Curo Housing seriously damages tenants health
Bleak Times | 17.12.2012 19:30 | Social Struggles | South Coast | World
Bath's biggest landlord has apologised after one of its tenants suffered a stroke which he blames on a catalogue of errors plaguing work on his kitchen.
Retired caretaker Tony Gifford became distressed and angry after work carried out to his kitchen and bathroom on behalf of Curo went from bad to worse.
He ended up being admitted to the Royal United Hospital after collapsing at home, and has been left with a permanent stutter.
The 74-year-old said: "There is no doubt in my mind that my stroke was bought on by the stress caused.
"I live on my own, and was feeling so stressed and upset and didn't know what to do."
Work on his flat at Combe Down started in March, and what was supposed to be two-week project lasted more than five months.
The wrong-sized sink was installed twice, sewage leaked into the bathroom, and an electrician drilled through the electrics and knocking out power to the whole building.
Mr Gifford was also left with no washing or toilet facilities for 11 days, and when he tried to complain, he says, he was pushed from one person to another.
The final straw came when a hanging light in his living room fell down after being secured to the ceiling with furniture screws, narrowly missing him.
Following this incident Mr Gifford passed out on the sofa, and came round a while later feeling weak and disorientated.
He was taken to the RUH, where he spent two hours in surgery
Mr Gifford said: "The work that was done on my flat has been shoddy.
"The stress caused me to have a stroke, which has left me suffering with a stutter and nose bleeds.
"It is not the severity of the mistakes, it is the quantity.
"I felt no one was listening to me when I rang to complain – the customer service is appalling."
Curo director of transformation and business improvement Donna Baddeley admitted the organisation – previously known as Somer – had lessons to learn.
She said: "We are very disappointed that we have not met the high standards that Mr Gifford, and all our customers, should expect from Curo and our contractors.
"We have looked into what went wrong and met Mr Gifford recently to discuss how we can restore his trust in Curo.
"We have apologised to Mr Gifford and offered to carry out all the works needed to bring his home up to a standard he is happy with.
Retired caretaker Tony Gifford became distressed and angry after work carried out to his kitchen and bathroom on behalf of Curo went from bad to worse.
He ended up being admitted to the Royal United Hospital after collapsing at home, and has been left with a permanent stutter.
The 74-year-old said: "There is no doubt in my mind that my stroke was bought on by the stress caused.
"I live on my own, and was feeling so stressed and upset and didn't know what to do."
Work on his flat at Combe Down started in March, and what was supposed to be two-week project lasted more than five months.
The wrong-sized sink was installed twice, sewage leaked into the bathroom, and an electrician drilled through the electrics and knocking out power to the whole building.
Mr Gifford was also left with no washing or toilet facilities for 11 days, and when he tried to complain, he says, he was pushed from one person to another.
The final straw came when a hanging light in his living room fell down after being secured to the ceiling with furniture screws, narrowly missing him.
Following this incident Mr Gifford passed out on the sofa, and came round a while later feeling weak and disorientated.
He was taken to the RUH, where he spent two hours in surgery
Mr Gifford said: "The work that was done on my flat has been shoddy.
"The stress caused me to have a stroke, which has left me suffering with a stutter and nose bleeds.
"It is not the severity of the mistakes, it is the quantity.
"I felt no one was listening to me when I rang to complain – the customer service is appalling."
Curo director of transformation and business improvement Donna Baddeley admitted the organisation – previously known as Somer – had lessons to learn.
She said: "We are very disappointed that we have not met the high standards that Mr Gifford, and all our customers, should expect from Curo and our contractors.
"We have looked into what went wrong and met Mr Gifford recently to discuss how we can restore his trust in Curo.
"We have apologised to Mr Gifford and offered to carry out all the works needed to bring his home up to a standard he is happy with.
Bleak Times
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