Mr. Chris Jones:

Our preference is to work with the householder, but we have legal powers and can apply for a warrant to go in and fix leaking pipework and recover the cost from the owner. This has happened in a very small number of cases and we try to avoid it at all costs. It tends to involve people who have a very long individual supply pipe and are, therefore, living in rural areas. They tend not to be aware of the law that states they are responsible for the pipe until they are told there is a problem with it, after we identify excessive usage in their zone and see that the wastage is from their pipe. It can become a messy process, but in the vast majority of cases we help the householder to solves the problem.