Published on 12, July, 2020
Before I continue, I live in a council house. Earlier this year (I think) a sample had been taken from my son's bedroom wall/ceiling to test for mould. As we had heard nothing back from the council, it came as something of a surprise last week when I heard the unmistakeable sound of scaffolding being erected outside the front of my home.
Shortly after 9am this morning, I could hear sounds and realised that work had commenced on my roof. I felt mildly frustrated that the roofers hadn't thought to notify me of their arrival and explain what they were intending to do. As a tenant, I like to take an interest when work is undertaken at my home. I don't mean in the sense of being in the way and watching whilst work is undertaken, but I do like to be kept informed.
After approximately twenty minutes, the two roofers drove off. I'm now sitting here not knowing if they have completed what they came here to do, or if they are simply taking a break to get some brunch and will be returning. Only time will tell, I guess.
Not giving any warning before turning off water could be dangerous, what if you'd of had a load of washing in the machine? It would of been trying to heat the non existant water and could of caused a fire. I wondr who's responsibility that would of been?
Exactly what should still happen, it’s not hard to know which properties are going to be affected and notify them, especially in this day and age when people have online accounts for utilities as well
To have your water shut off without any warning whatsoever is awful. As you say, the fact that you received no communication before, during, or after, really is baffling. And to think that it was almost a fortnight before your water supply was turned back on.
It's going back a few decades, but I remember my water board shutting off the water supply to replace old water pipes. Fortunately, myself and my neighbours were notified by letter beforehand. We were warned in the letter that when the water supply was turned back on, to expect the water to appear dirty for a day or so afterwards.
Unfortunately Shardovan, I am going to need to chase up the council... Ugh! Now that the roof has been done, I need to establish if there are plans to undertake any work in my son's bedroom.
I can appreciate how you must have felt regarding the recent event with your water board, and am in agreement that an NT would have found it equally as perplexing.
It's possible that because access inside my home wasn't required, then maybe they saw no reason to keep me in the loop.
I'm just thankful that I hadn't been out (or sound asleep) when the roofers turned up, otherwise I wouldn't have known that the roofing work had been done.
The water board completely shut my (busy) road right at the edge of my driveway for nearly 2 weeks with no warning so they could replace some external stopcocks (including mine) They even switched the water off without even knocking when there were cars on the driveway. Then I had to go out and buy bottled water because it was filthy where they’d connected the new pipes up in a muddy hole. Never heard anything from them at all before, during or after the whole process. Not even a warning letter through the door or email. It’s quite baffling actually
I think it's very rude as well as frustrating, why can't they let you know? We've got evry more ways of communicating with people than we've ever had before and yet nobody seems to think to use it.
'Moves like a secret agent' - that's brilliant, thanks for the laugh :-)
It's crazy when that sort of stuff happens. A little advanced notice would be the ideal, but a knoc
k on the door before and after to explain the work and - crucially! - the outcome would seem to be pretty essential to any kind of peace of mind. I hope you get some reassuring answer, but it's the chasing it up that's such an avoidable pain and faff they've given you there.
I had a similar thing come up recently where people from the water board who'd intially (to be fair) knocked my door to tell me what work they'd been doing once a neighbour's car was moved just disappeared a few mins later, with the work undone and the car where it was. A further door knock would have let me know the score, when instead I had to start calling up the water board to see what the workers recorded re: that job, if/when they'd be back etc. All very perplexing - I'm sure an NT would be scratching their head just as much about these things... wouldn't they? And yet it also seems all too common NT behaviour to leave people needlessly in the dark.
It is frustrating, but as it can be par for the course, I try to accept it, albeit somewhat begrudgingly.
You have my sympathy regarding your own situation. I must admit that when I need to report repairs, I can have a tendency to procrastinate and put it off. When I do bite the bullet though and make the phone call, it is rarely as bad as I have imagined it to be.
I don't find it stressful as such, but it can certainly be frustrating. In the past I have spoken with council contractors and workmen employed directly by my council. Most seem to be in agreement that my council aren't always the best at keeping people informed... including their own employees.Yes, I can see how the sight of someone you were not expecting... and especially not in your garden... would have been unnerving. However, your account made me chuckle, and I'm glad you're now able to see the funny side. Did you consider contacting the water company to say you thought he had missed his vocation in life?
That sounds both frustrating and stressful to have to endure. It never ceases to amaze me how people - especially professionals - are so unprofessional and do things like this. It never hurts to send a text, email or call. But a lot of the time they don't.
You've reminded me of last year when there was worries of an underground pipe leaking and I was sat in the living room and suddenly there was a knock on the patio french doors and it was a man. Turned out he was from the water company, he was in my garden having scaled the fence and wanted to put this rod stick thingy through the grass to check the water.
I nearly had a heart attack that day. When he checked mine he climbed the fence in to my neighbours garden. He was wasted with the water company, the way he stalked about he had moves like a secret agent
But they didn't even say he was coming. At the time it was stressful and frustrating but looking back now I can see the funny side of it.
This really must be frustrating. We own our house and it is a constant source of frustration to my wife that I can never quite organise repairs. i can never quite explain the anxiety of calling people and them likely being really boisterous in personality and random timekeepers. I can only imagine what it is like having no control at all.