You can charge for your time. They have powers to do what they need to, but not for free.
Charging Utilities for My time?
- Thread starter steveR
- Start date
As other have said here, a good Agent will be making sure your time is charged properly.
I have seen far too many of the ecotypes you describe so accurately, who have wasted my time and energies, for no good reason in the end, with no recompense.
NOT happening again!
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- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
I do have an agent but he hasn't suggested I charge for my time fielding all the phone calls and the site meetings but I will be on it now!
pee'd off with them already so God knows what its going to be like when they eventually start ripping up my farm !!!!!
I am afraid Agents only feel that it is THEIR time that is valuable... I will not be working for nothing in the future.
An email to to your Agents to be waiting there on Tuesday morning. 40-60 quid an hour... If you have the Agent there, they pay his time as well, so why do they think you should turn up for nowt.
Having dealt with pipline contractors and their behaviour, you need to be on the case ASAP, down to getting someone monitoring them and their work if you are too busy.
You can not employ an agent and expect to be paid for work that they are doing for you. As manager of the farm your input comes under management time.
davidroberts30
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
I did in a recent cancelled utilities job
I believe you are incorrect. Much of the work I have carried out, is in fact dealing with matters because the Agent cannot...
MY management time is spent on running a farm, NOT pissfarting around on unproductive and to me, largely irerelevant meetings and the like.
Either diy or get a better agent.
Well, the Agent would need to be on-site 24/7 which is a little impractical....
Anyone who has dealt with any Utility infrastructure projects will know exactly what I mean!
You clearly have had a bitter experience. I only had thirty years experience of utilities work, and neither you nor an agent should need to be on site 24/7 if the site agent is up to the job, and follows industry best practices.
Remind me... who is paying the site agent...?
And it is not just when Contractors are on site that the buggeration and hassle is taking place. ..
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- Location
- Portsmouth
I suspect the issue is the utility companies being up to the job and following industry best practices just as much as the agent.....
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
What do I need to be aware of most ? Not sticking to the fenced off route of the pipeline?
One of many problems...
Contractors and support wandering all over the place! Insist they stay on the properly fenced easement strip with penalties.
Knackering up drains is a real PITA. I insisted on a new french drain to pick up all damaged drains as you can pretty well guarantee they will not repair the damage. I did know of one pipeline that had 2 french drains, one either side, not sure of soil type, but there was a reason.
Get the topspoil all stripped off for the full working width of the easement and access, and get the land all subsoiled before putting topsoil back. Helps hugely with the inevitable compaction.
Pretty sure others will offer advice too.
Oliveau
Member
- Location
- Indre et Loire, France
I spent many years working for utilities as a land agent. Upon my first contact I ALWAYS stressed that a diary should be kept. I was always happy to pay a justified claim for ‘farmers time.’ But then with an agricultural background I knew where you chaps were coming from, and generally speaking had good relationships with farmers & landowners. Some of the young agents these days don’t appear to have the brains they were born with…………..
Oliveau
Member
- Location
- Indre et Loire, France
Ok, so it’s in connection with a STW. Therefore Water Industries Act applies and they can just issue a Survey Notice and gain access without your consent - not what you want to hear I know.
But the lack of response to your e-mail by FG is unprofessional, so I’d ring Andrew Jackson or Clare Phillipson at the Ashby office and make them aware of your displeasure.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Not exactly. They still have to comply with (amongst others) health and safety law - which requires cooperation of employers sharing a place of work. They can’t just march on and do what they want. I haven’t had need to study the WI act but assume it will be similar to the Electricity one. In that case a specific court order is required to get the access and the court will not tolerate bullying if the landowner is being reasonable.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
£50/ hr???
Try £120
Severn Trent have access to the reservoir through our farmyard and up a long narrow lane.
They never offer to do any maintenance or contribute to even the hedge cutting.
An outside contractor turned up this week , saying they need to do work on the reservoir for 3 weeks. He’d obviously priced the job before realising that lorry’s etc, wouldn’t be able to access the track . He expected me to just say it’d be ok to drop all the building materials on our yard, and he wanted to leave a skip plus comfort station for his men also on the yard.
No offer of anything for us.
He was told we weren’t acting as a compound and to go away. There’s no room anyway.
it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Severn Trent expect their vans to get up to test the water, but won’t spend a penny on anything .
They never offer to do any maintenance or contribute to even the hedge cutting.
An outside contractor turned up this week , saying they need to do work on the reservoir for 3 weeks. He’d obviously priced the job before realising that lorry’s etc, wouldn’t be able to access the track . He expected me to just say it’d be ok to drop all the building materials on our yard, and he wanted to leave a skip plus comfort station for his men also on the yard.
No offer of anything for us.
He was told we weren’t acting as a compound and to go away. There’s no room anyway.
it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Severn Trent expect their vans to get up to test the water, but won’t spend a penny on anything .
Oliveau
Member
- Location
- Indre et Loire, France
Not so. The WIA 1991 has very strong Statutory Powers, including the right to enter land having previously issued a Statutory Notice. Needless to say the Undertaker’s representative should have already started a dialogue with the farmer, and normally such land entry can be mutually agreed. However there can be the odd issue with non-cooperative landowners/occupiers, but I have only ever once used my Power of Entry authority.
Everything normally works well if the water company has kept their surveyors in the loop. But sometimes, especially in the case of small works like the reservoir access referred to elsewhere, the engineers try to go it alone, and they are by and large unaware of the Act’s scope and their obligations to comply with it. So when water company staff/contractors turn up unannounced the first question should be “ Have you consulted your Estates department about this?”