AgentLesbos
29-11-2006, 05:51 PM
If anyone is considering purchasing a Northern Counties Shared Ownership property then you may want to read this first. It is a copy of an email I have just sent their complaints department.
I am the occupier of ** ******* ****, ********, Rotherham S62 ***, which I have occupied since 20th October 2006 on a shared ownership basis with Northern Counties.
I am writing to inform you that I have now had no heating or hot water since Friday 24th November 2006 (5 days ago) an so far my contact with Northern Counties shows little hope of this situation being rectified.
On Friday evening I went to run a bath and discovered that there was no hot water. Upon checking the boiler I found that the pressure had dropped completely. I checked the manual which had been left in the property to see if it was a problem which I could rectify myself, it wasn't so I had to contact Northern Counties and report it as a defect. As I had not been provided with any out of hours emergency contact numbers, I had to wait until monday morning until I could even contact Northern Counties.
At 9am Monday 27th November (having been without any heating or hot water for 3 nights) I attempted to call Northern Counties office to report the defect. After several unanswered calls and unreturned messages I finally managed to speak to P**** M***** at the Sheffield office, who confirmed (as per the "Information for Householders" pack I was provided with when I first took occupancy of the property) that the issue was classed as "Priority A" and therefore I would be contacted by someone to rectify the problem within 24 hours.
At lunchtime (approx 1:30pm) Tuesday 28th November (having now been without heating or hot water for 4 nights) I had still not had any contact from anyone to rectify the problem. I called P**** M***** who I had spoken to the day before, to discoved a voicemail message which said she was out of the office until the following day, but left a contact number for A***** D***** in her absence. I called A***** D***** who also had a voicemail saying she was not in the office until the following day. I then called the Customer Service Contact centre in Manchester who told me that I needed to speak to someone in the Sheffield office. After explaining that I had been unable to contact anyone in the Sheffield office they put me through to a number of people who were unable to help me until I got to speak to S****** (I didn't catch her surname). S****** told me that she would call the contractor and chase them up for me. Shortly afterwards I was contacted by M*** from Welmar Homes. M*** arranged to come to the property the following day to fix the boiler. This meant that I had to take the day off work costing me approx £**, but having been without hot water for 4 nights I didn't have much choice but to make arrangements with work to take the following day off.
Today (Wednesday 29th October, 5 nights without heating or hot water) I was visited by M*** from Welmar Homes at approx 11:30am. M*** was unable to repair the boiler despite a few phonecalls for advice. He called another plumber who said that they would call me back within the hour and come out to fix the problem this afternoon. M*** left, telling me that if there were any issues to call Northern Counties.
After 2 hours I had received no return phone call so again attempted to call the Northern Counties office. To the now common and expected situation; P**** M***** has voicemail saying she is out of the office until next monday and to call A***** D*****, the number for A***** D***** is a dead line, Manchester Customer Service Contact centre transferred me to three people who were all unable to help me then put me on hold for 10 minutes before telling me that they had spoken to A***** D*****, who was currently on the phone and so could not speak to me (I am unsure how they did this if she was on a call) and assured me that she would call me back within a maximum of 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes my call (suprisingly!) had not been returned but in just under an hour I received a call from S****** who I explained the situation to. She told me that she would again chase the contractors. I explained that I needed someone to come today as I am unable (and cannot afford) to take any more time off work this side of Christmas. She told me that she would speak to someone and get them here this afternoon. When I pointed out that the situation had become completely unnacceptable and that there was a complete failing of responsibily on the part of Northern Counties, I was politely told that it was not the responsibily of Northern Counties but of the contractors.
It is Northern Counties that I pay my rent to. It is Northern Counties who have provided me with paperwork with contact numbers to report defects to (all Northern Counties office numbers). It is Northern Counties who have made repeated promises of action which have not been acted on. IT IS NORTHERN COUNTIES RESPONSIBILITY TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM ASAP.
At 4:15pm as I am writing this email I have just recieved a call from S****** who has arranged for someone to come to repair the boiler at some point on Friday, by which point I will have been without heating or hot water for 7 nights. As I had already explained I am unable to take any more time off work and have told S****** that Northern Counties (who have a spare key for the property) will have to make arrangements for one of their staff to come and let the contractor in. She told me that she would try and make arrangements for this and call me back to let me know if it is possible. I am not completely happy with this situation as it invalidates my home contents insurance to permit a complete stranger to let themselves into my home with a key in my absence. However at this point I have no other option. I am currently sat in my front room wearing a coat because it is that cold and am facing the prospect of another two freezing nights.
I need this situation to be resolved ASAP. I now feel that I have no other choice but to seek legal advice against Northern Counties.
If I do not have heating and hot water by friday evening I will have to check into a hotel / bed and breakfast until the situation is resolved as I fear the current situation I am being forced to live in is starting to affect my health.
The cost of the above and other costs such as loss of earnings, excessive phone calls, laundrette bills and any other costs incurred should be met by Northern Counties. I am prepared to pursue a claim through the county court for this if necessary and/or (subject to legal advice) withhold the equivalent value in rent. I am also intendending seeking legal advice with regards to a compensation claim against Northern Counties.
Again subject to legal advice I intend to make my unexcusable experiences of my dealings with Northern Counties as public as possible to warn other people who may have been (in my opinion foolishly) considering purchasing a Northern Counties property. I fully intend to contact every newspaper (regional and national), watchdog, any applicable ombudsmen and and other media I can contact to express my complete dissatisfaction with your organisation.
A prompt response would be appreciated (although due to my recent experiences not expected).
Yours,
Ms Heather M Paterson
Work: 0114 **** ***
Home: 01709 *** ***
Mobile: 0775 *** ****
Personal Email: hmpaterson@hotmail.co.uk
Work Email: hpaterson@*****.co.uk
I am the occupier of ** ******* ****, ********, Rotherham S62 ***, which I have occupied since 20th October 2006 on a shared ownership basis with Northern Counties.
I am writing to inform you that I have now had no heating or hot water since Friday 24th November 2006 (5 days ago) an so far my contact with Northern Counties shows little hope of this situation being rectified.
On Friday evening I went to run a bath and discovered that there was no hot water. Upon checking the boiler I found that the pressure had dropped completely. I checked the manual which had been left in the property to see if it was a problem which I could rectify myself, it wasn't so I had to contact Northern Counties and report it as a defect. As I had not been provided with any out of hours emergency contact numbers, I had to wait until monday morning until I could even contact Northern Counties.
At 9am Monday 27th November (having been without any heating or hot water for 3 nights) I attempted to call Northern Counties office to report the defect. After several unanswered calls and unreturned messages I finally managed to speak to P**** M***** at the Sheffield office, who confirmed (as per the "Information for Householders" pack I was provided with when I first took occupancy of the property) that the issue was classed as "Priority A" and therefore I would be contacted by someone to rectify the problem within 24 hours.
At lunchtime (approx 1:30pm) Tuesday 28th November (having now been without heating or hot water for 4 nights) I had still not had any contact from anyone to rectify the problem. I called P**** M***** who I had spoken to the day before, to discoved a voicemail message which said she was out of the office until the following day, but left a contact number for A***** D***** in her absence. I called A***** D***** who also had a voicemail saying she was not in the office until the following day. I then called the Customer Service Contact centre in Manchester who told me that I needed to speak to someone in the Sheffield office. After explaining that I had been unable to contact anyone in the Sheffield office they put me through to a number of people who were unable to help me until I got to speak to S****** (I didn't catch her surname). S****** told me that she would call the contractor and chase them up for me. Shortly afterwards I was contacted by M*** from Welmar Homes. M*** arranged to come to the property the following day to fix the boiler. This meant that I had to take the day off work costing me approx £**, but having been without hot water for 4 nights I didn't have much choice but to make arrangements with work to take the following day off.
Today (Wednesday 29th October, 5 nights without heating or hot water) I was visited by M*** from Welmar Homes at approx 11:30am. M*** was unable to repair the boiler despite a few phonecalls for advice. He called another plumber who said that they would call me back within the hour and come out to fix the problem this afternoon. M*** left, telling me that if there were any issues to call Northern Counties.
After 2 hours I had received no return phone call so again attempted to call the Northern Counties office. To the now common and expected situation; P**** M***** has voicemail saying she is out of the office until next monday and to call A***** D*****, the number for A***** D***** is a dead line, Manchester Customer Service Contact centre transferred me to three people who were all unable to help me then put me on hold for 10 minutes before telling me that they had spoken to A***** D*****, who was currently on the phone and so could not speak to me (I am unsure how they did this if she was on a call) and assured me that she would call me back within a maximum of 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes my call (suprisingly!) had not been returned but in just under an hour I received a call from S****** who I explained the situation to. She told me that she would again chase the contractors. I explained that I needed someone to come today as I am unable (and cannot afford) to take any more time off work this side of Christmas. She told me that she would speak to someone and get them here this afternoon. When I pointed out that the situation had become completely unnacceptable and that there was a complete failing of responsibily on the part of Northern Counties, I was politely told that it was not the responsibily of Northern Counties but of the contractors.
It is Northern Counties that I pay my rent to. It is Northern Counties who have provided me with paperwork with contact numbers to report defects to (all Northern Counties office numbers). It is Northern Counties who have made repeated promises of action which have not been acted on. IT IS NORTHERN COUNTIES RESPONSIBILITY TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM ASAP.
At 4:15pm as I am writing this email I have just recieved a call from S****** who has arranged for someone to come to repair the boiler at some point on Friday, by which point I will have been without heating or hot water for 7 nights. As I had already explained I am unable to take any more time off work and have told S****** that Northern Counties (who have a spare key for the property) will have to make arrangements for one of their staff to come and let the contractor in. She told me that she would try and make arrangements for this and call me back to let me know if it is possible. I am not completely happy with this situation as it invalidates my home contents insurance to permit a complete stranger to let themselves into my home with a key in my absence. However at this point I have no other option. I am currently sat in my front room wearing a coat because it is that cold and am facing the prospect of another two freezing nights.
I need this situation to be resolved ASAP. I now feel that I have no other choice but to seek legal advice against Northern Counties.
If I do not have heating and hot water by friday evening I will have to check into a hotel / bed and breakfast until the situation is resolved as I fear the current situation I am being forced to live in is starting to affect my health.
The cost of the above and other costs such as loss of earnings, excessive phone calls, laundrette bills and any other costs incurred should be met by Northern Counties. I am prepared to pursue a claim through the county court for this if necessary and/or (subject to legal advice) withhold the equivalent value in rent. I am also intendending seeking legal advice with regards to a compensation claim against Northern Counties.
Again subject to legal advice I intend to make my unexcusable experiences of my dealings with Northern Counties as public as possible to warn other people who may have been (in my opinion foolishly) considering purchasing a Northern Counties property. I fully intend to contact every newspaper (regional and national), watchdog, any applicable ombudsmen and and other media I can contact to express my complete dissatisfaction with your organisation.
A prompt response would be appreciated (although due to my recent experiences not expected).
Yours,
Ms Heather M Paterson
Work: 0114 **** ***
Home: 01709 *** ***
Mobile: 0775 *** ****
Personal Email: hmpaterson@hotmail.co.uk
Work Email: hpaterson@*****.co.uk