What a Stopcock

Well today was meant to be water day - the day that Thames Water had promised to send a man to connect my new pipe provided I give him a cheque for £500 (because my local council charge them that)
Buckinghamshires best plumber/ Heating Engineer/Gas expert  Gary  arrived in the morning to prepare the pipework necessary to go from the new stockcock in the garage to the existing supply inlet, that all went very well with a new temporary pipe conecting the stopcock to the house supply in place  by lunchtime.  Thames water was another story..

Steve (Mr Thames Water) called me just before he arrived at 13:45 and on arrival he explained to me that he was not a fitter - I offered him £500 as advised by the call centre but he told me that for some reason Inspectors were not allowed to take money! It dawned on me that things were not going well.

Steve then explained that there was actually a four step process

1.  Book your survey (I discovered that that was what I had done last week)
2. Get your Survey and and get your reconnection certificate
3. Sign this approval form  add the famous £500 and post it to Thanes Water
4. They will then plan the work and give you a date
5. Come and make the connection..

My opinion of the great Thames Water Customer service that I described in my previous Post has evaporated as the water pipe which by now should have disappeared remains firmly elevated 5 feet above my drive. ..

Steve explained to me that his job was to ensure that the trenches and intenal stopcocks in the house were in line with Thames Water requirements - the mean that everything was to be  750mm deep, we checked the trench and I  explained  that in the end we would have 750mm above the pipe, he was concerned about the depth of the pipe where it entered the garage and he agreed to pass the pipeline preperaton provided I enclose the pipe in a protective conduit to provide additional insulation.( the old pipe was 50mm below the surface so clearly whatever regulations existed in 1960 were ignored , wth hindsight I think I was lucky that this old pipe did not freeze.
So finally Steve told me that provided I complete the agreed works he would issue the certificate.(Thanks Steve)

The signed certificate was posted this afternoon around 16:00  and should be with Thames Water tomorrow morning I will let you know if they come back with a good date tomorrow.
This could potentially delay the project if we cannot get the new pipe connected and buried as this we would pefer to re-align all the services before we continue with thefootings for the walls

So just when I thought that all my utility planning had suceeded it turns out that it was only 2 out of 3 - Something goes wrong in Thames Water Customer Service.