Drain Detectives Reviews 

We had an initial CCTV survey done prior to subsidence repair, which was promptly arranged and very detailed - our engineering company even commented on how in depth it was. On uncovering some issues that needed repair (and had probably contributed to the bigger issue) we went ahead and booked in. Hannah at head office was incredibly helpful answering a lot of questions and was happy to help schedule around the other work we were doing. The actual ground crew were brilliant - friendly, helpful and extremely hard working, they went above and beyond getting the work done and were a pleasure to have on site. Would be happy to use again and have already recommended to neighbours!

All good and very polite while quoting but the pricing is a joke - claimed it was expensive as "health and safety" required two men to dig up a small area of turf to a depth of about 1ft to replace an outside drain bend. Turned up on the day everything was booked in, with one guy who took absolutely no pride in his work, immediately "nickle and dimmed" with "plastic to plastic connection isnt included in the price" for what they were charging I expected them to "splash out" the 10 quid it would have cost for 1m of pipe! Somehow screwed the replacement downpipe in with a screw that was just a thread and no head so almost impossible to get out, fixed said downpipe with the writing/make face out, just absolute comedy for what they are charging!

Edit: Hi Stuart, why didn't your man just do the job correctly in the first place? He took the trouble to screw in the replacement drain pipe then snap off the screw head for reasons that escape me, really malicious to do stuff like that for no reason. I'll sort it myself or use another company if it comes to it, will never use Drain Detectives again though.

A joke of a company. In London they asks as to find a parking for them or pay their parking fine is they get one, as the closest streets near us had no spaces when they arrived. We asked them to provide the phone number of the driver to indicate where they can park, literally 3 minutes away from the house and they said was too far for them to park the car. This company is clearly no ready to deal with any job required to be in London, so my suggestion get someone serious and forget about them.

I called this company on a Saturday morning as we had an almost total blockage outside. The shower would not drain and the toilet could only be flushed with difficulty. Someone did attend and identified the problem that the sewer was blocked. He tried to unblock it only for about 15 or 20 minutes, then phoned someone and came back to tell me that as it was a shared drain, he could do nothing. He said to phone Southern Water but added that they were not good at coming out quickly. We are both in our seventies, my husband is disabled and counted as extremely vulnerable, and this man then dashed off leaving us with a virtually non working toilet, on a weekend. He showed no interest in how we were going to cope, and made no effort towards finding an effective solution. On a happier note, I did call Southern Water, who did everything right. They established our circumstances right from the initial phone call and someone came out on the Sunday morning. He made no fuss at all, identified and cleared the problem within 30 minutes and then did a first class clean up job. The useless call from Drain Detectives cost me over £200, so my advice to everyone is to call Southern Water first. They are effective.

Edit to add - Stuart, we knew the drain was blocked, it was completely obvious. What we needed was someone to unblock it, which is (or should be) your business. The man who came out to us did the bare minimum and then left us in the lurch. There was plenty more he could have done. If the Southern water engineer managed to clear it then Drain Detectives should have been able to.How on earth can you justify £200 for that?

Could you also please explain why you have waited almost 5 MONTHS before replying to these comments.

Don’t give this people work, it takes them 3 takes to complete a job and they want to charge you every time, please go direct to southern water recommendations only, the Drain Detective are very incompetent, and as soon as they get your money they don’t care anymore.

I had to use Drain Detectives as the purchasers of one of my houses had an initial survey done by them which identified a few fairly minor drainage issues. I needed the work done fairly quickly and they attended fairly promptly the following week. Lead chap spent an awful long time on his phone talking to the office about other jobs though. Another operative turned up late in the day and stayed for a few hours and another came the following day to help finish the job. I have no issues with what they did but boy do they know how to charge. An eyewateringly large invoice for what were fairly simple drain clearance, pipe inspections and gully repair jobs where material costs were minimal.

I would have no hesitation recommending this company based on my recent experience. I had a drain blockage causing water to back flow to our shower. A team of two came out very quickly and showed a real determination in finding and resolving the cause. Over the course of several hours they persisted through trying various approaches to try and resolve the problem. It was clearly a much more challenging blockage than they had anticipated initially but they persisted through.
Fortunately they were successful. I am so grateful that they resolved my issue and I can now finally enjoy my new home.

Very trustworthy company I had a drain blockage and the manhole was overfilling, they gave me upfront quote and the price didn’t change they unblocked it flushed out the whole system and inspected it and found cause of the problem which they showed me on the CCTV pipe camera.
Highly recommended and will definitely use again
Thank you
Wynfield tn6

Very speedy, gave me everything I needed for my Thames Water Build over agreement.

After 7 months of ongoing investigation and work at great expense. They finally put in a 'solution' to my flooded basement. Unfortunately this has not helped and they then ignored all my e mails and calls since January when the water started coming in again. I have brought in an alternative supplier at more expense who has told me that the initial solution was inadequate and poorly fitted with the wrong pumps and pipework. Drain detectives have taken over 30k from me across last year and left a solution that is not fit for purpose and ignore every request for help or support. I don't understand their attitude at all as they promised to sort out any problems if they occurred but have now left the situation and don't care at all. I'm hoping that this review means they actually bother to get in touch as calling them or e mailing has absolutely no success

Do not use this company !

We had a CCTV drain survey done of our property and they completely missed a section of the broken drains ! We only knew this because we luckily quoted for the damage that they did find with another company !

Today, one of their drivers cut me off in such a way that he scratched my car.He just decided to cross into oncoming traffic and get in front of me,no blinker and too sharp.After that, he did not even apologize and continued to drive without restrictions and rudely.
This is how they behave on the road, imagine what services they will offer.
For your own good, can you see a van with a license plate M100SWG take care.
This is Ford Transit (white)
Such drivers should not have a license

We had a blocked gully in our garden that was causing water to pool at a worrying rate. We called and was able to speak to someone right away and a professional came the next morning and successfully fixed the issue (they also offered same day service). Great customer service and experience overall with Drain Detectives. We also had previously used Drain Detectives for a drain survey on our flat and received a very detailed report.

Had a toilet block just before Christmas, which the plumber came out to sort and worked for a week and then started to back up again meaning blockage was not completely cleared down the pipe.
Reported the blockage within 28 day period and followed up with an email to Dean Austin and prior to my follow up got a quote for £285 excl to come back out to fix problem that was not done properly first time.Bad customer service and do not deliver on their guarantee, do not use this company

I recently had an unfortunate experience with Drain Detectives, and I feel compelled to share my story to prevent others from facing similar issues.

Despite their promises to provide a comprehensive report for my insurance claim, Drain Detectives fell short. The report, upon review by the insurance company, was deemed insufficient, lacking the necessary details to process the claim effectively.

After a month of wasted time and additional expenses, I had no choice but to initiate the process again with another company. Not only did Drain Detectives fail to deliver what was promised, but their response to my concerns was unsatisfactory.

Their explanation attempted to shift blame, stating that the insurance company requested information beyond the scope of their report. This, however, contradicts their initial assurance that their report would meet insurance requirements.

To add to the frustration, seeking a refund has proven to be an uphill battle. Despite their shortcomings, Drain Detectives seem unwilling to take responsibility for their failure to deliver on their commitment.

I am now left with the financial burden of redoing the entire process with another company. I believe it is essential to share my experience to caution others considering Drain Detectives' services. I have also initiated contact with trading standards to address this matter formally.

Buyer beware, and consider other options before engaging with Drain Detectives.

Sincerely,
Naomi

I run a property management business and cant recommend them enough

Needed a drain survey before my extension was built, the engineers that carried out the work was very helpful and efficient, Highly recommended.

Had an issue with rats and after having Pest Control out, was advised to get in touch with a drainage company. Was given Drain Detectives details from someone I work with and can’t thank them enough. Customer service was excellent, advised to have a drain survey which they booked in for the next day! Extremely happy with the report and quote received. Works booked in quickly and I’m happy to say I’m now rat free! Would definitely recommend.

Fantastic experience, really helpful staff on the phone who got someoneout to deal with my blocked toilet the same day. The engineers who attended were Friendly and efficient. All around great experience, highly recommend!