Anglian Water have just fixed a leak up the road that we reported over 5 weeks ago.
Had a shower before going to work one morning and thought the pressure seemed a bit low. On my way to work and I noticed water flowing down the road gutter in quite a good flow. Seemed to be coming from a cul-de-sac about 400 yards up the road so called my wife to report it. They would send someone out next week! Wife phones them every other day to ask whats happening as we have a disabled, double incontinent person living here who needs to shower 2-3 times daily. Told it would be treated as a priority and repaired as soon as possible. They turn up the next week, have a look and drive away without asking anyone if they had any problems. Phone call. They will be back next week to survey and start digging. Next week, come out and walk around with a long metal bar listening to see where it might be coming from. (Well digging a hole in the ground where it was bubbling up from might seem a good place!) Goes away and returns a few days later with one of these wands that detects leaks. Great! We know where it's leaking, (roughly). Then they discover there may be an electricity supply cable running close by so have to get 'elf & safety involved. I questioned the validity of the cable and pointed out the large transformers on poles and all the cables going overhead to the houses from them. Week later UKPN turn up and declare no cables should be there. Water board due to start repairs on 18th of this month, (the day we were going on holiday so we wouldn't be inconvenienced if they turned the water off for a few hours we thought). Halfway to our holiday destination and my wife gets a phone call to say they won't be doing it that day as the HAVE found a cable. It would probably be later in the week when they tried again. Turns out the cable they found was a 3 metre length of waste cable that had somehow got buried/covered over at some time in the past from work someone must have been doing in the area. It was discovered to be 'dead' when one of the electricians from UKPN simply pulled on it and it came out the ground.
So we spent 8 nights away from home on a glorious holiday to discover it was finally being repaired on the day after we got home. They had road closed signs and barriers up at intervals for 2 miles either side of the leak. Took approximately 3 hours to dig the hole, repair the leak and restore the supply. They even checked our pressure before and after to make sure we were happy with the pressure. The barriers have gone but the road closed signs are still up and we currently have a much reduced traffic flow past our house the past few days. Anglian Water have also agreed not to take the next 6 monthly water bill payments, put £288 back into our bank account and today a food hamper containing a selection of various biscuits, jams, marmalades, chocolate bars and 2 different pate's was delivered by way of an apology.
I'd have been happy enough if they had just repaired it as soon as we reported it.
