A family from Lancashire has been left with a 30-metre trench outside of their home after claiming they were given misinformation from United Utilities.
An inspector from the national water company visited the Walton-Le-Dale area on October 1, 2021 following an unusual amount of high water usage in South Ribble, including the house of Vincenzo and Lisa Pranzo.
After an inspection around the property and driveway, the United Utilities worker told Mrs Pranzo that there was a leak and that work was needed to be carried out despite there being no pipework in the area where the leak was reported to have been.
Mrs Panzo explained: "He said to us, 'yeah you've definitely got a leak', who am I to argue with someone who works for United Utilities and he is supposedly qualified.
"They came back and dug underneath where the wall is and I mean there's no water visible but he listens and says 'yeah the leak is definitely under your house' so then obviously you go into panic mode.
"He's explained to me, as the leak's under my property, United Utilities don't fix it, I'm liable to fix that."
This left the couple with two options: dig a trench and get a stop tap or pay £2500 for a company to use a mole.
However whilst deliberating which option to carry out in the lead up to Christmas, Vincenzo noticed a sinkhole had appeared at the top of the driveway and the family knew there was a pipe underneath due to previous work.
Following a re-inspection, the same United Utilities worker reportedly described the leak as a "random pool of water", according to Lisa.
She added: "He turned up laughing, he's not taking us on, he's telling me first, it's a random pool of water that's appeared. Well I've lived in this house for 14 years and I've never seen, even in the most torrential rain, a random pool of water.
"My house is on an incline, the path is a about 30cm higher than the front of the house. He's then trying to tell me that the water that's pooled at the top of the path is due to the leak under the house.
"I said 'I'm not being funny and I'm obviously not a plumber myself but water doesn't run up hill.'"
Vincenzo and his eldest son decided to dig a hole at the top of the driveway to prove where the leak was coming from and despite removing all of the water, the hole soon filled up once again.
The Pranzo family showed their findings to the inspector but they were dismissed, according to Lisa, which led to the decision of digging up the trench to complete the work.
Mrs Pranzo applied for the Lead Replacement Scheme, which gives customers a grant to pay for the replacement fixture, through United Utilities before Vincenzo spent three weeks digging the 30-metre trench from the driveway and around the property.
The family requested another inspection from the company and the new inspector raised the job for the following morning, with the faulty pipe fixed where the Pranzos initially said it was.
Although the leak was fixed, the large trench was still present outside the property. This caused problems for the couple's youngest son who was put on antibiotics after injuring his foot.
The cost of the leak repair was covered by the company, however, the incident still left a sour taste in Mrs Pranzo's mouth as the family foot the bill with filling the trench.
"We've invested a lot of money in this house and it's one of the only things we've got of any worth and they've made us do that to our house for no reason," she said.
"The least that they should have done is offer to help us put it straight. This is going to cost me money now for a skip, put the patios back and ordering sand and cement.
"It's just been a nightmare from start to finish and if United Utilities trained these people better, who went round with these listening devices, we wouldn't be in this situation we're in now.
United Utilities stated that their policy stands as such that private home owners are responsible for the maintenance of water supply pipes that bring water into their homes from the mains on the street. On both occasions the leaks were on Mrs Pranzo’s property.
A United Utilities spokesperson, said: "We are sorry that Mrs Pranzo is disappointed with the service she has received.
"Whilst we will try to help customers when a leak has been identified on their property it is ultimately their responsibility to maintain the water supply pipe to their home.
"We are still in contact with the customer and are working with them to resolve the issue."
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