAB1988

452 said:

Grenage said:

Who's responsible for the pipe? I assume it's the water authority if it's your supply.  It's also not on your property, so I can't see why you'd be responsible.

I'd be more concerned about your water supply line being repaired by someone not qualified to do so.

Why would you think he wasn't qualified to do the work?

I don't know if he is qualified or not, neither does my neighbour who hired him. Based on the advice from the water authority website, any work needs to be carried out in accordance with the water regulations and it is the owner's responsibility to ensure work is carried out appropriately. I plan to put this question to him. 

MAB1988

TELLIT01 said:

FreeBear said:

I would say - Her leak, her kitchen, and she is the one that appointed a repair person. Ergo, the bill is her problem.

Whilst you are the one to identify the leak and it's possible location, it isn't within your property nor on the shared side of the pipe so you have no liability.

The OP clarified that the plumber stated that the leak was in a section of pipe which only supplies the OP's property.  On that basis it doesn't seem unreasonable that the OP should pay for the repair to the leak.  Damage to other properties is more questionable as they shouldn't have built over the mains supply in the first place.

Yes agree that IF it was on the supply that's only feeding my property then I am responsible for the costs for that repair and I am willing to pay any fair amount for this. 
The problem is that I have to take this plumber's word for this and it goes against the advice I received from Homeserve and also the fact the location of the leak just doesnt seem to be in the right place to be continuing on to my property, unless it takes a fairly large detour along the way.
I've just spoken to my neighbour and apparently her hole in the floor hasn't been filled in yet (even though the plumber has invoiced me a day's labour for this) so I'm wondering whether I should get an independent plumber to come in and give a second opinion. 

MAB1988

Mickey666 said:

Do you have a water meter?  If not, can you request that one is installed?  That would provide a clear demarcation point as far as responsibilies are concerned.

No we don't, I'm not sure if it would even be possible to have one in this situation as they would have to gain access to the pipes under my neighbours property to fit one. 

silvercar

Check the deeds of your house, (download them from Land Registry for £3 if you don't have them). They should say who is responsible for a water supply pipe that feeds your home but is on someone else's land.
Also check your house (building) insurance they may cover you for something like this.

silvercar

Also be worth posting on this board:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/water-bills