A Wallsend man has described his ordeal after the fitting of a new kitchen left him 'in limbo' months later. John Denholm has been living in the Home Group property for 18 years, with the work originally scheduled for late April.
The 57-year-old was contacted by Home Group about getting a new kitchen, with his previous model installed 12 years ago. The scope of work grew, with John informed he would also need new flooring and an electrical rewire.
Work delayed by damp
Packing up his furniture and putting it in storage, John prepared for work to begin on April 27, with the kitchen pulled out the following day. He reported damp behind his old kitchen, which delayed the work further.
John said: 'I was left with nothing during this period, and was told to use my microwave and kitchen kettle for cooking, which I can't really do as I have diabetes to need to eat quite specific meals. My bedroom floor, which I asked not to be touched as it was quite new, was also taken away.'
'It felt like the house was left like a building site, and the living room floor was damaged which I wasn't happy about. With the new kitchen on the driveway, because of the damp which I had told them about, the work was stopped and they drove off with it, leaving me without the proper facilities.'
Unfinished repairs
John, a driving instructor who lost business due to the disruption, continued: 'The kitchen was eventually fitted, and the floor in the bedroom was replaced, but there were holes and cracks in the ceiling and walls, and I'm still waiting on the living room floor being sorted at the moment.'
'With it being other contractors working on behalf of Home Group, I was told to go through the complaints system to take that up with them. I was offered £300 compensation but I don't think that's good enough for the inconvenience and the money that I have lost from cancelling lessons.'
'I got to the end of the complaints procedure, and have put a complaint in with the housing ombudsman as that was the next step. I just can't put my house back together yet and I feel like I am in limbo, it has been hard for my mental health, and I have been sleeping on the sofa in the meantime.'
Home Group response
Andy Hall, Regional Director at Home Group, said: 'We are sorry to hear our customer has been dissatisfied with our service. We have guided them through our complaints process, and a compensation offer was made, in line with our policy.'
'We completed a planned kitchen upgrade and electrical rewire in our customer’s home in May. Where possible, our contractors do try to work around a customer’s schedule to minimise any further disruption.'
'We did experience a delay in installing the new kitchen, when damp was identified and had to be fixed as a priority. A temporary sink unit was installed and our customer’s cooker reconnected, as well as making an offer of alternative accommodation over the bank holiday weekend.'
'Our contractors have also helped to replace flooring in our customer’s bedroom, as a gesture of good will, after it had to be lifted during the electrical rewiring. It is unclear when the damage to the living floor has occurred and so we recommended it be taken up with our customer’s insurance provider.'
'We know there is some remaining plastering work to be done around some of the light switches and fittings. We have a contractor assigned to carry out this work but have not yet been able to arrange a suitable time with our customer.'
'We have asked our contractor to continue to be in touch with our customer to get this remaining work completed.'
