Water - season 7 episode 83

The next stage of the water saga goes like this.

Anna’s daughter said after our acceptance of the bum deal that by the end of the week, that’s 2 weeks ago, she would be sending details for us to transfer our money into her mothers account.  We raised a few issues about the supply from the new meter location to our house which she ignored.

We then had a message to say her husband would be here at the weekend to install the foundation and box for the new meters at the top of the road, our responsibility why on earth would the water company be bothered with such details or offer any guidance.   We asked where exactly this would be and were told it would be assessed and there were no problems.  Husband and wife pitched up last Sunday, we joined them at the top of the road and it became clear they had no idea where the meters are to be located, with the added frisson that the likely location would be on someone else’s land for which we’d need permission.  

The daughter said she’d contact the Comune for guidance.  The Comune must have forgotten which drawer they keep the plans in because it took a week for them to issue two incomprehensible plans and a list of approximately 15 different owners.  You need to understand that land in Italy gets divided amongst families over the generations until lots of people end up owning a piece the size of a tea towel.  It took 18 months for our solicitor to find all the owners and agree a sale when we bought our ruin in Puglia, by which time we’d rather gone off the idea and should have given up.

Now the owner or owners needs to be traced and some agreement reached which of course is our responsibility, not the Comune or the water company.    It does raise again the question of pipes on private land, both authorities insist the water company cannot install water pipes on private land but then say the householder must have obtained permission for them to do so when they accept a contract.  Call me stupid, I cannot see why the houses in our road cannot give permission for the pipes to be laid down our private road with the meters at our gates. I’d raise the issue again but the man at the Comune said the time for questions was over, he wisely never said the time for action had begun though.  I can’t see anything happening soon.  At least we can hang onto our money a but longer, she said trying to be positive whilst feeling hysterical