Back in December 2020, I was being passed between Thames Water and HomeServe (providers of my plumbing and drainage insurance) as they argued the toss as to the location of a Buchan Trap - a vented U-bend pipe below ground which sits between my private drain and the public sewer - and who was responsible for replacing it with a straight pipe run.
It eventually became clear from Thames Water's investigation that the Buchan Trap was on my side of the front garden boundary wall and, as a result, on 11 December an Engineer from Homeserve agreed that the trap could be replaced under my insurance policy. The contractor they used would normally do this work within a fortnight so, with luck, it would be completed before Christmas.
Christmas Eve arrived with no word from the insurance company contractor, so I contacted HomeServe and was told that the matter would be “escalated” and treated as a complaint, given that I had first raised it with them in early December.
Still no action a fortnight later, so I phoned HomeServe yet again on 15 January and was again told that it would be “escalated” and then...nothing.
On 27 January, fed up with waiting and no action, I emailed a formal complaint, threatened to go to the financial services ombudsman and hey presto! The very next day, I was contacted by one of HomeServe’s “customer advocates” who promised to get the ball rolling. And then, at last, things began to happen.
The earliest the insurance company’s contractor could come was 11 February. They turned up at 8 am and worked through the day. The hole in the front garden got deeper and wider, until at last they located the Buchan trap, replaced it with a straight drain run, and incorporated a rodding eye (at my request and cost, but worth it for ease of maintenance in future).
They worked through the day and finally finished relaying the brick paving in the dark, leaving around 8.30pm. Job done, at last!
A week or so later I was contacted by Homeserve to make sure I was happy with the work that had been done and, to my surprise, I was offered £125 as compensation, which I accepted. The important thing from my point of view was that the work had been carried out, a blockage cleared in the process and I was now able to get the drains tested. Hopefully, a Completion Certificate would follow shortly after. Fingers crossed!
Next step - get the builder to re-arrange the drain test which had to be abandoned on 4 December last year due to yet another drain blockage. Hopefully, that won't happen next time around.
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