Water Don't Get Done Get Dom

'My name is Dominic Littlewood,

'and I'm passionate about taking on your consumer battles.

'In fact, taking companies to task has become my goal in life.'

Could you let her know that I tried to call?

Cos she's probably quite keen to speak to me, actually.

'Big or small, no company is excused from my quest to ensure that

'you get what you're entitled to.'

I'm getting the impression you don't want to actually answer

any questions now, is that correct?

'Whether you've not got what you paid for...'

It judders, hesitates, as you're changing from first to second gear.

'Or getting to the bottom of what to do

'if it turns out a product isn't right for you.'

The whole experience is rather off-putting

and, to my way of thinking, not any use at all.

'Whatever the issues, I'm here to help.'

'Today, home is meant to be our safe haven, but I help a couple

'whose property dreams have

'turned into a living nightmare.'

This is our first house together.

We don't want this. Do we?

No, we don't.

Nobody would want this. Nobody would want this.

Also, what you can do when you're let down by the very company

you're paying to protect you.

I was just looking for something that was no hassle.

Not overly expensive and, if the worst were to happen,

it would get sorted out pretty quickly.

And I give you the lowdown on what some of those tricky

Ts&Cs actually mean.

I think that "reasonable" could be reasonable to one person

and completely unreasonable to another person.

I'm taking on your consumer problems to make

sure you don't get done.

After years of waiting, you finally find your dream home

and you're looking forward to many happy times there.

But what happens when those dreams get washed down the drain?

Lisa Murch and her fiance Kenny Thompson from Essex know

exactly what this is like after repeated

flooding of their home from a sewage drain.

It was like something in your worst nightmare.

The place was covered in faeces and dirty water.

Urine...

Unimaginable. Horrible.

But when they complained to their water company,

they didn't get the help they hoped for.

There was nothing we could do.

All we could do was watch water and sewage coming into your house.

This definitely isn't the home sweet home that Lisa and Kenny

thought they'd bought when they moved in nearly two years ago.

We knew we wanted to buy a nice house together.

We had an idea of what sort of house we wanted.

Nice house, nice garden, two or three bedrooms,

just something that we can live in and enjoy living in.

After months and months of looking, they finally found what

they thought was their perfect home in Laindon, Essex.

It was exciting to find this house.

Luckily, me and Kenny have got the same vision

and we wanted the same things out of the house.

It's got a nice big driveway, we can have a double garage.

We've got a lovely garden, can have people round.

We can have friends round, we can entertain, which neither of us

had been able to do before.

That's what we wanted out of our house, didn't we? Yeah.

We fell in love with this place.

We absolutely fell in love with it.

And, here we are.

-Here we are.

-Here we are.

Lisa and Kenny moved in in April 2012,

but just a few months later,

they were woken in the early hours by heavy rain.

I came down into the kitchen.

I looked out the window,

saw there was lots of water on the patio. So I came in here.

Stupidly, I opened up the back door, to find that there was lots

of water out in the garden.

It was all coming in over the step.

Lots of water and sewage water all gushing through in here.

It was all coming up the side of the fridge and the freezer

and the washing machine.

We had lots of towels down in the kitchen, but the water still got in.

We had raw sewage flooding through here, as well.

When they took a look in the garden,

it was clear where the waste was coming from.

We came out into this area, which was totally covered in faeces.

Tissues, just...

unimaginable.

Everywhere. All over the patio.

And it was all coming from this sink waste gully.

The couple spared no time trying to get the problem sorted.

Our first phone call was to Anglian Water,

which, you know, we pay our money to them

and they are the people who should come and help us.

We called them and they said we were in a waiting list,

that they would have somebody with us as soon as possible.

In the meantime, raw sewage was flowing straight through our house.

Someone did come out later in the day that day,

but by the time they had come out, all the water had subsided

and there was nothing for them to see.

They gave us a report number and they went away and that was it.

We didn't hear any more from them.

They decided not to claim on their insurance

and clear the mess up themselves,

as they didn't want their insurance premiums to be affected.

But this wasn't a one-off and, in November,

exactly the same thing happened again.

Anglian Water came out and flushed the drains,

thinking that the floods were due to blockages in the pipes

caused by deposits of fats, oils and grease.

But, a few weeks later came flood number three.

I got up on Christmas morning, went and had a cup of tea

and called Kenny again and said,

"We're flooding again. Happy Christmas."

So, instead of opening presents,

we were sifting out all the sewage again on Christmas morning.

-So, that put all our Christmas Day plans back, didn't it?

-Certainly did.

Anglian Water came out and, yet again, they flushed the pipes.

And, for seven months, Lisa and Kenny had a flood-free existence.

The August flood, that was our last flooding we had.

It was probably the worst flooding we had,

cos it was terrible weather.

It was coming in through our patio door.

We had just literally had our oak wood floor

all finished and varnished.

That was underwater.

The bottom of our kitchen cupboards were ruined that time.

It all came into the extension.

It was quite deep, it was over my ankles.

We had to put a claim in on our home insurance,

because it was quite a lot of damage, mainly to the floor.

For the first time, Lisa and Kenny claimed on their insurance.

They had to pay their £100 excess,

but the cost of the flooding didn't end there.

I have spoken to the home insurance company,

and they said that if we don't get the problem with the drains

solved, they won't be able to insure us again, because they don't

cover flooding on houses and we would have to go to a specialist company.

I phoned up the specialist company

and it's looking like our renewal will probably go up by nearly double,

maybe triple what we had to pay last time, because of the flooding.

It's not only an unacceptable situation,

but it's now turning into a costly one, too.

Anglian Water have refunded the couple's annual sewerage

charges after the floods in 2012 and 2013.

This totalled a refund of £397.36.

But the couple still aren't happy.

We don't want Anglian Water to keep paying us money.

After two floods, they've sent us a cheque in the post

for £100 here and £100 there.

I've told them on many occasions, we don't want compensation

and we don't want money.

What we want is for someone to come out and fix the problem.

We want them to fix the drains and stop us from being flooded again.

I just cannot explain how angry, how frustrated, you know...

Of course, you want to blame everybody,

but it was, like...

Anglian Water, why are you letting this happen to us?

Lisa and Kenny feel under constant threat and,

with the Great British weather what it is,

they're worried these sewers are going to flood again soon.

So I need to be getting my finger out on this one.

Anglian Water supplies water and environmental services to more than

six million domestic and business customers in the East of England.

They are the largest water and water recycling company

by geographic area and they have

over 112,000 kilometres of water and sewage pipes.

And, with over 4,000 people working for them,

I'm hoping someone will help us.

'My team have made contact with Anglian Water and we've sent them

'a list of questions.

'Hopefully, we'll hear back from them soon.'

In 2012, there were two million mobile phone thefts.

That's one every 24 seconds.

I was very good at maths at school.

But, you'd think, with that many thefts, insurance companies would be

well versed on how to deal with a claim quickly and efficiently.

But one victim's insurance company's tone left him

feeling a little bit more than disconnected.

PHONES RING

Back in autumn 2012, Zeke Iddon, a writer and online reviewer,

treated himself to a brand spanking new smartphone.

The phone I got was an iPhone 4.

I'm self-employed, so having a phone is really important to me.

And I use it all the time.

Using his phone for both business and pleasure,

Zeke did what millions of us do

and started looking into protection for these expensive bits of kit.

When it came to insurance,

I was just looking for something that was no hassle,

not overly expensive and, if the worst were to happen, it would get

sorted out pretty quickly and I'd get my phone back without any hassle.

12 million mobile phone users

in the UK choose, like Zeke,

to take out insurance on their phone.

So it's no wonder it's a market worth £620 million.

The massive growth in the industry is partly due to smartphones

and just how much they cost to replace.

With that in mind, one company seemed to promise Zeke

exactly what he was looking for.

I first encountered Protect Your Bubble,

I think it was through TV adverts.

They were really ramping up at the time.

'When Squeak ruined his laptop,

'he didn't have to splash out for a new one.

'Thanks to protectyourbubble.com, when Squeak lost his iPod,

'he wasn't downbeat for long.'

They caught me in a sweet spot,

because I was looking for insurance, they were there.

Everything seemed nice and cosy, so I just went with those guys.

Protect Your Bubble is an insurance company that prides

itself on making insurance simple to understand and to buy.

Launched in 2008, they have

over three quarters of a million customers in the UK and abroad.

They specialise on insurance for gadgets,

just like Zeke's smartphone.

Actually getting the cover through Protect Your Bubble

was very, very simple -

I think I did it in a two minute phone call -

they were very courteous and professional on the phone.

I was satisfied at that point.

But Zeke's bubble was about to burst.

About six months after taking out the insurance cover

I was at a concert in London.

I went to take a photo of the band,

put my hand into my pocket and, to my horror, it was not there.

Zeke's mobile had been pickpocketed from him

and he wasn't the only one.

Ten other people at the concert that night had also lost their phones.

The very next morning, I got straight on the phone to the police

and registered the crime.

I also spoke to my service provider and got the phone blocked.

And then, of course, spoke to Protect Your Bubble.

Firstly, I was on hold for a good half an hour.

And then, Protect Your Bubble said that it was a loss

and not a theft, because it hadn't been forcibly taken from me.

'When Squeak had his iPhone stolen,

'he knew it could be replaced within 48 hours.'

Although Zeke had been pickpocketed just like Squeak,

Protect Your Bubble told him that, under their terms and conditions,

he would have to claim for a loss and fork out a £75 excess charge -

£25 more than if it had been classed as theft.

After they told me that it was a loss

and therefore would have a higher excess payment, I just went with it.

I really needed the phone back there and then, so I accepted it

and they sent through the loss form,

which I filled out and sent back.

And that's when the waiting game began.

PHONES RING

Despite having sent back the claim form

and the crime reference number,

Zeke heard nothing for a week.

So I did what anyone would do and I tried to call them.

And he did just that, on an old spare low-tech phone.

I quickly realised that there was no way to contact Protect Your Bubble

without going through a premium rate number, which is infuriating,

given that I was the one having to chase them in the first place.

But Zeke eventually got through.

At the end of that call, they told me

that I needed to wait for a three-way call,

that they would conduct between myself and the service provider

to find out from the service provider whether I'd blocked the phone.

They didn't give me any idea of when this three-way call would happen,

so I hung up and patiently waited.

Maybe Protect Your Bubble are just being thorough.

You know, crossing their T's and dotting the I's.

Then I got an e-mail which confused and angered me.

They said that they were waiting for a crime reference number

on the loss claim.

Right, now things were getting strange.

Number one - why do Protect Your Bubble

need a three-way call to confirm he's blocked his own phone?

Number two - Zeke had already sent a crime reference number.

And number three - why would the insurers need it when they had

considered his phone going walkies a "loss" and not a theft?

At this point, I am getting really furious at the company.

Weeks have passed, I have to chase them to move

the process along every step of the way and I'm at the end of my tether.

Three weeks had passed since the original "loss" of his phone

and Zeke's still smartphone-less.

So, not quite the 48 hours

they suggested an advert.

Zeke wrote to the company, telling them of his intentions

if they didn't call him back.

There is one particular website that I write regularly for

and I decided to use my standing there to write about

Protect Your Bubble and chronicle the journey I'd had with them.

And, guess what? They never called him back,

so Zeke got writing on his blog.

As soon as it went up, I was getting e-mails

and comments from people who had exactly the same story as me.

Protect Your Bubble immediately e-mailed Zeke and then

a manager contacted him, saying they would personally handle his claim.

A few days later, the post came.

When they finally sent me a phone,

it was a replacement iPhone 4, refurbished, but it was fine.

I didn't care at that point.

I got it out of the box

and I was thrilled that that nightmare was finally over.

And it didn't work.

I was back to square one.

I sent the phone back, I didn't have a phone and they were taking

a long time to rearrange a replacement to the replacement.

And, being at the end of my tether,

I just e-mailed them and said,

"Look, I'm going out to buy a phone out of my own pocket.

"You guys can pay me back." And that's what I did.

And, would you Adam and Eve it? Protect Your Bubble agreed.

They refunded Zeke the full amount for the phone he bought.

However, despite winning in the end, Zeke has been left less than happy.

Overall, based on my experiences with Protect Your Bubble,

quite frankly, I am disgusted at how badly they treat people.

Not just myself, but the many customers I've spoken to.

They don't want to know.

They're very quick to take your money

and not very keen to give it back when you do have a legitimate claim.

'I wrote to Protect Your Bubble about Zeke's experiences in 2011

'and they told me that...'

They...

But it seems Zeke may have effected a result

for more than just him.

They go on to say that, since his case...

Good work, Protect Your Bubble,

and very good work, Zeke.

If I had to give advice to anyone in a similar sticking point

with their insurer, I would recommend to keep records of absolutely

every communication you have with them.

Keep going, as well.

Perseverance with a lot of these companies is a big thing.

And, also, it is important to mention, make sure you're right.

Spot-on, Zeke. That does tend to help.

Many people just accept it when things don't go their way.

It shows that if you really, really feel you've been wronged,

it's worth a fight to put it right.

Lisa and Kenny moved into their dream home only to find that

every few months, they were being flooded by raw sewage.

I took a video of when the water was coming into the extension

and, you can see how deep it was there.

That's just me wading through

into the front of the house.

The smell was absolutely awful.

If you imagine just raw sewage.

It was a damp smell, it was horrible.

Just can't believe it happened, really.

But not just once, it's happened four times.

It's a murky situation that could happen to any one of us.

But Lisa and Kenny knew exactly who to complain to -

Anglian Water,

their water and sewerage operator.

Homeowners used to be responsible for their sewers

and most people didn't even realise that until they had a problem

and then they were presented with a costly bill.

But in October 2011, that all changed

and this is how it now works.

Essentially, homeowners are responsible for the sewers

up to the edge of the boundary of their property

and beyond that, it's the water and sewage company's responsibility.

So homeowners should be safe from any nasty surprises.

Well, unless you're Lisa and Kenny, of course.

It's a new house. It's our first house together.

We're getting married, we don't want this.

-Do we?

-No, we don't want it.

Nobody would want this. Nobody would want this.

'It's just over a week since I contacted Anglian Water

'and they've sprung into action.

'They've sent a team out to Lisa and Kenny's home

'to carry out an investigation

'and it's not long before they're back in touch with an update.'

They've said the couple's house is at a low point

and when there's heavy rain, that's when they're seeing the flooding.

Now, what they say they're going to do

is bolt down a manhole cover and also fit an NRV,

a non-return valve, and, hopefully, that will be the end of the problem.

That sounds like great news.

A non-return valve should stop water flowing back up the pipes

and into Lisa and Kenny's garden and home.

If it works, that could be my job done already.

But Kenny has some concerns.

My take on it is that it's a quick, cheap fix.

They are not addressing the bigger issue.

Hear, hear, Kenny.

I want to know why the sewers are flooding in the first place.

They've been cleaned out, so we know there aren't any blockages,

but they are still overflowing.

They may be fitting a non-return valve,

which might stop the flooding at least from Kenny's,

but will it surface somewhere else in the street?

Or, in the neighbour's garden, perhaps?

'And I've a few other questions for Anglian Water,

'so I think it's time to get on the phone.'

PHONE RINGS

Can I speak to Emma, please?

It's Dominic from Don't Get Done Get Dom.

'I get through to a very helpful lady in the press office,

'although it's not the same person I've been e-mailing.'

We've already had some correspondence to-ing and fro-ing

with you guys at Anglian Water about a couple living in

Laindon in Essex who've had some problems.

Is that something you would be familiar with,

or is it Emma I need to speak to?

'Emma's not in, but I am able to leave a list of questions for her.'

Can you give us a reason why it took four floodings

for something to actually take place?

Why wasn't something done about it after the first flooding?

'I'd also like to know who is actually responsible

'for sorting out the damage that the couple were left with.'

Are homeowners expected to use their own insurance company

in a situation like this, or should they be able to

contact Anglian Water, you guys investigate,

sort everything out with as little inconvenience to the homeowners

and inexpensive as possible?

And, the reason I ask that is,

because if it's down to the homeowners

to use their own insurance company to rectify any

damage that might have been done,

where do homeowners stand as far as their excess being increased

or insurance companies actually refusing to insure them in future?

'That's something I want Anglian Water to think about,

'so I give them a couple of days to get back to me.'

OK, if you can tell Emma, I'll give her a call, Tuesday or Wednesday,

and so if she can have those answers for me,

that would be ever so helpful. Thanks very much. Bye-bye.

Said I'll give her a ring next week,

so hopefully she's had time to get me an answer.

But, unfortunately, we have to make contact with

Anglian Water the very next day.

Kenny had his reservations about the NRV

and if and where the sewage could possibly resurface.

And it didn't take long to find out.

Kenny and Lisa woke this morning to find yet more

sewage in the garden.

Hiya. We've been flooded again this morning at our property,

for the fifth time

in under two years.

But we haven't been flooded with rainwater,

we've been flooded with raw sewage.

It's exactly what they hoped wouldn't happen.

OK, thank you very much. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Anglian Water are going to send out a team to investigate why

the couple have flooded again.

'And I've been doing some of my own research.'

I want to find out for myself what Anglian Water could

and, reportedly, should be doing about this situation.

Fortunately, there's an organisation out there

set up to help people in their hour of need,

called the CCW, the Consumer Council for Water.

'And, one of their managers,

'Steve Grebby, has kindly agreed to meet with me.'

Obviously, you know about Lisa and Kenny's issue.

What do you think of that?

Sewer flooding is a horrendous issue.

For sewage to come back up a pipe

and into somebody's living room is not what anybody wants.

And it's one of the worst things that can happen to

a water and sewerage customer.

'I've explained to Steve that Anglian Water have fitted an NRV

'and bolted down a manhole cover,

'but I want to find out if the NRV

'was the right piece of kit for the job.'

Surely, if there's a water problem there

and you put in one of these NRV valves,

when it stops, at this section,

you'll be OK, but at that section,

if there's heavy rain, it's just going to fill up.

It is going to fill up.

And it can come out in other places.

'And that's exactly what seems to have happened to Lisa and Kenny.'

-Is it a final solution?

-It's not a final solution.

It won't solve the problem,

because the problem is with the main sewer in some way, shape or form.

Anglian Water need to investigate what the problem is with

the sewer and to take actions beyond just fitting a valve

and bolting down the cover.

What else could Anglian Water be doing

to try and alleviate this problem?

They can also put sensors in the sewer.

These sensors tell the water company when there's a problem with

the sewer, when it's filling up, so they have the opportunity to

then go out and resolve the problem

before it affects customers' properties.

So, ideally, Anglian Water need to put in sensors and,

if those sensors go off, they should be there PDQ,

Pretty damn quick, to try and sort them out.

And, initially, they should be trying to sort out whatever

the problems are further back down the line.

-Absolutely.

-Brilliant, just what I wanted to hear.

-Steve, thanks ever so much for your time.

-Very welcome.

'Steve's cleared up a lot for me, but I'm starting to wonder just

'how long flooding has been an issue in Lisa and Kenny's Street.'

When the couple bought the house, it had no history of flooding,

so they had no reason to think there would be any risk.

But it would be interesting to know if any of their neighbours

have ever experienced any problems with contents of the sewers

finding its way into their homes or gardens.

Hello.

We've had a flooding issue next door. But it's sewage.

Have you had any flooding problems?

Lots of flooding problems?

It turns out their neighbour

has been the victim of flooding for over 40 years.

Ah! That's a lot of problems.

The residents have a theory that the flooding is

caused by problems in the main pipe.

And it's not the first time that Lisa and Kenny have heard

there might be something going on down in the sewer.

My neighbour's son has informed us that he

actually witnessed, many years ago,

a CCTV camera survey of the main drain

and there's a big dip.

He is convinced that, if it's got a dip in it, well,

it ain't going to work properly.

So, to cure the problem, once and for all,

if they could just replace that section of drain.

We do appreciate it would be huge expense,

probably more than what our house is worth,

but it would mean that we would never get flooded again.

Interesting.

The residents believe that the problem is with the pipes

in King Edward Road, the main road leading to the couple's terrace.

I need to find out if there is a problem with this pipe

and if that's been causing the flooding.

I also want to find out what Anglian Water is planning on doing,

as the NRV hasn't stopped the sewage finding its way to the surface.

Time to call Emma, the media relations manager at Anglian Water.

'Press office, Emma speaking.'

Emma, good afternoon. It's Dominic Littlewood at the BBC.

'Hi, Dom. How are you?'

Not bad, thanks, Emma. Looking forward to a long weekend.

Pleasantries over, it's now time to get to work

and see what Emma has to say.

Thing is, it's not an occasional problem,

though, Emma, it's a regular problem.

So, the question is, really, what are Anglian going to do

to stop it and eliminate it?

I know you said you'd put in this NRV, this non-return valve.

We've had a chat with the CCW

and the CCW said to us that that's only a temporary solution.

It's only part of a resolution.

If there's a drainage problem there, it needs sorting out properly,

not so that every time there's heavy rain,

these guys are getting raw sewage coming out.

This problem needs to be sorted out once and for all, really.

It's been ongoing for a long, long time.

'I've been looking at Miss Murch's inquiry.

'We're only talking that these issues occur when there's heavy rain

'and lots of surface water getting into the system.

'And that's why we need to look at that.

'So yes, the NRV's been put on,

'we're looking at what else is impacting the customer in that area.

'So we all are acutely aware

'and want to resolve it for the customer as quickly as possible.

'As I say, we're just trying to work through the problem

'and rule out what it is that could be causing this.'

'What about the residents' theory

'that there is a dip in the main sewer pipe?'

Are you aware of an issue,

a problem, in King Edward Road,

around the corner from them?

'Not to my knowledge.'

Apparently, there's some sort of dip/kink, bend, whatever -

I don't know exactly what you'd call it -

with the sewage system in that road

and there's a lot of people round there now starting to believe

this is where the problem is emanating from.

'Emma tells me that they

'have recently sent cameras down into the sewers in the area near to

'Lisa and Kenny's home, but I want her to be more specific.'

The CCTV investigation, Emma, have you done that in King Edward Road?

'We've definitely done it down King Edward Road.'

'I'd love to get my hands on that footage.'

'That's actually something I've requested today, Dom, actually.'

-Oh, brilliant.

-'You know, if we have got it captured,

'then that's something we can provide.'

'Great news. The neighbours think there is a dip,

'it turns out there is footage.

'I'd love to see it. It could be the answer to everything.'

Thanks, Emma. I'll speak to you next week. Bye-bye.

Got to say, that lady representing Anglian Water is very professional.

She's listening to everything, she's got all the right answers

and she did say they've actually had

a look down the drains as recently as this week.

So I've asked for a report and to see the footage.

And she said, "OK, let's chat next week."

Let's see how we get on.

I'm the sort of person who would find a book like this

a very interesting read.

It's the A to Z of your consumer rights,

including Ts&Cs, refunds and rejections.

But how many of you would actually read it?

The chances are, probably not many.

But, trust me, knowing a few of your consumer rights

can prove to be very valuable.

I don't know a lot about my consumer rights, really.

I don't know anything at all.

I know that I have every right to complain.

Which I do sometimes.

I don't think that many people know about consumer rights.

It's something you only find out about when you need to.

Today, we're talking about time,

because I get a lot of e-mails from people complaining that

things they've bought take too long to arrive or take too long

to fix when they go wrong.

And many of you have no idea what you should expect.

But don't worry, because I know just the person to give you the lowdown.

Because there are laws in place as to what

is a reasonable time frame for consumers

to expect a product to be delivered.

So, if you're taking time off work, it's very inconvenient.

So generally, when you're buying an item,

if the seller doesn't specify a time frame for delivery,

then the generally accepted time frame is within 30 days.

30 days? It's a long time to wait,

so make sure you read the small print about

when a company promises to deliver by.

I do believe that the company,

if they say it would be there in a certain amount of time,

then it should be. Cos that's what you're expecting as a customer.

But, as we know, as a customer, we don't always get what we want.

I've had an e-mail from Steve in Reading.

He ordered a brand spanking new TV,

but was not given a delivery time.

Four weeks down the line and he still hasn't got his telly.

And Steve is not a happy chappie.

So the responsibility sits with the retailer to specify what

is a reasonable time frame for delivering that item to you.

And, you know, most places these days will say

it will be delivered by a certain date.

And that's fine, because then you have a hard and fast date

in the diary that you can expect it to be delivered by.

So the law says it's a company's job to give you,

the paying customer, a delivery deadline. Fair enough.

But Steve is four weeks down the line and still no telly.

If the seller contacts you to say there's a very legitimate

reason why it can't be delivered in that time frame,

then you may accept that, but what you might want to do is say,

"It has to be delivered to me by this date,"

at some point in the future. And, you know,

"Time is of the essence. You need to hit that date."

If it hasn't turned up by your deadline, then you can cancel

the contract without any further recourse and expect a full refund.

There you go. You can cancel a product or a service

if a company have gone beyond the 30 day reasonable time frame

and a company hasn't met your last deadline.

It seems you guys know exactly how to complain.

If a company took too long, I would ring them up,

or I would e-mail them to ask what's happening

and where do we stand and when can we expect delivery.

If a company took too long delivering my product or a service,

I'd probably just cancel the delivery and go elsewhere.

Which is fine as long as you've written to the company

and laid down the law,

but the law can vary depending on what you're buying for delivery.

Take Janet, for example.

She's contacted me to say that her

and her husband ordered some bespoke bedroom furniture seven weeks ago.

Of course that's over the 30 day acceptable time frame.

However, there is an exception to this rule.

If you're buying something that has to be made,

for example a custom-built kitchen,

then the retailer is within their rights to say it'll

be eight weeks for delivery because there's a longer lead time there.

As long as you know that

when placing the order, then that time frame is reasonable.

The onus here is on the customer.

Check exactly what a company is saying its bespoke furniture

delivery deadline is.

If you don't think that's reasonable,

then shop around for another company.

So understanding the law about reasonable time frame would

definitely help you when it comes to reasoning with a company.

Lisa Murch and Kenny Thompson have spent the last two years

in constant fear that each time it rains their house could yet

again be flooded by raw sewage.

When the house was being flooded, I was just crying,

I was in tears, wasn't I?

It was...horrible, a really horrible experience.

It's OK, love.

We'll fix it.

And the threat of flooding is only part of the stress

the couple are under.

Apart from being worried we'll get flooded again,

we're also worried that we have to insure our property.

And now we have to go to a specialist company,

who deal with flooded houses

and we know our premium is going to go up quite a lot,

and we haven't got the money to spend out £1,000 for insurance.

We've asked Anglian Water to provide us with a report of the findings

from the investigation into the sewer,

in the hope that a problem can be found and fixed once and for all.

But there's another issue I'd like to address...

Lisa and Kenny have been told they might face a higher insurance

premium because of the flooding.

They don't think the flooding is their fault. So where do they stand?

And what if you're one of the thousands of people each year

whose home is invaded by water?

If you can prove that another party is responsible for damage

to your home, you may be able to claim on their insurance

or from them directly.

But you may have to prove they were negligent -

which can be the tricky part.

If the problem that caused the flooding has been fixed

and measures have been put in place to stop any flooding happening again

in the future, then the insurers should take this into account.

I don't believe the couple should need specialist flooding

insurance if Anglian Water can fix this problem once and for all.

I have made that point to them.

And it's very clear what Lisa and Kenny think.

It's not our fault, we shouldn't have to pay out that sort of money.

That kind of money could go towards our wedding for next year

that we're saving up for, home improvements.

We're not made of money. We're working class people.

Ever since I contacted them, Anglian Water have been working to try

to give the couple the peace of mind they so desperately crave

and there has been some further developments.

The company has visited the couple's home

and done further investigations which revealed an old illegal

foul waste pipe which should not have been there.

It's not clear whether that was causing the problem,

but it has been blocked off just in case.

And there's more good news, so it's time for me to take a trip to Essex.

Lisa and Kenny have had these problems now for almost two years.

Think about it, if that was you, it would be driving you round the bend.

Excuse the pun of course!

Today I've got some news for them

that'll hopefully put a smile back on their face.

I waste no time in asking the couple to show me where

the sewage was coming from.

Right, so this is the area where you witnessed most of the problems.

-Yes, it was.

-Raw sewage and...?

-Raw sewage.

-That's disgusting, isn't it?

Yes. I can actually show you where it was coming into the house.

Please do. Right, so I can see

-there is an area there where some work's taken place.

-Yeah.

Is that because, it literally flooded higher than that level

-there?

-It was literally higher than our patio doors.

-Strewth.

'The first thing I want to address is the theory that there is

'a dip in the main pipe that's been causing these problems.'

Now, you heard from neighbours there is a dip in the pipe.

We've asked Anglian and they've been very good with me.

They've really addressed this and they really want to try

-and alleviate this problem for good.

-That's good.

I ask them to inspect that and they confirmed to us

they have inspected the whole road with a rod camera.

They say there's nothing wrong with that pipe, there's

no dips, no flaws, or anything else which you suspected there was.

Anglian Water provided me with the footage both upstream

and downstream. There didn't appear

to be any dips or sags in the pipes.

Although I am not an expert, it all looks pretty good.

So, if it's not a dip in the pipe, what is causing the problem?

All Lisa and Kenny want is to know this is going to be fixed for good

and they never need to worry about flooding again.

I've been given a statement for the couple from Anglian Water.

"We are genuinely sorry that very heavy rain has been causing

"flooding for Miss Murch and Mr Thompson.

"We are particularly sorry that we wrongly diagnosed

"the problem for so long.

"This level of service falls well below the high standards

"we set ourselves and we have been working hard to redress that

"balance." Comments on that first paragraph?

-Erm, sorry is good.

-Yeah.

But, yeah, they should have addressed it much earlier.

Sorry is great and the fact they are now trying to redress it,

that's all great to me.

We know there is nothing wrong with the pipes from the footage

they sent us, so what's causing the flooding?

"A detailed inspection revealed the problem is caused by

"flood water getting into the main sewer,

"which Ms Murch and Mr Thompson's house connects to.

"This prevents rainwater flowing freely into the main sewer."

Since diagnosing the problem, Anglian have...

capped a nearby overflow.

Rectified the old, illegal pipe.

But they have gone one step further.

"We will be fitting a sensor so that we can respond quickly

"if sewer levels rise.

"This alarm will be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

And no day off for Christmas either. Right.

If that sensor goes off, they should be here, quick as a flash.

Not as a flush, as a flash, all right?

'If the water level rises in the sewer then

'Anglian Water will be alerted and will be able to remove any excess

'water before it has a chance to find a way to the surface.

'With all the extra measures that Anglian Water have put in place,

'I think Lisa and Kenny's flooding nightmares may finally be over.'

Let's be honest, right now, most of the UK's flooded.

-Right.

-This is probably the worst it's been in over 200 years

-and you haven't had a flood for a while now, have you?

-No.

-OK, so things are looking a lot better, aren't they?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

So I think your problem is now a thing of the past.

-So right now, are you feeling happy?

-A lot happier.

-OK, well put.

-And you as well?

-Yeah, much happier.

'With their flooding worries hopefully over,

'Anglian Water have one more offer for the couple.' Okey-dokey.

There is of course another issue which is quite important, which is?

-The insurance.

-Exactly. Because you don't need a problem like that.

-No.

Anglian Water have discussed this with us and your insurance company.

And the insurance company has said that as a goodwill gesture,

it will refund the couple's excess of £100.

And the £1,562.07 cost of the claim will also be covered,

leaving neither the couple nor the insurance company out of pocket.

We contacted the couple's insurer

and they have sent us a statement which explains...

They have decided,

after looking at Lisa's case, they will offer her...

That's great news, so to top it off, Anglian have been able to

sort out a couple's insurance problems too.

You shouldn't have to worry about your insurance as a result of this.

It is literally the most they can do.

They're saying they'll take care of your insurance,

they'll take care of the flooding - they're monitoring it 24/7,

I don't think at this point there's anything more we can do.

-I think your problems are in the past. Hopefully.

-Hopefully.

But if they're not, you know where to go.

-Oh, yes, we know who we'll be calling.

-I don't think you need me.

I think you go straight to Anglian and they will go bap-bap-bap!

"Hang on, it's Kenny and Lisa, quick." Yeah? So, is my task done?

-I think so. You've done a good job.

-I do think so.

Have I got parole for good behaviour?

Parole, good behaviour, and another cup of tea.

In addition to resolving things for Kenny

and Lisa, Anglian Water also told us

they are working with the lead local flood authority,

the Highways Agency, the Environment Agency

and other partners that are

responsible for the drainage network

across Essex

to look at an holistic approach to managing the flood risk.

When it comes to the measures they have put in place to stop Lisa

and Kenny suffering from more flooding, I think we're all happy.

Anglian state...

"We have however promised to continue to monitor the situation

"carefully moving forward."

We'd just like to say a big thank you to Dom.

We... You know... It was a last resort for us to get him involved.

Personally, when Lisa mentioned calling Dom, I thought,

"What's Dom going to do?"

But Dom's done everything, he's been wonderful.

He's been brilliant. He's really helped.

He has understood the problem, got on the phone to Anglian Water,

he's got us moving and he's got all the results that we wanted.

He's been brilliant.

If we hadn't have called him,

we probably would have been flooded again in this bad weather.

-So, yeah.

-Dom for President!

I think the important thing here now is that Anglian Water have

found out what the problem is.

They've addressed it, rectified it

and they are going to monitor it 24/7.

So as far as Lisa and Kenny are concerned,

their worries should be over.