The rumours abound that the insurance companies intend to pursue Thames Water for massive compensation. It is also heard a leading lawyer is planning a class action over negligence.
A Hornet reader reminds us that Thames Water has known of the issues years ago.
Its failure to deal with the engineering issues has led to misery and huge financial loss for us residents. A retired CEO gives his take on their gutlessness.
Thames Water is a disgrace.
It cares only for making profits for its Chinese and Arab owners.
Everything wrong with this country's senior management is manifested by this couple and their refusal to face the music.
This is not the first time this has happened in RBKC. I worked in the Planning Department up until 2007, and some time before that (my memory is hazy - perhaps 2005) there was flash flooding of basements from the sewer down the line of the ex-Counters Creek, basically Holland Road (a somewhat different demographic from Portobello Road of course).
ReplyDeleteThere was similar outrage. We sent out questionnaires to the whole area, and produced a map of the affected houses which clearly showed the extent of the problem which the Council presented to Thames Water. Thames Water, after doing their own investigation, promised long term a storm water relief sewer, and short term installed 300? non-return valves in basement sewer connections.
The Member of Parliament for Kensington has called a public meeting to discuss a possible issue of negligence by Thames Water. It is shows a lack of respect for British Democracy that the head of Thames Water has not personally responded to the MP and agreed to take part in her inquiry.
ReplyDeleteThis bahaviour is rude, dismissive, arrogant and contemptuous. It reveals clearly the attitude of Thames Water to society.
Get to the point, Chief Executive. It is bad manners. Unfortunately not surprising at all. After all, Marchant is an Australian. Almost certainly related to the low life convicts that we got rid of many years ago.
DeleteA few facts. China/Middle East own around 26%. The largest shareholder is a Canadian pension fund with circa 32%. The rest are very normal capital funds, US or European. £20B has been invested in the last 20 years in infrastructure improvement. Made a loss last year of around £200M (PY profit of £260M). Current CEO was appointed less than 1 year ago, so hardly time to have any impact. IM is English born in Croydon not Australian though I'm not sure that his heritage is relevant. Leaks are high at 596M litres/day, and 50% of these are non visible. Progress appears very slow. Yes IM did leave 3 months after the fine at SSE (in 2013) which was for poor selling practices. Fell on his sword or so it seems. EDF was also fined for the a similar issue the previous year.
DeleteIn other words over 50% of the company is owned by despotic regimes and the rest Canada?
DeleteHere's an example of how useless Thames Water is at managing London's arteries. Operating profits of £500m and a paltry £18m spent on maintaining the sewers. What could go wrong? This. A bungalow sized 'fatberg' in the main sewer at Canary Wharf. Years of lack of checking allowed that to happen. Let's turn to your chairman, Ian Marchant. This is an accountant who allowed his staff to commit the most outrageous abuses of his customers' trust. MP's at the time described the practices as corrupt. How this man ever got to become a chairman of another utility company beggars belief. And you, Mr PR man should be ashamed at your feeble attempts at whitewashing. Finally, you say Bentley has had just a year to make impact. In other words, her predecessor was useless too?
Nothing surprises me about the chairman of Thames Water, Ian Marchant. When boss of SSE the company got a massive £10m fine for abusing customers: looks like more of the same for Thames Water customers...nothing has changed.
ReplyDeleteIan Marchant is an accountant. Utilities need to be run by proper engineers not 'financial engineers'
ReplyDeleteI leave aside his culpability in the miss selling scandal whilst running SSE.
Thames Water fined £4m after avalanche of raw sewage floods park
ReplyDeleteRaynes Park: Thames Water urged to act over flash floods
ReplyDeleteAn MP is calling for Thames Water to compensate residents in west London after part of a wall in one of the largest sewage works in the UK collapsed, and homes and gardens were flooded with untreated sewage.
ReplyDeleteResidents living along the Duke of Northumberland’s River in Isleworth had gardens and homes flooded as foul-smelling water poured down the waterway on Friday.
Councillors tear into Thames Water over Finsbury Park flooding
ReplyDeleteA Guardian investigation found that Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, owned by Thames Water, discharged more than 250 hours’ worth of sewage into the Thames in 2019.
ReplyDeleteThe boss of Thames Water has admitted her firm is 'not performing anywhere where we need to be' as the company revealed it failed to hit many of its ambitious targets.
ReplyDeleteThames Water, Chief executive Sarah Bentley made the remarks as the group released its annual report today showing it met only 26 of 49 'performance commitments' and received £51.9million in penalties as a consequence.
In 2018, utilities watchdog Ofwat found that Thames Water breached two of its legal obligations for leakage management – this led to a record £120million fine. It is understood that around eight homes were affected in Wednesday’s flood.
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