faulty stop cocks

[LauraLeah]

can anybody shed any light onto something for me please:
we (well my husband) went to turn off the water to our house via the internal stop cock so he could remove the taps and sink to replace them all.
to our surprise, the internal stop cock doesn't turn the water off at all, not even a little bit.
He then went outside onto our street and lifted the cast iron manhole to search for the external stop cock, hoping to override the internal problem.
It then becomes apparent that there isn't an external SC between pavement level and 2 and a half foot down the manhole.
There is one of these inspection holes outside our house.
We are an end terrace on a block of four houses.
Outside next door, there are 2 of these inspection holes and outside next door but 2, there are 4.
I rang northumbrian water and they told me they wold happily send somebody out to find the external stop cock for a small fee of £98.
I find it hard to understand how the company can expect us to pay for a problem which is there responsibility (the face that there appears to be no stop cock).
Does anybody have an previous experience with NW? thanks

 

[John506]

The internal stop tap, does it turn and not turn the water off, or does it just not turn (seized)?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Not sure how old your house is, a lot of older houses are fed from a communal main, the stop tap can be a fair way from the house and turning it off will also isolate a lot of the neighbour's water supply!

Is the pipe under your sink lead or plastic? May give an indication of how old it is. I am pretty sure the water authority are responsible for the pipe up to the boundary of your property. If the external stop tap is outside the boundary they have a legal obligation to repair or replace it if it doesnt work. Their website explains this: http://www.nwl.co.uk/Leadpipes.aspx About half way down the page, 'Responsibility.'