Military Money Saving.. Sub Standard Housing???

strong96

lincolnshire, 3 bed detached only 800

army 2 bed terrace squaller 1200

cheshirekitty

We once lived in a MQ in Camberley. Everytime it rained I had to move my sofa as the flat roof leaked.

Every time I put the dishwasher on, the electrics blew.

DHE's advice - do not use so many electric appliances!!!

arkonite_babe

OFFENSIVE POSTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND REPORTED TO ABUSE

Please be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

MSE_Martin wrote:

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padbrat

It is true that some of the MOD housing is absolutely disgraceful... we seem to continually get this type of housing as we have no kids... however some is very nice indeed! Just to give a balanced view!

But... it is strange that different arms of service have differing standards of accommodation!!!

I am not surprised one bit that people on benefits have better standards than us... it wasn't long ago that prisoners got more free phone time than Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq!!!

debtfreein2009

I agree that some of the housing stock is disgraceful, but it seems to be a minority. They are improving the standards gradually, but funding is the problem, as always. I've had a couple of issues with our previous quarters, but have had all faults repaired and problems resolved. If you're persistant and patient they will be sorted. I think people have to bear in mind that the rents are a lot cheaper than direct comparrisons in civvie street. A highest grade 3 bed quarter will only set you back £8.53 a day. We lived in London for less than £265 a month rent....it's got to be good value. I'd rather have a couple of faults, a bit of dodgy decorating and a cheaper rent rather than pay the real world going rate. If people don't realise how good it can be, then I'd suggest they have a look at buying a house. You can then compare and see if MOD housing still offers poor value against condition etc. If you're not happy with your quarter complain in writing to the DHE, apply for a betterment move or even a new posting. Don't just moan and b*t*h on forums, be pro-active....it's your home!

System

I used to be in married quarters at a northern RAF station. It was planned to hand over about 30 surplus houses (all the same satndard as the ones that we were in) to the local council as they had a severe housing shortage.

The council refused on the grounds that it would cost £15000 per house to bring them up to the council standards

helsee

well, i dont think mq's are such a bad deal.....but then maybe ive been lucky. No they are'nt always perfect but no house you ever get will be.....yes some may be sub standard and this is not acceptable but i think the majority are in good order.I think the army does ok by the families, i wish i saw more positive stuff about them!

EmmEve

I'm very pro-active but my patience wears very thin after 8 wks with no oven or grill that i can use!

debtfreein2009

EmmEve, that's not good enough by any standards. When did you initially contact MHS and what did you say? The reason I ask it's that they catorgise the fault as either Emergency (3hours) Urgent (5days) and Routine (20 days) Your call should have been logged and you should have been given a unique reference. Call the helpline again now and explain that it's simply not good enough and you will be persuing your complaint up the command chain and will be looking to recover any out of pocket expenses. Remind them as part of your licence of occupy that your property should have a cooking appliance, so they are in breech of the contact. You've paid your rent in good faith and on the understanding that you'll have access to cooking facilities. Stay calm, but be really forceful and tell them enough is enough. Jus t as a matter of interest, have you had any form of response from them or has an eleccy been around to look at it? I've had 2 cookers condemned at previous postings due to missing seals and dangerous doors. I've always told them it was an urgent call-out and how was I suppose to feed my children. They've always been really quick and replaced the cookers each time. Let us know how you get on.

EmmEve

Thanks, this was a 3-4 yrs ago now though lol. It was right after MHS took over. It was classed as routine but they were dealing with a huge backlog from the takeover at that time. It took about 5 wks to get someone out to look at it. Then i had to wait for a part, but this did not fix it. Then i had to wait for a new oven. Then my new oven didn't heat up properly!! MHS agreed it was faulty but couldn't repair it as it was under warranty. I then had to wait for cannon who said it was fine. I disagreed as did yet another MHS contractor who was again called out, it was a nightmare i was stuck in stalemate as MHS couldn't fix it and cannon wouldn't. I was having almost daily conversations (arguments) with MHS and our local MHS Liason Officer.

A trip to my local AWS office and hey presto one replacement oven was in my house by 6pm that evening! They sent one of the MHS/SERCO managers round to the empty houses to find me one lol. All hail the AWS

My complaint to MHS was basically ignored because they had no complaints system in place. Total shambles.

I also complained to my local MP. I gained a bunch of flowers and a personal apology from an area manager from that.