They've dug the road up outside my house!
 

Dear all,

Came home today to find that the pavement outside my house has been completely dug up, very deeply, by Southern Electricity, COMPLETELY blocking my driveway and I had no knowledge about it!

Are they allowed to do this these days?

I used to work for Thames Water many years ago and the rules around digging and work in the streets were quite strict, with a strong emphasis on keeping people informed.

That ABSOLUTELY has not happened in this case, not even a knock at the door to say "By the way we have arrived today to dig the whole pavement up, which will block your drive completely, for at least one night, do you mind?"

How can this be??

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Asif

I'm no expert but I suspect for emergency works they don't have to give any notice.

It can't be an emergency if they have left it over night. Hotwire the digger and fill it back in. Serves them right! :D ;)

I suspect you may be right, however the digging seems to be around one of those school warning lights, you know, the ones that also come on on Saturday and Sunday during school entry and chucking out time!

Either way, even in an emergency, they should at least knock on the door. The nice but ineffectual lady from the call centre earlier said so too.

I am surfing around trying to find what their Customer Charter or any other such thing exists, where they say what they will endeavour to do etc etc. - you know the sort of guff?

I need that to be able to arm myself with a huge rocket to send up their ar$es tomorrow.

I've got the right hump I tell you!

Asif

LOL, no digger, that really would have upset me. Just a huge mess, they have even erected the safety barriers on my driveway!

They've actually dug right up to it and exposed the underneath of it. One centimetre further and it would be criminal damage.

Problem is, if they dont finish and reinstate the hole by tomorrow, there is nowhere for me to park on the weekend, as there is a yellow line outside my house anyway!

Asif

Get a few stiff planks to drive across to get on your drive, then remove em. That will confuse them ;)

Perhaps use steel as opposed to wood! :D

Depends if its a trench or a huge hole really ;) If its not very wide i've seen thick planks used no problem. Could always fill it and redig it :D

If its an 'emergency' they can dig up whatever they like unfortunately. That doesnt mean that this isnt ****e of course.

Simon

Just give them a call on the number that should appear on the safety barriers. They should have placed a large steel plate over the excavations to allow the residents continued access to their properties.

SIAH
 

Scooby in a hole photographs coming soon :D

LOL at the responses!

"You've got to laugh haven't you?" As they say, anyway what the hell do 'they' know??

I thought about the planks thing, also thought about the SIAH thing!

Made a couple of phone calls this morning, as I suspected, it is not an emergency, it is planned work, at the behest of the local council. Unfortunately, they have absolutely no power or control over these things.

The man from Scottish and Southern Electric, as its called now, was sympathetic, but basically told me that they have every right to dig what they want when they want, without informing anybody, whether its an emergency or not. In addition they could/should leave the hole open for inspection for 7 days before refilling!

Thats company policy and thats what the shareholders want, so obviously that goes! I took some photos this morning of how bad it is.

Council called me back to say, it is not right, they should try to inform people, and they should never completely block peoples driveways. Basically, this has been escalated, and someone will 'do' something about it today. Either they will fill in the hole (as they actually left a huge pile of earth right by the hole) or they will clear it and 'make some other arrangement' presumably something I can drive over.

Would have been a million times simpler if they had just put a card through the door to say, "Sorry folks, but we have to dig up the road today, will take until tomorrow. If longer, we will let you know".

Hey ho.

Asif

Jeremy Beadle will come out dressed up as the contracts manager in T-minus 3 minutes.

You said that they had put barriers on your property - make sure you have photos of this and also take photos of any damage however small to your property i.e. some turf that has been damaged by workmen, etc etc.

LOL, that would be simple then, just chuck him in the hole and bury him!

See if he's 'Game for a Laugh'

Asif

Already done this morning, no damage, but does show the mess they made and the complete intrusiveness and blockage of the barriers.

I would post them up If I knew how!

Asif

Just goes to show the lack of consideration for others these days. I think it is very bad that they can do this with no warning at all.

They always used to inform you and also would provide a method of passing over the roadworks with a steel plate or similar when they were not working there. It is obvious that they just don't give a "stuff" about inconveniencing you.

Road works always used to have to be conducted so that there was still a way of passing around them. These days they just close the entire road so that they cause the maximum trouble for the biggest number of people!

People just don't matter anymore!

Les :(

Sad but true Leslie,

And not just in this instance, but all throughout society.

Asif

Just another excuse for you Brits to whinge, complain and kick up a fuss.

I know lets harrass their call centre, lets whinge, tick and moan about my inconvenience, I bet you would be the first person to complain to SE if your power goes off aswell.

How inconsiderate of SE or any utility company to go about their emergency business without consulting you and asking your permission first!!!

I get the impression that moaning and complaining is becoming a national sport/pasttime in the UK, maybe you should learn abit of patience, tolerance and consideration for others then the UK wouldn't be the **** hole it currently is, and you can't blame that on New Labour or Tony Blair.

Maybe you can use the photos you took to sue them, then they will have to put up everyones electricity bill, then you can whinge and complain that your bills have gone up, and start the whole vendeta again.

He already said it wasn't an emergency but planned work, and the hole prevents driveway use, without permission (or warning), not unreasonable to complain is it?

lol thats a bit harsh, i'd be fcuking steaming as well if someone had indefinately blocked access to my driveway where I keep my car. Doing the work is one thing, but not providing accessto your own property is just ridiculous and fully warrants a complaint.

Say you come home to go to a hospital appointment that you've been waiting a year for and then find your car is locked on your own driveway and there is not time to arrange alternative transport, you miss the appointment just because some fcukwit has decided they don't need to bother to tell you that they are going to block your driveway and access to your own property. A note through the door would allow for alternate plans to have been made.

asif, out of interest, where does your car have to be parked overnight in relation to your insurance cover? if its on your drive, where do you stand if,god forbid, its parked on the street and gets pinched?

I'm on my way to backfill the trench, whereabouts are you ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...low_loader.jpg

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

LOL, thats very funny, but you really should chill out a little!

FWIW I am not a complainer or moaner, just a strong sense of what is right and wrong, what would you have done in the same instance my friend?

FYI, I have received phone calls now from the local authority and SE confirming that regardless of what they were doing they SHOULD NOT have blocked my drive and have apologised profusely, plus an assurance that although it will not be fully reinstated, I will be able to drive over it onto my driveway tonight. So there you have it, completely vindicated, without having to call my solicitor!

The photos were taken at the time because if things had got more serious, in my experience pictures speak a thousand words, they will not be used, the way things stand now.

So there, all over, I hope.

Asif

Sounds like its getting sorted amicably :)

I would have suggested pouring a gallon of shell's best unleaded down the length of the pit and setting it ablaze. That will then get their attention!! :D;)

Thanks for the other comments guys,

I think I was completely right to complain about it, I can't think of anyone who would not.

The Insurance would be ok, Liverpool Victoria - right result.

Terzo - might have needed those to fill the hole back in!

Asif

had similar problem but had 2 JCB's parked on my drive cos they didnt want to park in the road-grrrrr

but shooting off on a tangent

if you had told your insurance that you kept your car garaged overnight (cheaper) then it got nicked cos you hadnt put it in the garage (big hole blocking driveway)

are you still insured?

if not i'm sure wurzel would pay for any losses without complaint

cheers

colin

The road, pavement and any grass verge is deemed public highway and the utilities have a right to occupy them and carry out work if correct Streetworks Notices have been served to the Local Authority (Council).

Nowithstanding this, most utilities make it policy for their own people or their contractors to have to inform any residents or businesses affected by the work prior to it starting. If the work was 'planned work', they would have known about the work for at least 7 working days before it starting. So it is bad form for them not to have informed you.

If you have suffered actual loss (e.g. your car was damaged getting it in or out, you had to pay to park it elsewhere or your property was damaged) you should be able to recover this. If not, the best you can do is write a snotty letter about not being informed and how badly you have been treated.

Was it the EL Company themselves, or a contractor? If it was the latter it would be better to write to the EL Company along the lines of 'look at the type of contractor you are employing....'. It carries more weight that way.

Trying to claim for unquantifiable loss (e.g. disruption) will usually go nowhere. I was a Manager for a telecoms contractor for 10 years- you could always find reasons to explain poor customer communication, sad but true. Only the really bad cases ever got compensated.

asif, make sure before you pusn the "fake" council inspector in the hole, that you have checked he has one hand drastically smaller than the other!!!

apparantly it works well for showing of the size of his appendage to the girlies!!

good luck

BB:)

Glad its sorted now AsifScoob. You were right to complain, its just a matter of common decency for them to ensure that any inconvenience to you is minimal.

Maybe your action will make them think twice in future.

Les