How Not to Get Ripped Off When You Call an Emergency Drainage Company

The simplest way not to get ripped off by an emergency drainage company is to agree the price for the time you are calling in before anyone travels, find out exactly what that price includes, and refuse to approve any repair on the night that the engineer cannot show you on camera. Most overcharging happens in the gap between the number quoted on the phone and the invoice written on the doorstep. Close that gap before the van sets off and most of the risk goes with it.

Why night call-outs are where overcharging happens

A drain blocked at night puts you under pressure, and pressure is what a bad operator relies on. You are not comparing quotes, you want the water gone, and you will agree to most things that sound like they will make it stop.

Some of the risk comes before anyone arrives. Many numbers that appear at the top of a search are call centres that pass the job to whichever contractor is free. The person on the phone may not set the price, and the engineer who turns up may work to a different price list. That is not always dishonest, but it is where the figure you were told and the figure you are charged tend to drift apart.

Five questions to ask before anyone travels

Ask these on the phone and write the answers down. A company that will not answer them clearly is telling you something. For the wider checks before you pick a firm at all, see our guide on how to choose a drainage company in London.

• What is the price for this time of day? Is it a fixed figure for the job, or a call-out fee plus an hourly rate? If hourly, is there a minimum, and how is part of an hour charged?
• What does that price include? Attendance, the clearance, jetting if it is needed, and a camera check to confirm the drain is flowing? Or are any of those extras?
• What happens if you cannot clear it? Do you still pay the full call-out for a failed attempt?
• Are there any other charges? Parking, congestion charge, waste disposal, a report fee, VAT on top of the figure quoted?
• Who is coming? Your own engineer or a subcontractor, and will they be working to the price you have just given me?

Ask for the agreed figure by text or email before the engineer sets off. It takes the company thirty seconds and settles most arguments later.

Warning signs when the engineer arrives

The biggest warning sign is a price that changes on the doorstep before any work has started. The drain has not changed since your phone call, so the price should not have either.

Other things worth pausing on:

• A bigger job than the symptoms suggest. A single blocked basin with every other fitting working does not usually need the whole system jetted.
• Pressure to decide immediately. Clearing a blockage is urgent. Almost nothing else a drainage engineer can sell you has to be decided that night.
• Cash only, or no written invoice. A legitimate business can give you an invoice with its name, address and a breakdown of what was done.
• Charges for things you never discussed. Equipment hire, a report administration fee or an arrival surcharge that did not come up on the phone.

You are entitled to say no, pay for what was agreed and done, and get a second opinion on anything else.

The "your drain has collapsed" conversation

If an engineer tells you the drain is cracked, collapsed or full of roots, ask to see it on the camera screen, and ask for the recording. A structural diagnosis without footage is not a diagnosis.

Real faults are common in older London drains, so the claim may be true. But a repair is a separate job from the clearance, and once the drain is flowing it can almost always wait a few days while you get a second quote. Ask where the defect is, measured in metres from which chamber, and what size and material the pipe is. A genuine finding comes with those details. If you want an independent look, a CCTV drain survey with a written report gives you something to compare quotes against, and your insurer may want to see it before any work is done.

Be particularly wary of relining or excavation quoted and started on the same night as a blockage. There is very rarely a reason it cannot wait until daylight.

Check whether it is even your drain to pay for

Some blockages are not the homeowner's responsibility at all, and paying anyone for them is money you did not need to spend.

In England, pipes that serve more than one property and run outside your boundary are usually the responsibility of the water company, and they clear them without charging you. In a block of flats, a blocked shared run is normally a matter for the freeholder or managing agent. If your inspection chamber is empty but a neighbour's is full, or several houses are affected at once, call your water company before a private contractor. Our guide to who is responsible for a shared drain explains how to tell.

If you think you have been overcharged

Ask for an itemised invoice first. It is often the quickest way to find out whether a charge was a misunderstanding or a problem.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, and where no price was agreed beforehand you only have to pay a reasonable one. If you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, your card provider may be jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. For debit card payments, ask your bank about a chargeback. The Citizens Advice consumer helpline can advise on your options and passes complaints to Trading Standards.

Paying by card, rather than cash, keeps those routes open. It is worth doing even when everything goes well.

How we price, so you can hold us to it

We price by time band: 7am to 5pm, 5pm to midnight, and midnight to 7am. The figure for the band you are calling in is agreed on the phone before anyone travels, and it does not change when the engineer arrives.

The clearance price covers attendance, the clearance itself and a camera check to confirm the drain is flowing. Anything that is a different job, such as a repair or a tanker, is quoted separately and only done if you agree. If we attend a confirmed blockage and cannot clear it, you do not pay for the attempt; the exact terms are in our no clear, no charge guide. Current figures for each band are on the pricing page. If your problem can wait until the morning, we will tell you that too.