Married Quarters (MQ) Residents

dippydora_2

Hi kitchpoo, wondered if I could pick your brains?

We moved into our MQ 7 months ago and there seems to be a recurring problem with drains/sewage.
Whenever we have a few days of heavy rain our kitchen sink in the house will not drain and this precedes sewage spewing out of the manhole cover in our back garden and forming a moat around the house of sewage water. The kitchen drain blockage also affects my neighbours on both sides, but as I am the only one with a sewage drain in the garden and it is the lowest point on the street, I have now had it bubbling over three times.

The first timeI did notrealize it was sewage and just waited for it to subside thinking it was rainwater as I was at the bottom of the hill.
Second time MHS arranged for a drain man to attend and he informed me it was sewage from the surrounding area (NICE!!!!) so he pumped the drain out and cleaned up as best he could, but not before myself, daughter,hubby and two cats had traipsed through it all (no other way to get out of house) and through the house.
I rang MHS and asked if we could have the carpets steam cleaned as we were worried about contamination and they said they would fax a request through to the local office (Lympstone/Exmouth) and thought that there would not be a problem, no reply...
I rang MHS again a few days later who repeated the procedure, again no response.
I decided (after much hand-washing) to buy a carpet cleaner and do it myself.
It has happened again on Sunday and it is becoming unbeareable. On talking to my neighbours they said it happened quite regularly before we moved in but no-one realized it was sewage water.

My question is how do I go about getting the drains looked into properly as there is obviously a recurring problem and I do not want to keep having the drains cleared and wading through sewage every couple of months (Did I also mention that we have all had stomach bugs at least four times in the last few months, which seems like it is related as I rarely get things like that)
MHS seem only to be able to call someone out if there is a blockage and said they didn't think they could help, I asked the firm which cleared the drains if they could write a report asking for further investigation and have told MHS this, so said they will see if he does a report.

Meanwhile (with a week of rain forecast) I just want to move out of this house as I do not hold much hope of this getting sorted and cannot bear the thought of the clearup operation each time, I feel like I'm living in a third world country, wading through sewage....

MHS don't seem to be able to help, and I don't know where to
go next i.e defence estates, HIC, any suggestions would be gratefully received, I'm fed up clearing up S***

kitchpoo

laurenjade1402 wrote: »

Hi Kitchpoo, we moved into our quarter 6 years ago when the house was about 3 years old. It still had the initial builders paint on the walls (the paint that rubs off) and still does to this day so as you can imagine its a bit of a mess now. Should they be painting this and also the carpets are 9 years old and beige should i be entitled to a professional clean on them? We will be in this house until 2012 if this makes any difference. Thanks

MHS and DE are reluctant to carry out redecoration and carpet replacements during occupancy, but I believe that you are entitiled to a free clean and hat it is in either MHS handbook or some agreement with the HIC. This has occasionally been done on houses I know and under a veil of secrecy as DE didnt want the word to spread!!

Painting is also only undertaken during vacancy due to the problems of access, and that there is a higher rate DE would have to pay MHS for carrying out this. Again, this goes against the policy of repainting on a cyclical basis of every 6 years, but is at an agreement of MHS and DE. The best option would be to register the issue of the paint with MHS, at least you wont be charged for any defective walls at move out, registering the problem with the paint should get a Technical Officer to come and inspect and determine the casue and best plan of action.

laurenjade1402

kitchpoo wrote: »

MHS and DE are reluctant to carry out redecoration and carpet replacements during occupancy, but I believe that you are entitiled to a free clean and hat it is in either MHS handbook or some agreement with the HIC. This has occasionally been done on houses I know and under a veil of secrecy as DE didnt want the word to spread!!

Painting is also only undertaken during vacancy due to the problems of access, and that there is a higher rate DE would have to pay MHS for carrying out this. Again, this goes against the policy of repainting on a cyclical basis of every 6 years, but is at an agreement of MHS and DE. The best option would be to register the issue of the paint with MHS, at least you wont be charged for any defective walls at move out, registering the problem with the paint should get a Technical Officer to come and inspect and determine the casue and best plan of action.

Thanks Kitchpoo, managed to get the painting sorted, they're going to do it and i can even pick my own colour scheme if i pay the extra for the paint. Thanks

kitchpoo

dippydora

Apologies for not replying yesterday..

Not a nice situation this one! MHS' contract is a reactive maintenance contract, so every time you call and say there is a problem with the drains, thats what they fix over and over - never really tackling the main problem.

I would insist on talking to the TLO (Tenant Liason Officer) from MHS to explain the situation and see this through to a proper conclusion. Maybe you could ask when the drains were last CCTV inspected, and MHS will have full access to previous defects raised, enabling them to see the full extent of the problem going back to 2006.

Start with the TLO - they can open doors sometimes and can sometimes visit to assess the situation http://content.yudu.com/Library/A11ymw/HomeportMagazineWint/resources/16.htm

dippydora_2

Thanks kitchpoo I had a horrible feeling this was one of those situations where no-one really takes responsibility for the problem. I am going to call back tomorrow as the drain engineer that cleared the sewage should hopefully have sent his report in by now and see what they say in response to his suggestion of having a survey done, If I am not satisfied, then I will use your great advice and ask to speak to the TLO. Depending on the outcome of that, I may even apply for an exchange of SFA (Do you think I would have grounds?) I know that is not your area of expertise, just wondered what you thought...
Thanks again for taking the time to reply, it's just nice to know that someone is sharing the problem.

dippydora_2

Well I never! a knock on the door this morning and as I speak a drain technician with a CCTV is trying to sort out the problem, he has been all over the place this morning and is pumping out various drains as I speak...
Result! I take it all back....

I will let you know if it sorts the problem!

footballmanagerwidow

Hiya,

I think we have some sort of serious electrical fault with our MQ but MHS are reluctant to do anything about it, they've said light fittings are something we are responsible for. The lights in our bedroom and upstairs toilets don't work at all and the other sockets all spark when you take something out of them, i'm terrified that one of us is going to be electrocuted one day! LOL. What would you suggest we do?

Thanks.

kitchpoo

Ask when the last electrical check was done, ask to see the NICEIC inspection report.... MHS holds this, it should also have been present at move in and the Housing Oficer can ask for it on your behalf.

There are a number of properties with sub-standard electrical systems that were safe, but are now old and in need of rewiring which MHS try and group together in to a small project.

Light fittings - Shades are now your responsibility (including the glass ones on 3 pendant lights), bulb holders, lights, switches and cables are MHS' repair items.

I thought a WC light not working was an emergency repair - 24 hour max call out as there is no other lighting in the room?

Sparking sounds like it is not earthed correctly.

IF you get the NICEIC check - there is a box on the second or 3rd page that should say "satisfactory" and a re-inspecton date. If it says "Unsatisfactory" start asking questions.

jpwhittle

hi can someone tell me if there are any animals im not allowed to keep at my quarter? we've got a right stickeler here (he's even going round taking pictures when you dont do your garden while people are at work) so dont want to ask him, but thought maybe someone on here could tell me what is a definate no?

kitchpoo

jpwhittle wrote: »

hi can someone tell me if there are any animals im not allowed to keep at my quarter? we've got a right stickeler here (he's even going round taking pictures when you dont do your garden while people are at work) so dont want to ask him, but thought maybe someone on here could tell me what is a definate no?

I'm not sure myself but I know that you need to apply for a liscence to have a pet - a dog and a cat result on a charge at move out for the carpets to be done.

Gardens are a problem and if the Housing Officer is beig tasked with bringing an estate image up then it is common for them to inspect gardens and their condition. IIRC you can request a lawnmower from DE!