Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

I bought my new cottage in March :D

The survey said it had a septic tank,

that's fine i thought, these typically need empting between 3 & 4 times a year at a cost of £90 a time, that's about right as I wont get charged sewerage charges on the water, and it was emptied on vacation by the previous owners.

It was filled up as of yesterday and they came to take some out... thjey arrive and declare "that's not a septic tank.. that's a cesspool".

Great.. every drop of water that comes into the house goes back out into this tank, having spoken to the emptying company their records indicate that it has been emptied of 15 units (67500 litres) in the past year at a cost of £90 per unit. That makes my drainage cost for the year £1500 + VAT.

In true Alex style, someone has given me duff info and ****ed me over, this time I believe it to be my mortgage company.

I will now not wash on monday wednesday and friday, we I will grow acid friendly plants and wee in the garden, I will use paper plates and not cook soup or other watery items.

right off to roba bank to pay for a Biodisk treatment plant, and bang goes getting another bike ever.... ffs :rolleyes:

I give up

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

ouch~!

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

that is **** news mate

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

you got a freindly neighbouring farming with a slurry tanker?-i'd come to an arrangement with him to clear it once a year and give him a few quid-on the agreement he disposes of the waste along with his slurry

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

Take it up with the surveyors company mate. All surveys have a list of caveats at the end that tries to absolve them of liability but this is simply and error on his part.

Also your solictors "searches" should have brought this up as a cesspoll not septic tank. So there must be someone who didnt give or get the right info for you and you should not have to suffer financially for that.

Its one thing to say the property was built in 1850s and be vague about that but to me this is tantamount to a surveyor saying it has double galzing when it has rickety old sash windows. There is a huge difference and makes a financial difference, hence should have been described properly.

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

Then surely you have some come back as a surveyor should know the damn difference!



Would be cheaper to fit a septic tank. You might find that the reason it has a cesspit is that there is nowhere for the excess water to go from septic tank / mini-treatment plant. I don't know the regulations regarding foul water / septic tanks etc, but I'm sure you need building regs and water board approval.

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

The problem legally lies somewhere, I will dig out all details and see what liability if any lies anywhere, it may well have been inexperience on my behalf as its the first place I have had with a tank or smillar.

The Village has no soakaways or mains drains so the best option is a treatment plant and to have it de sludged I have the professionals coming to give me a price but I am not looking forward to it.

Another way not to do things brought to you by alex.

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

If you have it in writing from a surveyor that it says septic tank I think it would be reasonable to be able to bill them for the excess of emptying a cesspool!

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

depends, the surveyor was only for the property valuation, although I could argue that if I had known it was a cesspool it was worth less? sigh

I give in

Re: Well thats an expensive smelly mistake
 

Yes and he has an obligation to give the correct material facts to both you and the lender to asess the correct value of the property.

Seriously mate, dont give in. I'd firstly suggest a polite letter to you solicitor who did the conveyancing and ask him to confirm the section of the search that relates to this issue. If he was given false or misleading info by the vendors their is ome liability there. Either way the surveyor had an obligation to get it right too.

Dont let their sloppy work cause you to give in mate, they have been paid their fees for a job thats clearly not very well done. They all have liability insurance so its not like you're taking it out on any idividual. DONT let them get away with this, its sloppy, unproffesional and unlimately far more costly to you than you planned it to be so they should be payig for it to be put to how you expected it to be.

You pay these proffesionals to do a job, they clearly failed you mate and thats not on.