originally I posted this on AIBU where somebody suggested that I might get some better help here... so here it is again.
Friend lives in a rented flat, she's been waiting for ages for a wheel-chair accessible flat/bungalow to become available (a whole different thread probably!) because as you can imagine a first floor flat is not ideal when you are in a wheelchair.
however, she got back from an operation in hospital a couple of weeks ago to discover that the lift was out of order and it still is, with no idea being given of when the lift people are even going to come back to the lift, let alone being able to fix it (one man has come, said he can't do it, needs to be the lift manufacturers and that's pretty much been it).
A local newspaper got involved yesterday; from which my friend discovered that the property management company may be having financial troubles which may be a reason why they are not chasing this up.
But - is there anything that can be done to force property management companies to repair buildings asap when the thing that has gone wrong (ie the lift) is having such a fundamental effect on those that live in the building? (although my friend is the only one in a wheelchair there are others that are very old or have toddlers and pushchairs etc).
Thank you!
(This is the press release my friend sent out about the situation...)
original post:
Trying to think of ways to help a friend that's been stuck in her flat for the last two weeks because the lift has broken. And because she needs a wheelchair she can't just walk down the stairs like everyone else can, thanks to EDS (a genetic tissue disorder affecting her joints and internal organs).
A lift man's been to fix it but doesn't have the right software and doesn't seem to be making any attempt to get it. And whilst friends have stepped in to help get the dc (aged 7) to and from school and Tesco etc can deliver groceries, it's going to be a major problem if there's a fire.
To add insult to injury, she was told on friday afternoon that the lift was fixed but when one of her dc went to test it - it still wasn't working and when she rang the PM company to say that it hadn't been fixed, the office had switched on its answerphone and wasn't open again until this morning.
She's written a great press release to try to see if local press articles might raise some pressure to get it fixed soon, but I thought I'd see if anyone on MN had any other ideas that might be able to speed up the repairs!
We're based in Milton Keynes if that makes a difference.
(and sorry, I know technically this isn't so much of an AIBU more an 'Is the repair company and property management company BU?')