Choosing a drainage company: seven questions worth asking first
Most complaints about drainage firms trace back to something that was never agreed on the phone. Seven questions, two minutes, and the visit goes differently.
Is the price fixed or hourly?
The single biggest source of disputes. An hourly rate with no cap means the incentive runs the wrong way, and a job quoted at an attractive rate can arrive at an unrecognisable total.
Ask for a fixed price for the clearance, agreed before work starts, and ask what happens if the drain turns out to need more than clearing. A firm that will not answer that on the phone will not answer it in your driveway either. Brackets and what moves them: what drain repair costs in London.
Is there a call-out charge?
Some firms charge for arriving, separately from the work. That is a legitimate model, but you should know before booking, especially at two in the morning when it is easy not to ask.
Ask specifically whether the charge applies if the fault turns out not to be yours, which is the case where people feel most aggrieved.
What if the drain is the water company’s?
Since the 2011 transfer a large share of London pipework belongs to Thames Water, who attend faults on their own network at no cost to you. A contractor who clears it anyway and invoices you has done work you did not need to buy.
Ask directly: will you tell me if this is not mine? We do, including on the occasions it costs us the job. Background: who is responsible for a blocked drain.
Do you locate the fault or just clear it?
Clearing a blockage tells you nothing about why it formed. If a drain has blocked twice in a year, the third clearance is money spent on a symptom.
Ask whether a camera goes down afterwards, and whether you get the footage. See what a survey actually shows.
Three more, then book
- What do I get in writing? Position, depth, cause and grading. This is what insurers, freeholders and buyers’ solicitors all ask for later.
- Is the work guaranteed, and for how long? A repair should carry one. A clearance normally does not, and a firm claiming otherwise is worth a second look.
- Who is actually attending? Some national brands subcontract locally, which is fine when it is said up front and awkward when it is not.
Then check the answers against what turns up. What a properly run visit looks like: an emergency call-out, step by step, or see our prices.