Drainage contractor - should I pay, or ask for compensation?

[AnimatedGIF]

Hi all,

We have a blocked gully to where the washing machine empties and softener overflow enters.
I got a specialist drain unblocking company to come and unblock it.
They sent someone who normally does commercial jobs, and long and short, their jet was too powerful and too broad to be able to do the job. I only found this out after our garden became coated, and I mean coated, in foul water. Not only that, is spread so far that it went under the garage door (which is ~10m away on the other side of the garden to the drain), and it has pretty much ruined a bunch of stuff that was in the garage.
Part of me is understanding in so much as there may be a risk that some spillage may occur, but the rest of me feels as follows:
- They sent the wrong team with inappropriate equipment for a small domestic job
- If they had told me what could happen, I would have either moved stuff out of the garage, or put something in front of the garage door to stop the foul water entering.

The original employee has hosed down the worst of it, albeit in to the road (I guess it can't go anywhere else?) There will be more cleaning for us to do, especially in the garage which now smells like a sewer.

They are sending someone else out from their domestic team to unblock and do more clean up, apparently.



Am I within my rights to:
- Refuse to pay (I am worried if I do pay they will take that as me accepting I am happy with the job).
and/or
- Claim from them for damaged items from garage.

The gully is on the outside, on the other side of the wall to the washing machine. Everything that looks wet is brown sludgy foul water.

 

[jj4091]

You will need to ask the company who did the work and caused the problem. If they sucessfully remove the blockage you will have to pay for that but getting compensated will be treated as a different process probably dealt with by their insurer.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Thank you, that makes sense.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

@Hugh Jaleak

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Interestingly when the domestic team arrived, they had it sorted with no mess at all, as they had the thinner jet which was able to clear the blockage.
I did pay, as they did the job. They also cleaned up after their colleague too. I'll contact the company to provide feedback and go through the damage caused.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Looks like you had a major blockage. The first guy didn't bring the sewage with him, it was all yours and maybe your neighbours.

How much did they charge you?

Andy

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

£££s ....

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Looks like they came with a Van Pack, which is the standard equipment for Domestic Works. These smaller machines work with clean water, so whatever has come out that wasn't clean, hasn't come from them, it's whatever they've released and/or stirred up whilst trying to unblock your drain! Even if he's used the entire contents of the tank in the van, it's unlikely I think he'd have made that much mess, and would have stopped before things got too bad!

I'm with Andy, I suspect he's released a blockage and the head of sewage upstream has been released, and the downstream pipework couldn't handle the flow so it's erupted out the gully, over the garden. No-one could have foreseen that or indeed done much to prevent it. To be honest it probably one for your Home Insurance, the Drainage company cannot be held liable for a build up of sewage upstream.

Lesson here for anyone thinking of building over an existing chamber, and/or installing drain runs that cannot be cleaned from outside!

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Looks like you had a major blockage. The first guy didn't bring the sewage with him, it was all yours and maybe your neighbours.

How much did they charge you?

Andy

I know where it came from I think my problem was, as he said after, the equipment he was using was not suitable for the job. This was also demonstrated by the fact that his colleagues arrived with correct equipment and did the job in 15 minutes with no mess.

Looks like they came with a Van Pack, which is the standard equipment for Domestic Works. These smaller machines work with clean water, so whatever has come out that wasn't clean, hasn't come from them, it's whatever they've released and/or stirred up whilst trying to unblock your drain! Even if he's used the entire contents of the tank in the van, it's unlikely I think he'd have made that much mess, and would have stopped before things got too bad!

I'm with Andy, I suspect he's released a blockage and the head of sewage upstream has been released, and the downstream pipework couldn't handle the flow so it's erupted out the gully, over the garden. No-one could have foreseen that or indeed done much to prevent it. To be honest it probably one for your Home Insurance, the Drainage company cannot be held liable for a build up of sewage upstream.

Lesson here for anyone thinking of building over an existing chamber, and/or installing drain runs that cannot be cleaned from outside!

Thanks. We are at the end of the line (or is it top, I don't know the terminology, but no one else's feeds in to this drain), so at least it was only our own waste and no-one else's. Looking at plans and the CCTV from the drainage company, our bathroom and the gully in question meet each other before going in to the main drain in a chamber that looks like it has been built over with our conservatory. The main drain was clear prior to unblocking attempt, as the CCTV camera reached the neighbours' inspection chamber.

I think after the initial horror, all is sorted and (mostly) cleaned up now. There are lessons for the company to learn here, for sure.