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Thousands of householders could be insuring their homes against problems with their drains needlessly.
The warning has been issued by Chorley pensioner Harry Chadderton who has been clobbered with a bill of just under 400 which he did not need to pay.
The retired accountant, of Highfield Road South, forked out three times in 18 months to have his drains cleared privately but then he found out that because of the age and position of his house, they were actually the responsibility of United Utilities (UU).
But when he contacted them for a refund, they told him he should have contacted them first and they would have arranged for them to be unblocked.
He said: "There is no mention of any of this on the literature that United Utilities put out with their water bills, but yet they are constantly sending out leaflets for drains insurance and probably to people where it's not required because it's their responsibility."
Mr Chadderton said that if a house is built before 1937 and it is not the first house linked to the main drain, then any blockages in the drains are the responsibility of UU.
"They take over responsibility for the drain from where the drains from the first house joins to the second one, so if there's a whole row of houses then they will all be covered by UU apart from the first house," he explained.
"They have refused to give me my money back because we didn't give them first shout. I just want the people of Chorley and surrounding districts to know that this exists."
Mr Chadderton contacted his local councillor Ralph Snape who believes it is now important to spread the word.
He said: "There must be thousands of homes in Chorley, built before October 1, 1937, where this is the case.
"Not everyone comes under United Utilities responsibility but there must be thousands that do."
Helen Wilson of United Utilities said: "Drainage is a complex issue which is why we advise people to contact United Utilities in the first instance if they have problems with their sewers. This is what most customers do.
"Unfortunately we cannot compensate customers retrospectively if we have not been given the opportunity to come and assess the problem first.
"There is information about drainage on our website at www.unitedutilities.com/yourdrains, otherwise you can call United Utilities on 0845 746 2200 and our advisers will be happy to help."
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Weather for Chorley
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
