Reply to: Hard sell from the water board

[Recruitment Agent]

I got this letter from Thames Water yesterday this could a case for ............Watchdog

[Lockhouse]

I regularly get letters from the water company trying to sell me pipe insurance - with scare stories along the lines of "if the pipe between your house and the road bursts you could be in for a massive bill" etc...

Does anyone else get these? has anyone bought the insurance? What is the likelihood of such a catastrophic water pipe rupture?

Is this like that waterboarding even CIA agents can only stand 20 seconds of?

[expat]

Our's broke a few years back. Some monkey turned up with his machine to bash a new, bright blue pipe under the driveway. Was a few hundred quid, not too excessive.

Rhubarb.

That's about what I heard, so I decided not to insure. It probably won't happen, but if it does then I can afford it. That's my definition of no need for insurance.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Good point. Apparently responsibility can be dependant upon the age of your property. South West Water, who charge me in excess of £1200 a year for my water, () put their hands up as being responsible for all pipework on properties older than 70 years. I phoned them up last year when we had sewage seeping up through our drive and they even pointed this fact out. So it is worth checking if you own an older place.

aah nice tip - many thanks - maybe I can get my water co to replace all the lead pipes!

[shaunbhoy]

Who owns the pipe? Isn't the mains water pipe and the bit that goes to your house owned by the water company and used as a means for delivering their product to your home and making a profit from said product?
This is like a furniture company asking you to buy insurance for their delivery vans, or indeed a milkman asking you to insure his float.

Good point. Apparently responsibility can be dependant upon the age of your property. South West Water, who charge me in excess of £1200 a year for my water, () put their hands up as being responsible for all pipework on properties older than 70 years. I phoned them up last year when we had sewage seeping up through our drive and they even pointed this fact out. So it is worth checking if you own an older place.

[rootsnall]

Cut a hole in the bark 1-2 inch diameter near the base of the tree. Save the bark (you'll need it later). Drill into the (now exposed) flesh to a depth of about 8-12 inches and a about a 1/4 inch less diameter. Fill the new hole with rock or table salt to 4-6 inches and the rest with water. Get some tree bark glue and glue the bark back into place.

Ideally, you should do this under the soil line, so it's less detectable.

A tree bloke I know said similar, drill down below the tree line and pour in bleach. I wouldn't worry about them knowing it was killed rather than just died, just make sure it's dark and you wear a balaclava when performing the act. They'll never prove it !

The 50K quote sounds like a job for Rogue Traders, get some more quotes.

[Moscow Mule]

That's appalling. You should be ashamed.

Yes, obviously you should never kill a tree subject to a conservation order or in a conservation area. That would be illegal.

[BrowneIssue]

P.S. Anyone know how to kill a mature plane tree without leaving any trace?

That's appalling. You should be ashamed.

Next you'll be wanting someone to suggest typing 'copper nail tree' in to Google to see all the different ways people have suggested to answer the same question.

[Moscow Mule]

P.S. Anyone know how to kill a mature plane tree without leaving any trace? I tried researching this, but apparently they are as tough as old boots and can survive anything short of a direct nuclear strike (hence the reason so many are planted in cities).

Cut a hole in the bark 1-2 inch diameter near the base of the tree. Save the bark (you'll need it later). Drill into the (now exposed) flesh to a depth of about 8-12 inches and a about a 1/4 inch less diameter. Fill the new hole with rock or table salt to 4-6 inches and the rest with water. Get some tree bark glue and glue the bark back into place.

Ideally, you should do this under the soil line, so it's less detectable.

[rhubarb]

Does anyone else get these? has anyone bought the insurance? What is the likelihood of such a catastrophic water pipe rupture?

Our's broke a few years back. Some monkey turned up with his machine to bash a new, bright blue pipe under the driveway. Was a few hundred quid, not too excessive.

Rhubarb.

[OwlHoot]

Might not be such a bad idea for me. There's a giant tree growing near the building, and its roots are gradually compacting the drain. A builder quoted £50,000 to fix the problem, and spread over 5 lessees that's still £10K each

P.S. Anyone know how to kill a mature plane tree without leaving any trace? I tried researching this, but apparently they are as tough as old boots and can survive anything short of a direct nuclear strike (hence the reason so many are planted in cities).

Cutting a strip of bark away round the base is no good, because the council would know there had been foul play, and in their eyes damaging a tree is practically high treason these days and we'd be the prime suspects living right next to the perishing (I wish) thing.

[Mich the Tester]

The water company claim they only own the pipe upto the boundary of the property or location of the water meter.

There's a big difference. I guess you'd have to trudge through years of legal documents to determine which is true.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Who owns the pipe? Isn't the mains water pipe and the bit that goes to your house owned by the water company and used as a means for delivering their product to your home and making a profit from said product?

This is like a furniture company asking you to buy insurance for their delivery vans, or indeed a milkman asking you to insure his float.

The water company claim they only own the pipe upto the boundary of the property or location of the water meter. So the pipe from there to the house itself can be a grey are, either being excluded from some house insurance policies or if the householder has not house insurance then completely uninsured.

[TykeMerc]

Who owns the pipe? Isn't the mains water pipe and the bit that goes to your house owned by the water company and used as a means for delivering their product to your home and making a profit from said product?

This is like a furniture company asking you to buy insurance for their delivery vans, or indeed a milkman asking you to insure his float.

That's the crux of the issue I had to resolve as with an older (150 years) property the Water Board and Council maps are a bit inaccurate and there was protracted debate over who had to pay. The default position of the home insurer was that it was the water companies problem so refused to cough up until the evidence was shoved down their throats. They caved and paid up in the long run though and there was never any debate that the responsibility lay clearly with one of two parties without needing seperate insurance.

[Mich the Tester]

I regularly get letters from the water company trying to sell me pipe insurance - with scare stories along the lines of "if the pipe between your house and the road bursts you could be in for a massive bill" etc...

Does anyone else get these? has anyone bought the insurance? What is the likelihood of such a catastrophic water pipe rupture?

Who owns the pipe? Isn't the mains water pipe and the bit that goes to your house owned by the water company and used as a means for delivering their product to your home and making a profit from said product?

This is like a furniture company asking you to buy insurance for their delivery vans, or indeed a milkman asking you to insure his float.