I'm assuming the OP is in the UK as they gave the cost in £. If the problem is with the drainage pipes rather than the tank why can't the pipes simply be replaced? I suspect the company has seen the opportunity to make more money by creating a bigger job.
Yep exactly what I am wondering. With this specific company, it appears to be down to regulations. Or perhaps they just don't do that sort of work, and I actually need to get an independent plumber (?) to come in and do the work instead.
I had a client who had a very large house built in 1924 and he reckoned it was the original septic tank. The water company used to come round and check the outflow and concluded it was so clean it passed drinking water standards
In case you're not aware, septic tanks work on natural bacteria to deal with their contents so, for the modern ultra-hygienic householder's first encounter with such systems, they have to rein back on how much bleach-type products they use in the house. Too much, and the bacteria are killed, which is what they're supposed to do, but the two don't mix in old systems. I was told when we came here that the old practice after emptying was to put an old decaying chicken carcass in to start a new set of bacteria going. Dead chickens aren't so easily found these days but the principle's there.
We've just had our septic tank emptied and been told our pipework doesn't have sufficient fall on it, so it's likely to block easily (which it did last month). We're using "Muck Munchers", some magic stuff you flush down the loo once a month, to keep the bacteria levels up and hopefully keep everything flowing. It gets good reviews but we've not been using it long enough to know if it's going to work... otherwise we have to have the garden dug up to re-lay the drainage pipes.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
In Belgium, where we also had a septic tank, and France, you can buy septic tank bacteria friendly toilet cleaning products. I use bleach very sparingly as it gives me a headache plus red, watery eyes. Had our septic tank emptied last summer - newly modernised by previous owners, and chappy says it's huge and we're good for 8 years now.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
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