Decision report 201104820

Summary
Miss C complained that her shower and some other appliances were damaged when she turned them on one morning. Her plumber said the problem appeared to be a surge of water pressure. Scottish Water had told her they had turned off the water supply in a nearby road the day before because of a burst water main. Miss C thought that her problem must have happened because of the supply being turned off and then on again, and she submitted a claim for compensation to Scottish Water. She complained to us that they had refused to pay compensation.

Scottish Water provided information to Miss C and to us, explaining in detail how they had investigated this matter and why they did not consider that the damage had been caused by a pressure surge. For example, they said that if there had been a pressure surge strong enough to cause damage, they would have had calls about it the same day, whereas no one else had called. Additionally, Miss C's problem only started the next day. They also gave details showing that the operatives who had repaired the burst water main had followed all relevant procedures when switching the supply back on, to minimise any pressure surge.

We also explained to Miss C that our role in complaints about compensation was very limited. For example, we could not decide whether compensation should be paid. We could only consider whether Scottish Water had properly investigated her claim. In the light of all the information they provided, we considered that they had done so.