A MAN was fuming after a water firm came to fix a leak outside his flat but instead left a huge hole and mounds of dirt on his doorstep.
Denis Castro, 53, says Thames Water even threatened to charge him for the work – despite leaving the dripping mess for weeks.
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The delivery driver, from Wimbledon, south west London, said the situation has been causing him “a lot of stress” as he has struggled to find a solution.
He told The Sun: “I called Thames Water, and they even agreed with me and said ‘someone will call you tomorrow’.
“That was a week ago, and they never got in touch with me.
“They need to get their act together – they just don’t care.”
Denis said the ordeal unfolded when the water company sent him a letter informing him he had a leak in his pipe.
As well as alerting him to the issue, it also warned Thames Water had “legal powers” to force him to repair it.
This was followed by another letter a few days later, which Denis said left him feeling “quite upset”.
“It was threatening and abusive,” he said.
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“They said that I had to fix it myself otherwise they would send somebody, then send me the bill and charge me.”
“But it’s got nothing to do with me, I rent it from the council.”
A week following the second letter, workers came to fix the broken pipe on August 4 – but Denis said they “didn’t do anything” except leave the mess on his doorstep.
“It’s now going to be two weeks that the hole has been left like that.
“There is still all that soil there, and the hole is open and it’s just been left.
“They don’t care. If they did, as soon as they found that leak they would have just fixed it.”
Denis added that he felt the situation has been made worse by the imminent hosepipe ban in his area, set to hit him and 15 million other customers from August 24.
“Even though they’re imposing this hosepipe ban on people, they then discover this leak and it’s still leaking there to this day,” he fumed.
“At first, I was actually relieved that they had come to fix the leak. But then they just left it there and it’s been two weeks now.
“It’s Thames Water’s problem. The workers that day came to fix the issue, but for some reason they left and didn’t fix it, and it has just been left the way it is.”
It’s got nothing to do with me, I rent it from the council.
Denis Castro
Thames Water confirmed it uncovered a leak coming from Denis’ home in June.
A spokesperson added: “Our team then reached out by both telephone and letter in June and July but did not receive a response from the customer regarding fixing the leak.
“Our engineers then attended the customer’s home on August 14 and were able to conduct a partial repair.
“Due to the complexities of the job, they will need to return and aim to do so within the next month.
“We are sorry to hear that the area around the pipe has not been left as Mr Castro would have liked.
“We’ve shared this with our dedicated customer service team, who will investigate and be in touch to provide an update.”
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