Housing Association using dodgy contractor - LONG SORRY!

carrot-cake_2

I have lived in my HA house for almost 8 years. I am not just saying this but I really have appreciated living here, I moved in aged 22 with my newborn son as I was literally homeless for months. Long story short I had lost my job/wasn't entitled to maternity leave so they got someone else after I left to give birth. I ended up losing my privately rented house as he wouldn't accept DSS when I tried to renew my tenancy. It really was a horrible time amongst other things.

Anyhoo, since living here it has been my little starting point. I went to college when my son was a baby, got myself a good job when he started school and I have really looked after the house and gardens and spent alot of money on it. I take pride in making it a home (for now!) I obviously don't want to live in a HA house all my life but getting a mortgage is still a few years away and I really love living here because we're settled.

I thought I would get that first bit in because my problem is with how I am being treated now. I booked a repair a few months ago about all of my grids being dangerously large and when you open my side gate you literally have to jump over a massive big grid (its only for my bath water) and one near the back door and under the kitchen window. The person that came out said the flags in the back garden also needed replacing with me having children. They were all broken and uneven. He also said they would reduce the size of my grids to make it safer, remove a lumpy bit of concrete from in front of my front door and replace with flags.

The deadline was 12th August but by the 12th August no one had contacted me. I rang the HA and after alot of huffing and puffing they said they would get someone to come out that day. They did but the workman ended up leaving because he didn't know what jobs he was doing

The day after a workman turned up again. He had brand new flags on the back of his van, yet he used old broken flags to replace my already broken flags and his flagging was even more uneven than it was before!

I contacted the HA and told them and they said they would contact him to tell him not to come out to finish the job the day after as they would get an inspector to come out and have a look.

The next day I got up for work to find him finishing off the flagging in the back garden! I told him that I wasn't happy and that I had contacted the HA and an inspector was coming out. He then said he would contact the HA himself. I heard him on the phone but it sounded like he was talking to his boss or a colleague and not a member of the HA. When this 'inspector' came out I asked him was he an employee of the HA and he said yes. (Later I found out from the HA that he in fact wasn't but was a supervisor of the contracting company). He said that the flagging was fine but they would relay the uneven flags. Nothing they could do about the broken ones.

I came home from work to find the flagging finished, front flagging was fine however the grid at the side of the house they had reduced in size but put a different spout on the down spout (sorry I have no idea what these are called). When I tried to open my side gate it wouldn't open because the old scraggy spout he had fitted was too big for the gate to get past!

The much larger grids in the back garden were untouched so I contacted the HA to ask them when the other grids would be reduced and if someone could come and fix my side gate/grid because I couldn't open the gate. Someone came out a few days later to shave off the corner of my gate to enable it to open

I am now still waiting for someone to come and reduce the size of these whopping great big grids round the house, one of which overlaps the back door and I have had to put a piece of wood over it so the kids don't fall down the grid when they go out.

I have researched this contractor that they use and their website is very very amateur, not even a proper website its one that you make yourself where your web address ends with something like /webeden.co.uk with no business address, company number or contact details. I can't even find contact details for them whatsoever on the internet.

I have complained to the HA that its as if their attitude is 'oh its only a HA house so lets just use any old rubbish we have lying about!'. They haven't done 'basic' flagging in my back garden, its absolutely appalling work if you can even call it that, one of them lied telling me he was an inspector from the HA when in fact he wasn't, they ballsed up my grid/side gate, cut a piece of my gate off to make up for this and then didn't finish the job!

I'm just speechless. I feel really disappointed that I have put so much blood, sweat and tears into this house (I even had to pay to get a massive big hole in the living room ceiling plastered when I moved in because the HA said it was my responsibility! I could see my bedroom ceiling from the living room!).

If anyone has any advice for handling this, how to complain, who to speak to and also making sure that this rogue company isn't used again! Surely they should all show I.D so you know which company they are from?

Thanks if you got this far!

carrot-cake_2

This is their website

http://skprecision.vpweb.co.uk/default.html

Errata

If anyone has any advice for handling this, how to complain, who to speak to and also making sure that this rogue company isn't used again! Surely they should all show I.D so you know which company they are from?

Contact your estate manager and ask them to visit you and view and discuss the work. And it's your responsibility to check a workman's ID, and theirs to show it to you.

Alias_Omega

Just keep ringing the Housing Association.

If you want a bit of a laugh, I would take pictures and email them into the Housing Association. I would also CC any Partners or Directors you can find aswell.

We had this years ago with the local council. At receptionist level nothing was happening, but when I emailed all the Top Level Managers, it became a priority and was done the same week.

Google is your friend.

pmduk

Actually our housing association issues joint ID cards, showing the HA's logo together with that of the contractor, it isn't always clear who they work for, and they'll all tell you what they think you want to hear with no regard to its truth.