1st Active Drainage Ltd (not to be confused with other firms with similar names) tell customers they're a local family run business who'll clear your drains fast. They also claim to have been running for 35 years. They sound just like your perfect drainage company.
Sadly, all is not what it seems. We've spoken to some unhappy customers who have had far from the perfect experience.
Daphne Saghbini from Islington in North London called out 1st Active Drainage Ltd when the drain in her garden blocked. Her decision was based on the fact they advertised as local family run business established 35 years.
They told Daphne that they'd charge £22.50 for the half hour, rising to £59.50 if they had to use power equipment. Daphne agreed - expecting a bill around the £100 mark. So Daphne was bewildered when 2.5 hours after arriving, she was presented with a bill for £540. Daphne disputed the cost.
In the end Daphne only paid half the amount they were asking for and sent them packing.
Retired couple Rob and Liz Budd from Gillingham in Dorset also had the misfortune to come across this company. They called 1st Active in May when the drain they share with their neighbours became blocked. Like Daphne, Rob believed they were a local company.
1st Active Drainage sent out a workman called Ryan, who arrive at the Budds' and spent three days working on the blocked drain. Ryan was supposedly washing out the gunk in the drain with a power hose. He then told Rob and Liz he had to dig up a neighbour's patio to replace a section of pipe.
When Rob and Liz asked about the total bill, they were told it would cost a whopping £3,800. Rob and Liz managed to get this figure down to a total of about £2,600, but they still struggled to raise the money to pay the bill.
We asked plumber Philip Brook to take a look down the drain with a small camera, to see if 1st Active Drainage Ltd had done the work they said they had. It turned out work the company claimed to have done hadn't been done at all.
In all of their dealings with 1st Active Drainage, the couple only ever spoke to Ryan. When the final bill came, however, it arrived with a letter signed by a James Francis.
We decided to investigate, Rogue Traders style. We invited 1st Active Drainage Ltd to a house in Watford which we filled with some secret cameras and asked an elderly lady to pose as the homeowner. We got drainage expert Brian Whorlow to set a simple blockage, which could be removed in under a minute. We called the company and agreed to a price of £47.50 per half an hour or £107 per half hour if pressure equipment was needed, plus VAT.
1st Active sent out drainage engineer Paul, who immediately went for the pressure equipment. He took 32 minutes to clear the drain and then told us we needed the drain to be de-scaled to prevent more problems; not true. After more than 2 hours work, we were given a bill for a huge £558.27. This is for a job that should have cost just £57.
Before we sent Paul on his way we asked him about the local, family-run company he works for.
Paul told us, "What it is, is we. Our family. Like, my obviously my father-in-law. We've been working like he's a relative or a long friend or you know they've been in business years and years....You know everyone. We've got family in between the guys that they the family the other family I don't know if they're like cousins or something like that."
After Paul's confusing explanation we were still no wiser as to who actually ran the company and whether it is, or not, a family business. A man called Joseph Ashford is the director on paper, but we know the person who deals with complaints is a man called James Francis. According to the invoice the company is based in Southampton, so we decided to head there next to see if we would get someone in the family to come and unblock our drain.
We set up another house with some cameras and a different old lady, and got expert Brian to set another simple blockage on a drain. When we called the company we were quoted a rate of £22.50 per half hour with an additional £59.90 per half hour for pressure equipment.
Drainage engineer Ryan was sent to our door - the same Ryan who visited Rob and Liz Budd. We were being charged a much lower rate than in Watford, although we soon found out why when Ryan's colleague joined him on the job. Brian told us this was a one-man job, but we were going to be charged for two - making the labour rate virtually the same as Watford.
Just like Paul, Ryan brings out his pressure equipment straight away to clear the blockage. He cleared it in about half an hour and also told us he pressure jetted the full length of the drain - something Brian, who was watching the action unfold, said he didn't do. This time the job should have cost us £22.50 plus VAT. However our bill came to £239.18. And to make matters worse Ryan also told us we should have more completely unnecessary work doing, costing £975!
We also take the opportunity to speak to Ryan about the nature of this family-run business. Also like Paul, Ryan gave us rather an odd answer "basically my dad started off the company and his son has taken over 'cos obviously he's got older...So basically my older brother has taken over.
So that's another unclear answer from 1st Active's representative.
We know James Francis is the man who deals with complaints so we did some digging and discovered some interesting facts. James' full name is James Francis Dean and it turns out he has reputation as a bit of a bad boy. He's previously been banned by the Financial Services Authority from running mortgage companies after failing to prevent his business from being used to perpetrate financial crime. We also discovered his father Peter Francis Dean was fined £17,500 for the same offence. And Peter Dean happens to own the building in Bournemouth where we tracked down the office of 1st Active Drainage Ltd.
So finally we have a family connection.
We called Ryan back out to the house in Southampton and put a little surprise down the drain - a talking, rubber fish. Matt Allwright acted as the voice of the fish, and when Ryan opened the drain he got a bit of a shock. Ryan left very quickly, and it was time to go after one of the company's big fish, (if you will) - James Dean.
Matt went to speak to James Francis outside his local gym where he questioned James on 1st Active Drainage Ltd's business techniques, and why they claim to be local when they appear in over 40 Thomson Locals. Whilst James confirmed he was the manager, he denied running 1st Active, and told us he we'd have to take up our points with the owner of the business.
1st Active Response:
We have heard from Joseph Ashford - although he didn't address all our allegations, he did confirm he is the Managing Director. He also says his father started the business 35 years ago, building up a good reputation in Bournemouth Southampton and the New Forest.
It's since become a limited company, expanding to other areas. And now has operatives based in every area in which they advertise so they can get to customers quickly.
He says he and his father had been sick which has limited their involvement, but does confirm that James Francis Dean has managerial responsibilities, and that Peter Francis Dean owns the building from where they operate.
Rogue Traders: 1st Active Drainage Ltd
Sadly, all is not what it seems. We've spoken to some unhappy customers who have had far from the perfect experience.
Daphne Saghbini from Islington in North London called out 1st Active Drainage Ltd when the drain in her garden blocked. Her decision was based on the fact they advertised as local family run business established 35 years.
They told Daphne that they'd charge £22.50 for the half hour, rising to £59.50 if they had to use power equipment. Daphne agreed - expecting a bill around the £100 mark. So Daphne was bewildered when 2.5 hours after arriving, she was presented with a bill for £540. Daphne disputed the cost.
In the end Daphne only paid half the amount they were asking for and sent them packing.
Retired couple Rob and Liz Budd from Gillingham in Dorset also had the misfortune to come across this company. They called 1st Active in May when the drain they share with their neighbours became blocked. Like Daphne, Rob believed they were a local company.
1st Active Drainage sent out a workman called Ryan, who arrive at the Budds' and spent three days working on the blocked drain. Ryan was supposedly washing out the gunk in the drain with a power hose. He then told Rob and Liz he had to dig up a neighbour's patio to replace a section of pipe.
When Rob and Liz asked about the total bill, they were told it would cost a whopping £3,800. Rob and Liz managed to get this figure down to a total of about £2,600, but they still struggled to raise the money to pay the bill.
We asked plumber Philip Brook to take a look down the drain with a small camera, to see if 1st Active Drainage Ltd had done the work they said they had. It turned out work the company claimed to have done hadn't been done at all.
In all of their dealings with 1st Active Drainage, the couple only ever spoke to Ryan. When the final bill came, however, it arrived with a letter signed by a James Francis.
We decided to investigate, Rogue Traders style. We invited 1st Active Drainage Ltd to a house in Watford which we filled with some secret cameras and asked an elderly lady to pose as the homeowner. We got drainage expert Brian Whorlow to set a simple blockage, which could be removed in under a minute. We called the company and agreed to a price of £47.50 per half an hour or £107 per half hour if pressure equipment was needed, plus VAT.
1st Active sent out drainage engineer Paul, who immediately went for the pressure equipment. He took 32 minutes to clear the drain and then told us we needed the drain to be de-scaled to prevent more problems; not true. After more than 2 hours work, we were given a bill for a huge £558.27. This is for a job that should have cost just £57.
Before we sent Paul on his way we asked him about the local, family-run company he works for.
Paul told us, "What it is, is we. Our family. Like, my obviously my father-in-law. We've been working like he's a relative or a long friend or you know they've been in business years and years....You know everyone. We've got family in between the guys that they the family the other family I don't know if they're like cousins or something like that."
After Paul's confusing explanation we were still no wiser as to who actually ran the company and whether it is, or not, a family business. A man called Joseph Ashford is the director on paper, but we know the person who deals with complaints is a man called James Francis. According to the invoice the company is based in Southampton, so we decided to head there next to see if we would get someone in the family to come and unblock our drain.
We set up another house with some cameras and a different old lady, and got expert Brian to set another simple blockage on a drain. When we called the company we were quoted a rate of £22.50 per half hour with an additional £59.90 per half hour for pressure equipment.
Drainage engineer Ryan was sent to our door - the same Ryan who visited Rob and Liz Budd. We were being charged a much lower rate than in Watford, although we soon found out why when Ryan's colleague joined him on the job. Brian told us this was a one-man job, but we were going to be charged for two - making the labour rate virtually the same as Watford.
Just like Paul, Ryan brings out his pressure equipment straight away to clear the blockage. He cleared it in about half an hour and also told us he pressure jetted the full length of the drain - something Brian, who was watching the action unfold, said he didn't do. This time the job should have cost us £22.50 plus VAT. However our bill came to £239.18. And to make matters worse Ryan also told us we should have more completely unnecessary work doing, costing £975!
We also take the opportunity to speak to Ryan about the nature of this family-run business. Also like Paul, Ryan gave us rather an odd answer "basically my dad started off the company and his son has taken over 'cos obviously he's got older...So basically my older brother has taken over.
So that's another unclear answer from 1st Active's representative.
We know James Francis is the man who deals with complaints so we did some digging and discovered some interesting facts. James' full name is James Francis Dean and it turns out he has reputation as a bit of a bad boy. He's previously been banned by the Financial Services Authority from running mortgage companies after failing to prevent his business from being used to perpetrate financial crime. We also discovered his father Peter Francis Dean was fined £17,500 for the same offence. And Peter Dean happens to own the building in Bournemouth where we tracked down the office of 1st Active Drainage Ltd.
So finally we have a family connection.
We called Ryan back out to the house in Southampton and put a little surprise down the drain - a talking, rubber fish. Matt Allwright acted as the voice of the fish, and when Ryan opened the drain he got a bit of a shock. Ryan left very quickly, and it was time to go after one of the company's big fish, (if you will) - James Dean.
Matt went to speak to James Francis outside his local gym where he questioned James on 1st Active Drainage Ltd's business techniques, and why they claim to be local when they appear in over 40 Thomson Locals. Whilst James confirmed he was the manager, he denied running 1st Active, and told us he we'd have to take up our points with the owner of the business.
1st Active Response:
We have heard from Joseph Ashford - although he didn't address all our allegations, he did confirm he is the Managing Director. He also says his father started the business 35 years ago, building up a good reputation in Bournemouth Southampton and the New Forest.
It's since become a limited company, expanding to other areas. And now has operatives based in every area in which they advertise so they can get to customers quickly.
He says he and his father had been sick which has limited their involvement, but does confirm that James Francis Dean has managerial responsibilities, and that Peter Francis Dean owns the building from where they operate.
Rogue Traders: 1st Active Drainage Ltd