7 December
I contacted TW via Facebook Messenger, explained problem and answered questions regarding access and parking. TW - engineer to attend within next 48 hours; you’ll get a call when they are on their way. Limit use of water in the meantime to avoid waste flooding.
8 December
No call back from TW
9 December
Chase up message from me. TW reply - needed to “reschedule attendance due to lack of available resources. Still plan on coming as soon as we can”...
10 December
Advised TW that insurance drainage company had returned, confirmed blockage in Buchan trap, contacted TW direct and been told TW would attend within 24 hours. TW confirmed due to attend that day. No one came.
11 December
TW advised they were a little behind due to a complicated job, but engineer due to be allocated to attend today. Subsequently advised that engineer attended but couldn’t find any where to park, so left without doing anything. In frustration, I posted a gripe on Facebook and a friend gave me contact details of someone at TW who might be able to help. I emailed in the evening and had a reply within a few hours. Turned out I had contacted the CEO. She apologized for the frustration and copied to the High level Complaints team to work out the best next steps.
12 December
TW engineer attended late evening, but “ran out of hours”. Recommended visit in daylight hours.
13 December
TW asked whether still needed help? I replied spelling out problem again. TW asked for full name and address and then confirmed further attendance being planned - as soon as scheduled, it should happen within 24 hours. Team are aware of the equipment they need to get resolved.
14 December
Email from TW senior case manager, acknowledging the problems caused by Buchan traps, advising that the situation was being closely monitored and would contact me again no later than 16 December with a further update on when next attendance will be. I responded with thanks and asked what would happen if the trap straddled the boundary and was therefore joint responsibility. No reply as yet...
TW engineer turned up but unable to clear sewer. Job raised for team to confirm ownership with tracking equipment.
Phone call from TW to say engineer on his way; should arrive in 10-15 minutes. They arrived around 2pm. Tried to pin down the location of the Buchan trap by putting camera down the manhole in the rear garden and using a sonic device to see where it got to before it hit the U bend in the trap and could go no further. The equipment they used at first just kept picking up broadband cables in the footpath, so they disappeared on another job until another team arrived with different equipment. They returned around 4 pm, tried again and the next thing I knew, they had packed everything up and got back in the van without saying anything. I caught them before they left and was told the Buchan trap was on my side of the boundary, so not their responsibility. I asked for something in writing (see below) then they left.
It taken 9 days since first contacting TW and three separate visits from TW engineers to get to this stage, only to find myself back at square 1 - still with a blocked drain, a Buchan trap somewhere nearby, either in the footpath or my front garden, which appears to be the source of the problem and no one willing to take responsibility to sort out. Both sides - the private drainage firm appointed by the house insurance and TW - say the other party will do anything to avoid paying for such works. I am the piggy in the middle!
I contacted the insurance company at once and requested their drainage firm to return given TW’s advice that source of the problem was on my land. Visit arranged for afternoon of 16 December.
Will this be the end of the tale of Thames Water or will I have to go back again? We shall see.
In the meantime, the saga of drain dramas continue.
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