Decision report 201102413

Summary
Mr C complained that Scottish Water were not supplying water to a stopcock at the boundary of his new property. He said that he was getting his water through a supply pipe that passed through his neighbours’ homes. However, we found that Scottish Water are only responsible for the water main and the communication pipe up to and including the boundary of the road. Many properties have a shared water supply and are not connected directly to the communication pipe. In such properties, the owners of the properties are responsible for the shared supply pipe.

Some of Mr C’s pipes were made of lead, which is no longer considered to be appropriate. Scottish Water told Mr C to apply to have his pipes replaced. They said that he would have to install a new supply pipe to the property boundary, and they would then connect the property to the main pipe free of charge. Mr C said that he sent the application form to Scottish Water, but they lost it. We found no evidence that Scottish Water had lost the form or that their communication with him was poor.

Mr C also said that Scottish Water told him that they would arrange for water and sewerage charges to be taken off his council tax bill. He said that he had been unable to use these services when he first moved into the property. We did not find any evidence that Scottish Water told Mr C that he would receive a refund of the charges, or that they subsequently changed their mind about this.