How to check a drainage company before the van arrives

Drainage is bought in a hurry, water where it should not be, by customers who will agree to almost anything to make it stop. No register licenses the trade. The protections that exist are questions, and they work best asked before the van is on your drive.

First: is this even your job to pay for?

Shared drains and public sewers in England and Wales belong to the water company, which clears blockages in them, usually free. One call establishes whose pipe the problem is in. A drainage firm that attends, finds the blockage in the company’s sewer and says so is showing you its honesty; one that charges you for the water company’s pipe is showing you the other thing.

The entity check

The name on the van, the name on the website and the company you pay should resolve at Companies House: active, matching, with some history. Drainage has a national-brand layer that books jobs and subcontracts the van; ask who is attending and check the name you are actually contracting with.

Rates in writing, before attendance

Attendance or diagnosis charge, what the first hour includes, the rate after, and parts policy: four numbers, by text or email, before anyone attends. The emergency is exactly when this feels impossible and exactly when it matters; a firm that quotes clearly at 9pm exists, and the one that will not is telling you about the invoice to come.

Evidence before repairs

Any repair recommendation, lining, excavation, “collapsed drain”, rests on a CCTV survey: a written report, with footage you are given, showing the defect and its location. No survey, no repair decision. A second opinion on a surveyed defect is cheap; a dig commissioned on a doorstep sentence is not.

The pattern test

Read the one-star reviews for the trade’s specific patterns: attendance fees that were “free”, first hours that lasted twenty minutes, collapsed drains that a second firm could not find. One bad night is noise; the same story three times is the business model.

Corrections and right of reply

If your business is named in this research and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk. We check it against the register, correct it within five working days if we are wrong, and publish your statement alongside if you want us to. Full route: corrections, right of reply and removals.

Questions

Can I trust an AI answer that says a gas engineer is Gas Safe registered?

Treat it as a claim to check. On 3 October 2026, 36 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode in 12

Whito

Whito is an independent UK research publisher. We publish research on how UK businesses are found, trusted and priced: what they cost to market, how their sectors work, and who actually gets recommended. Studies are free to read, every figure carries the date it was checked, and nobody pays to appear.

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