Leaking outflow pipe and jammed stopcocks.

My first post so please be gentle with me.

I have plumbing and drains insurance cover with BG and called them because I have an outflow pipe that is leaking.

I live in a flat on the first floor of a block that is three floors high.
The engineer that came thought it might be the ball valve in the water tank. So he has a look and asks me which is the stopcock to turn off the mains supply. And herein lies the problem.

I didn't have the faintest idea which stopcock turns off the mains.
I have an old Potterton Kingfisher with is more than 25 years old and there is a water tank (or is it two?) above the boiler. There are four stopcocks on the pipes and they are all jammed. The man told me that I would need a plumber to replace the stopcock and he said that they may have to turn off the water supply from the street.

Does anybody know if this is likely to cost me hundreds of pounds for a plumber to fix my stopcocks?
I am a particularly skint nurse and have no idea at all about plumbing issues....well, not of the water supply type anyway.

I am kind of hoping for a rough idea so that I can brace myself for asking family to lend me the cash. The outflow leak is intermittent at the moment
and I am hoping to avoid it becoming a torrent.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post,

Nursie

Turn water off in street (not allowed but many will do).

Replace stop tap.

£40??

Stop worrying..

When you say outflow pipe, which pipe are you describing exactly?

Thank you so much for your quick reply John.
Hmmm which outflow pipe?
Er..it is a small pipe on the outside wall of my flat and the engineer thought that it was coming from my water tank(s).

Incidentally, I rang a plumbing service and they said that it would be 09 quid for the call out. Then 28 quid per half hour. The man on the phone said it may take a few hours to fix it.

Kerching!

If thats the case and it's your overflow that the water is coming from, it should take no longer than half an hour to replace a float valve. Keep an eye on this plumber

But he could spend ages and ages fiddling with the stopcocks (ooh, matron) before he (or she) attempts to fix the ball valve.

I think I have watched too many hidden-camera-dodgy-plumber-programmes and am wary of unscrupulous plumbers.

In the same way, I suppose, that the public have watched too many hidden-camera-dodgy-nurses programmes and would be wary of unscrupulous nurses.

where are you in essex ?

Might just get away with bending the arm on the ball valve, also he should be able to work out which valve does what from looking at the pipework. Lastly a stopcock can often be freed off, did the guy try to free it by hand and then give up?

I am in the east london area of essex.

I left the engineer to his own devices when he came so I don't know how much effort he put into moving the stopcock. I left him alone to work cos he seemed a little bit grumpy.

He said that he needed to turn off the water to adjust the ball valve.
Twas all a bit of a saga really. Initially BG sent a dynorod man round. He looked at the tanks and said he couldn't touch them because there was a heating element involved.

Then the engineer comes the next day and says I need BG to get dynorod in cos he himself can't move the stopcocks.
Also BG insurance doesn't cover stopcocks.