Issues with company used by the council

plattinum

Almost a year ago the coucil began work on the roof of the property in which we live. Although the work is now complete we had many problems. One which has just recently been resolved was the tv aerial. This was moved during the work, and everytime it rained the freeview signal was lost. I phoned them and asked them to look into this, after months of waiting and getting nowhere with the roofing company, I rang the council and made an appointment with the tennant liason officer (TLO), she came round and made a note of the problems. About 2 weeks later the aerial man the roofing company use turned up unannounced, luckily I was in. We went to the side of the property where the coax leaves the roof. I noticed this had been fixed back to the wall, but this had previously been left hanging after the roof work, and was one of the issues I mentioned to the TLO. He said he fitted it back about 4 or 5 months ago which I knew was a lie. He also said the reason we were loosing the tv signal, was because rain was getting in the coax where it had been split to feed another room. I wasn't sure that was the reason as the reception was fine before, but the aerial man was rude and abrupt and upset my son. I mentioned to the TLO what happened, and explained I still wasn't happy with this diagnosis, as the aerial fitter hadn't been on the roof and I'd been advised it could have possibly been the alignment or signal strength, so they sent him out again unannounced. This time I was sat in a friends car outside, we were just about to go shopping, she was just taking a phone call and I saw the van pull up. He knocked at the door and was there less than 30 seconds, then shouted to his mate in the van, ring the office and tell them we've been on the roof! That confirmed my suspicions of him anyway, and another appointment was made which they wanted me to be present at just before Christmas. This time I waited in most of the day and he didn't turn up, so I rang the office asked where he was and was told they didn't know, would find out and ring back. Which they didn't. I rang them back an hour later and asked what was going on, I was furious, and the director of the company called back. He apologised, and we had a long chat about what had been going on, and said he would be sending another engineer out to investigate the problem. The new tv engineer the director sent out said there was water leaking into the coax, from a missing cap on the aerial not from the place the original engineer specified, and he fitted a new aerial. I can't believe that this has taken almost a year to address, we have had many nights without the tv, and obviously still had to pay the licence fee.
They also cut through the phone line. We had no phone for a week, then it began to work again half an hour before bt turned up to investigate the fault. BT examined the wire and confirmed it had been cut through, and re attatched obviously by the roofer, who said nothing. BT had to renew the line. Which then messed up the internet for 3 weeks. I spent over an hour and a half on the phone and made 12 phone calls costing almost £10 trying to resolve the internet problem. The roofing company have agreed to reimburse a total of £28. £10 for the phone calls made and £18 for internet fees, but only if I agree to sign a form within the next 14 days. I am sending an email asking about the details in the form, but I think it's generally agreeing that I wont take the matter further.I feel they are putting pressure on me. I would like to know your views, is signing the form a good or bad idea?

Cheers

shelley_crow

As the contractors are employed by the council, complain to the council again. If you are not happy with the response you get, escalate the complaint through the stages (stage 1 is intial complaint, as the complaint escalates it is passed through the ranks to people with more authority. Don't sign anything from the contractors if you are by any means unsure that they are sincere in their assertions. If they are cowboys (for want of a better word) then the council may have had other complaints too. From experience, you have to badger the council to get them to accept the existance of a problem and even more so to reach a resolution. If you are still unhappy, there is a regulator for council services (there should be a link on your local council site).

plattinum

Thanks for the reply shelley, wasn't aware it was so loooooooong, thanks for your patience reading. I'v already filled in a formal complaint form, but there wasn't a great deal of space to explain the problems, so they dont know the half of it really. I feel like they are getting away with a great deal. I'm certainly not happy with the ammount of time I'v spent dealing with these people. I'll visit the website and see if I can find the regulator link and I thought maybe I should go and see my counciller about it. I'v also asked the contractor to communicate via email, so I have records to refer to if need be. Thanks again

shelley_crow

You're welcome chick, i'd also ask for written confirmation that they've recived your complaint, emails tend to get "lost" easily. I had a situation that took 18 months of constant complaining. Use their reference number in any correspondance, if they don't act within a certain timeframe of receiving your complaint, escalate it and so in. Be persistant and don't be afraid to be a pain in their !!!, it's the only way to get anything done. good luck x