Woman seeks compensation after being left without heating
23 Feb 2010
A woman from Skipton is seeking compensation from a housing
association after her boiler broke down and she was left without
heating.
Fiona Shaw, who is registered disabled, lives in a home owned by
Accent Group Housing Association and began to experience problems
with her heating system just before Christmas, but was told that
nobody could come out to repair it because the offices had closed
for the festive season.
She was forced to spend the holidays, when temperatures dropped
well below freezing, without heat or hot water, the Craven Herald
reports.
"We sat there wrapped in quilts, desperately trying to keep warm
with the gas rings in the kitchen on full blast … It's been a
nightmare … I've been in tears regularly," Ms Shaw commented.
When the tenant was eventually able to report the fault on January
4th, engineers came out, but she claims that they failed to fix the
boiler properly and it continued to break down.
Only last week did Accent provide a new boiler. Ms Shaw's
neighbours also told the newspaper that they have experienced
problems with Accent not carrying out repairs on its
properties.
Ms Shaw has taken legal action against the housing association in a
bid to claim compensation for the suffering she was caused and a
spokesperson for Accent confirmed that a representative will
contact her regarding this soon.
Earlier this month, it was reported that a landlord from London had
been fined for failing to maintain her rental property to the
required standard. The main fire escape in particular was found to
be in a state of disrepair.
