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Hi Everyone
I am really hoping someone can help me with this one as it is a problem that is not mine but an elderly couple whom I have been trying to help with getting vital repairs done to their home, as they can not afford to pay for them as they have no savings.
The work that needed doing was to try and stop the damp and black mould growing in the bedroom; they had to buy a new mattress every couple of months because it would end up soaking wet.
They needed new wiring to the main lights and some sockets as none of the main lights in the house worked and some of the sockets didn’t work either.
They needed a new boiler and plumbing to their existing radiators that did not work anywhere in the house so there was no heat in the house except for an old gas fire which had a back boiler. This needed ripping out as it was dangerous.
I rang care and repair and they came and assessed the situation and agreed they needed help and said they would try to get grants from various charities to pay for it. A building firm was sent to the house to give a price for the work to be done.
Care and Repair got back in touch with my friends and told them it was going to be £5,400 and this would include a new combi- boiler new pipe work to the existing radiators if needed a new radiator for the lounge, and thermostats on all the radiators and also ripping out and disposing of the old gas fire.
The Electrician would rewire the main lights back up and put in new sockets where needed and new wiring where needed and supply and fit new lights to the bathroom and kitchen
I thought this was quite a lot considering that it was not a complete re-wire an not a completely new heating system and they said they couldn’t address the mould and damp situation but the new heating should help with that problem.
After a few weeks care and repair came back to them and said they got the funding from two charities both to do with my friend’s jobs (shop workers charity) and (mechanics charity).But they said they were still four hundred pounds short, and could my friends borrow that from someone. They said they had some savings for xmas, and could borrow the rest to get the work done before my friend went into hospital for his hip operation.
However the work didn’t get done before his operation it was started about two weeks after he came out of hospital so they chose to move out, so the workman could just get on with it and not have to work around them, in other words to make life easier for the workmen. They covered what they could with sheets and bought a special rubble sheet for the rubble, they moved what they could but had little room to put anything and with them being elderly and the man just having an operation it was difficult for them. I helped where I could and we thought that we had done what we could to make it easier for the workmen.
Care and repair said the job could take up to five weeks but a week after they started my friends got a call to say it was all finished they were made up. That was until they got home to find the mess the workmen had left, it was disgusting they hadn’t even attempted to clean up any of the mess they had made, and there was rubble and dust everywhere, in drawers, in the sink, literally everywhere. All the sheets had been moved and rubble and dust was now on the things they had covered the sofa and chairs covered in dust and dirt.
Then they discovered they had smashed the mirror and left it on the floor and the electrician had cut a great big slash in the carpet from the wall to the middle of the lounge, just because he couldn’t be bothered to pull the sofa out to get to the carpet from behind the sofa. I could not believe the way that these workmen had abused my friend’s belongings. There was no need to cut their carpet and it will now never be the same even if they attempted to fix it back together, it was simply not acceptable.
They threw there things around the room some items are missing altogether like one of their other mirrors they even took the batteries out of the remote control for the television, what kind of person would do something so petty as that to two old people.
The jobs they had done were of an acceptable standard except they had not put on the thermostats for the radiators, they had not reconnected the shower or taken out the gas fire or left a manual for the boiler. They also were too lazy to take away the rubbish and had put some of the rubble in their refuse bins which the council would not have taken away as they are for household refuse and not for rubble.
My friends had been so grateful of the help they had received from the charities that they didn’t want to complain because it was being done for free, but as I have said to them this is not the point, the point is these workmen have not done it for free they have caused them much distress and upset and what these workmen have done is not acceptable, as they have been paid good money for doing a job which they have estimated would take five weeks and calculated man hours etc on that basis, but then done it in one week so they are bound to have been able to do the job for much less than they quoted care and repair, and still they are asking my friends to pay the extra four hundred pounds.
I don’t think this is fair at all especially when it is blatantly obvious to anyone that these workmen are overcharging the charities.
I had a quick look on the which site and it gives an average cost to rewire a six roomed terrace house including all wiring and fittings and man hours and take about 5 to 8 days to complete with the people still living in the house a total cost of £2,500.
My friends weren’t living in the house, and only have a total of 4 rooms and a porch. So that should cost less than £2,500.
The boiler should have cost about £599 I googled it for the best price, and if they are in the trade they should have got a discount on that too unless they are clueless.
I have looked on the internet and to have a new central heating system upgrade including new boiler for the same sort of house would only cost around £1,850 fitted including vat.
That just leaves the cost for removing the old fire and disposal of the rubbish. So even if they charged £100 for taking out the fire only gives a total of £4,450.
The charity has given care and repair £5,000 and they still want £400 from my friends, I think someone is trying to make on the side here out of vulnerable people and if that is the case it stinks because something isn’t right.
But the biggest insult is the people from Care and Repair came round to check the work had been done and to investigate the problems my friends had reported to them about the cut carpet and damaged items and missing items.
Care and Repair rang them today and told them that in their opinion the carpet was already cut before the workmen arrived, the mirror was also smashed before they arrived and they have just mislaid the items they claim to have gone missing. In other words my friends are lying.
I was outraged by this my friends are not liars and were not even going to bother saying anything because they are too nice and lovely to want to bother anyone because the way they see it they have had their home made warm and all this work done for free. So they felt bad about complaining.
They have really upset my friends and as far as I am concerned the behaviour of these workmen is a disgrace and they should be ashamed of themselves and the extra money they are asking should not be paid for all the distress they have caused they didn’t even finish the jobs they were supposed to do care and repair had to get them to come back to finish it off.
I am fuming that care and repair had the nerve to accuse two elderly people of lying they said they had cut the carpet so they could get a new one for free. It is disgusting and I just wanted some advice on where to go from here because they should not be allowed to get away with this.
Any help would be gratefully received thank you in advance to anyone who can help and apologies for the post being so long
King regards maria
I am really hoping someone can help me with this one as it is a problem that is not mine but an elderly couple whom I have been trying to help with getting vital repairs done to their home, as they can not afford to pay for them as they have no savings.
The work that needed doing was to try and stop the damp and black mould growing in the bedroom; they had to buy a new mattress every couple of months because it would end up soaking wet.
They needed new wiring to the main lights and some sockets as none of the main lights in the house worked and some of the sockets didn’t work either.
They needed a new boiler and plumbing to their existing radiators that did not work anywhere in the house so there was no heat in the house except for an old gas fire which had a back boiler. This needed ripping out as it was dangerous.
I rang care and repair and they came and assessed the situation and agreed they needed help and said they would try to get grants from various charities to pay for it. A building firm was sent to the house to give a price for the work to be done.
Care and Repair got back in touch with my friends and told them it was going to be £5,400 and this would include a new combi- boiler new pipe work to the existing radiators if needed a new radiator for the lounge, and thermostats on all the radiators and also ripping out and disposing of the old gas fire.
The Electrician would rewire the main lights back up and put in new sockets where needed and new wiring where needed and supply and fit new lights to the bathroom and kitchen
I thought this was quite a lot considering that it was not a complete re-wire an not a completely new heating system and they said they couldn’t address the mould and damp situation but the new heating should help with that problem.
After a few weeks care and repair came back to them and said they got the funding from two charities both to do with my friend’s jobs (shop workers charity) and (mechanics charity).But they said they were still four hundred pounds short, and could my friends borrow that from someone. They said they had some savings for xmas, and could borrow the rest to get the work done before my friend went into hospital for his hip operation.
However the work didn’t get done before his operation it was started about two weeks after he came out of hospital so they chose to move out, so the workman could just get on with it and not have to work around them, in other words to make life easier for the workmen. They covered what they could with sheets and bought a special rubble sheet for the rubble, they moved what they could but had little room to put anything and with them being elderly and the man just having an operation it was difficult for them. I helped where I could and we thought that we had done what we could to make it easier for the workmen.
Care and repair said the job could take up to five weeks but a week after they started my friends got a call to say it was all finished they were made up. That was until they got home to find the mess the workmen had left, it was disgusting they hadn’t even attempted to clean up any of the mess they had made, and there was rubble and dust everywhere, in drawers, in the sink, literally everywhere. All the sheets had been moved and rubble and dust was now on the things they had covered the sofa and chairs covered in dust and dirt.
Then they discovered they had smashed the mirror and left it on the floor and the electrician had cut a great big slash in the carpet from the wall to the middle of the lounge, just because he couldn’t be bothered to pull the sofa out to get to the carpet from behind the sofa. I could not believe the way that these workmen had abused my friend’s belongings. There was no need to cut their carpet and it will now never be the same even if they attempted to fix it back together, it was simply not acceptable.
They threw there things around the room some items are missing altogether like one of their other mirrors they even took the batteries out of the remote control for the television, what kind of person would do something so petty as that to two old people.
The jobs they had done were of an acceptable standard except they had not put on the thermostats for the radiators, they had not reconnected the shower or taken out the gas fire or left a manual for the boiler. They also were too lazy to take away the rubbish and had put some of the rubble in their refuse bins which the council would not have taken away as they are for household refuse and not for rubble.
My friends had been so grateful of the help they had received from the charities that they didn’t want to complain because it was being done for free, but as I have said to them this is not the point, the point is these workmen have not done it for free they have caused them much distress and upset and what these workmen have done is not acceptable, as they have been paid good money for doing a job which they have estimated would take five weeks and calculated man hours etc on that basis, but then done it in one week so they are bound to have been able to do the job for much less than they quoted care and repair, and still they are asking my friends to pay the extra four hundred pounds.
I don’t think this is fair at all especially when it is blatantly obvious to anyone that these workmen are overcharging the charities.
I had a quick look on the which site and it gives an average cost to rewire a six roomed terrace house including all wiring and fittings and man hours and take about 5 to 8 days to complete with the people still living in the house a total cost of £2,500.
My friends weren’t living in the house, and only have a total of 4 rooms and a porch. So that should cost less than £2,500.
The boiler should have cost about £599 I googled it for the best price, and if they are in the trade they should have got a discount on that too unless they are clueless.
I have looked on the internet and to have a new central heating system upgrade including new boiler for the same sort of house would only cost around £1,850 fitted including vat.
That just leaves the cost for removing the old fire and disposal of the rubbish. So even if they charged £100 for taking out the fire only gives a total of £4,450.
The charity has given care and repair £5,000 and they still want £400 from my friends, I think someone is trying to make on the side here out of vulnerable people and if that is the case it stinks because something isn’t right.
But the biggest insult is the people from Care and Repair came round to check the work had been done and to investigate the problems my friends had reported to them about the cut carpet and damaged items and missing items.
Care and Repair rang them today and told them that in their opinion the carpet was already cut before the workmen arrived, the mirror was also smashed before they arrived and they have just mislaid the items they claim to have gone missing. In other words my friends are lying.
I was outraged by this my friends are not liars and were not even going to bother saying anything because they are too nice and lovely to want to bother anyone because the way they see it they have had their home made warm and all this work done for free. So they felt bad about complaining.
They have really upset my friends and as far as I am concerned the behaviour of these workmen is a disgrace and they should be ashamed of themselves and the extra money they are asking should not be paid for all the distress they have caused they didn’t even finish the jobs they were supposed to do care and repair had to get them to come back to finish it off.
I am fuming that care and repair had the nerve to accuse two elderly people of lying they said they had cut the carpet so they could get a new one for free. It is disgusting and I just wanted some advice on where to go from here because they should not be allowed to get away with this.
Any help would be gratefully received thank you in advance to anyone who can help and apologies for the post being so long
King regards maria
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