HelenaDove Sun 27-May-18 17:12:31
From a blog.
December 14, 2016 at 5:21 pm
"I’m posting my complaint to sanctuary in the hope someone can tell me where to go…they cost me my job in jan 2015 as i was in a new job on probation and had to take 6 days off work in a month as they left me and my daughter with no hot water for a month because they kept not turning up or sending out wrong people to fix it, then took me to court for eviction in feb as i couldnt pay rent!
This complaint now as u will see has been going on a yr, iv complained to 3 manager whole have all never got back to me. I emailed them 3 weeks ago as a manager told me in September she was dealing with.my complaint but has not contacted me since, emailed again yesterday to be told someone will contact u! Im at the end of my tether.
On November 3rd 2015 I reported a leak where water was coming in to my living room from underneath the coving. The man I spoke to said he would get a plumber out and I told him there were no pipes there but he still sent a plumber.
Following this between November 2015– July 2016 I have had 12 appointments with sanctuary maintenance staff because you sent out the wrong people, parts had not been ordered or people were sent who didn’t even know what they were supposed to be doing, I have attached a list of appointments and what was done each time.
In April I made a complaint to a manager Craig as it had been going on 5 months, every time it rained i had water coming in my living room. I have chronic asthma and this was causing mould and since February I had been seriously ill and admitted to hospital 3 times and was due to have surgery on 6th April and I was concerned I would have open wounds and having dirty water coming in.
Craig advised I could claim compensation for lost time/earnings/damages and promised to chase. On 7th may following another 3 appointments and nothing being done I went to environmental health as I had now had infections in my wounds from my surgery, in a lot of pain and still having to mop dirty water.
On 8th June i called sanctuary again as environmental health have also been chasing he is getting no response either, i am told you cannot bring the appointment forward and i literally broke down on the phone as i have now had water coming in my house 7 months, im in pain from major surgery and nothing is any closer to being resolved.
I complain to a manager Joe who tells me the job was cancelled!
Now the job was finally completed on 15th July by simply painting sealant on the balcony which Joe advised David bizzells manager knew of this problem as other houses had the same problem.
I am amazed i have been left this long for a simple problem sanctuary were already aware of, It’s disgusting you left me a whole winter with asthma with rain coming in and following surgery when i should have been resting i was mopping dirty water.
Now the problem should be resolved but i have been left with damage and mould to the wall, coving and curtain rail/baton due to 8 months of water, pictures attached. i am told this will need painting with a special sealant first to stop the water marks keep showing through. So are sanctuary going to come and do that and repaint or do i have to do this? I would also like to claim compensation for the time you wasted which cost me money off work for every appointment, the stress of what you put me through and cost of sorting the damaged caused by the water as you can see from the pictures I have a damp patch at the bottom of the coving and across the top of the whole wall and damp and flaking paint.
This is standard appauling service from Sanctuary repairs, in january 2015 you cost me my job leaving me with no hot water for a month and me having 6 days off work because you kept sending wrong people out and i had to go to the mp to resolve and clearly nothing has changed"
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HelenaDove Sun 27-May-18 17:17:01
"I am a tenant of Housing for Women and we have suffered similar problems, if not some are the same. They have ruined my life since I moved in to our home in 2012. Have been a tenant for over 4 years and 5 months and they have ruined my son’s childhood. We have been discriminated, victimised and bullied for years and despite all our evidence, they continue to lie to cover up their corruption and our MP, Lewisham Council and the Housing Ombudsman keep falling for it every time. Actually, they don’t care.
How is it in this day and age, these social housing providers, are protected against their illegal treatment? Every day we have lived here, we put up with ASB, we are the victims and the perpetrators continue driving us out of our home. Our home is riddled with defects and disrepairs, as Housing for Women boast about how great their service is.
Our home stinks of the communal bins 24/7. My child is sick several times a week from these smells as this landlord fails to deal with communal maintenance.
They lied about our building being safe and secure with CCTV when in fact all these years, the CCTV was fake.
The most shocking aspect of all is this housing association is a specialist in domestic violence and as a victim, they have to this day, put us at risk and danger. As well as breaching health and safety, breaching our human rights, they lie about every single thing, making me look like a mad woman. They have caused us so much harm, daily misery and driven me to a nervous breakdown again and again.
I post photos every week on social media to prove the truth, a diary and evidence. Yet it still makes no difference. Environmental health department are just as useless as is the housing ombudsman who had put me on a 12 month waiting list before they began investigations. I sent a big file with evidence. My case officer kept changing. What should have taken a month to investigate, took four days by another staff member for the HO. She didn’t even look at my evidence. I couldn’t believe it, I had official reports from Thames Water, plumbers, statements from neighbours. I requested a review and the ombudsman admitted overlooking my evidence. But didn’t say how or why. She agreed maladministration over repairs but not about teh rest of my complaint. Which is incorrect as H4W lied stating that inspections, monitoring of CCTV and cleaning had been increased. Which is a total lie but she fell for it.
The damage caused to my health, already with health problems and vulnerable, has most definitely shortened my life expectancy"
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HelenaDove Mon 28-May-18 17:48:46
HelenaDove Fri 09-Feb-18 01:39:32
HelenaDove Fri 09-Feb-18 00:37:53
www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15919667.Toryglen_resident_calls_under_fire_housing_association_for_help___but_gets_police_visit_instead/?ref=twtrec
Add message | Report | Message poster HelenaDove Fri 09-Feb-18 00:38:56
13 comments
"A RESIDENT who contacted an under-fire housing association to ask for a workman was met by police instead.
It is the latest incident in a long-running saga that has pit residents and their housing association against one another.
As previously told in the Evening Times, energy saving works in Toryglen should have taken 12 weeks to carry out.
Now, 20 months later, workmen are still on site sorting out problems caused by the scheme, run by energy giant E-on at hundreds of Thistle Housing Association properties.
Resident Ian Paterson spotted that a cable containment box had burst and cables were hanging loose in his close.
He emailed Thistle HA to report the problem, expecting a workman to come out and fix the damage.
Instead, housing bosses called the police to accuse Mr Paterson of vandalism and two officers came to his door.
It is the second time Thistle's management have called police to Mr Paterson, having previously accused him of running a blog site detailing the issues with the botched works.
Mr Paterson described the move as a "poisonous attempt" on his character.
The energy works have turned into a three-way stooshie with residents of 608 properties stuck in the middle.
Using £8.5million of public money, including £3.4m of Scottish Government cash, E-on was supposed to have taken 12 weeks to carry out works such as rough casting, window upgrades and roof repairs in order to make homes more energy efficient.
Workers wracked up a catalogue of blunders, meaning some properties had to be visited on multiple occasions in order to undergo remedial works.
And residents, who have asked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and council leader Susan Aitken for help, were left increasingly frustrated by the time delays and inconvenience.
In September last year E-on pulled all its staff off-site following a stand-up row between its staff and residents.
Each group pointed the finger at the other with locals claiming E.ON staff were verbally abusive towards them.
E.ON then claimed its workers felt under threat for residents.
There was also a deadlock between the energy firm and the housing association over payment, causing E.ON to appoint an independent adjudicator - which found in favour of the housing association.
The stalemate arose when a quantity surveyor appointed by Thistle would not sign off the works, so the association withheld a £3.4m payment to E-on.
At the time, our paper contacted E-on for comment but they refused to speak on the issue.
It is understood workmen are still on site sorting out snagging issues at properties.
Some residents have had as many as 13 completion dates for their homes but still have no end in sight.
A spokesperson from Thistle Housing Association said: “It is standard practice that any suspected acts of vandalism to our properties are reported to our community police team.
“It is our duty to ensure our residents live in a safe, well maintained community and we endeavour to do all we can to uphold our high standards throughout Toryglen.”
Glasgow City Council has said the local authority will commission an independent audit into the situation."
Add message | Report | Message poster HelenaDove Fri 09-Feb-18 01:33:54
www.heraldscotland.com/news/15366537.Repairs_scandal_housing_association_calls_police_on_whistleblowing_Toryglen_residents/
Add message | Report | Message poster HelenaDove Fri 09-Feb-18 01:34:48
"Ian Paterson, who has helped spearhead the residents’ campaign was visited by police who were called by the housing association in relation to a blog that has been started by residents and which details the failings of the works programme so far.
He said: “The blog is written by a collection of residents. But it shows how poor communications have become that police are being called to pensioners such as myself."
The second article i have linked was written nine days after Grenfell The Grenfell residents logged their ongoing problems in a blog too. Yet nine days after the tragedy in another part of the country another set of residents doing the same are treated with derision...........just nine days later.
You can bet that if it was vice versa and the HA were writing comments about the tenants it would have been deemed a civil matter.
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HelenaDove Mon 28-May-18 17:54:23
Labour and the tower blocks in Salford.
salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=2390
I hope ive not derailed too much but IMO the "othering" of working class people/social housing tenants has been going on for a long time and leads to situations as described in the blog.