Plumbing mix up freezes Devizes family out (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Plumbing mix up freezes Devizes family out

2:00pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in News

Devizes mum Shelley Aland and her three young children have been left without heating or hot water despite visits from three plumbers over two-weeks.

Miss Aland had to take refuge with friends in Trowbridge because her home in Forty Acres Road in Devizes was so cold.

He heating failed on February 15. Miss Aland said: “I rang Aster Housing, which owns the property, and the message said it had closed for the day.”

Miss Aland took three-year-old Archie, 18-month-old Harley and Cody, 11 weeks, and spent the weekend with friends in Trow-bridge. On the Monday she rang Aster and the next day an engineer from K&T Plumbing was sent, looked at the gas fire and left. When Miss Aland called Aster the next day, she was told the plumber had to order a part.

A second plumber arrived on the 21st and said he needed to order parts. But a third plumber on the 26th said there was no water in the system.

Miss Aland said: “He said he would need someone else to bring a ladder and hold it while he climbed up because of health and safety rules.”

By 4pm no one had come so the plumber said the work couldn’t be done until the next day. She said: “It is still not right. I am getting some heat but the water only runs warm for a few minutes.”

In the meantime she has to commute between Devizes and Trowbridge.

Trowbridge town councillor Rollie Cleere has taken up Miss Aland’s case with Aster Housing. She said: “That this poor woman and her three children could have been treated in such a way is unbelievable.”

A spokesman for Aster said: “Our records show the customer first called us on February 19 and engineers attended four hours later.

“Unfortunately, an incorrect diagnosis of the problem led to the contractor being unable to correct the fault on two subsequent visits. We’re working with the contractor to find out why this happened and will take whatever action is necessary to prevent a similar situation happening in future.”