Elderly man left without hot water for a year after ‘botched’ scheme

Rogue contractors person near a pensioner’s location successful an ‘unlivable’ state, forcing him to unrecorded without blistery h2o for a year.

Raymond Morris, 80, took up the government-funded ECO4 strategy to marque his location successful Newton St Margarets, Herefordshire, much energy-efficient.

But the great-great-grandad claims helium has present been near to unrecorded successful freezing conditions aft workmen near the occupation fractional done.

He relies connected an electrical ablution and kettle for blistery water, and goes to furniture aboriginal with an electrical broad to slumber done the acold nights.

Raymond said helium had tried to interaction government, its regulator Ofgem, Citizens’ Advice and Herefordshire Council – but says cipher has been consenting to help.

Retired lorry operator Raymond said: ‘I recovered I was eligible to get authorities backing that could bring everything up to vigor businesslike standards and I thought wherefore not.

‘I began looking up companies who were certified and qualified to transportation retired this enactment and recovered 1 that looked bully successful Birmingham. They travel retired and bash surveys and archer you whether you tin person insulation, star panels and vigor pumps etc and I was told I could.

‘My boiler packed up astir this clip past twelvemonth truthful I began looking then, but the enactment lone started successful May this year. They utilized a 3rd enactment from Newcastle-under-Lyme to travel retired for the insulation and a plumber from Wales came and dismantled the boiler and drained the strategy down.’

Raymond said aft the institution did immoderate work, including partition and extortion insulation, they ‘left him successful a lurch’.

They took the radiators disconnected the walls to enactment successful insulation, but did not enactment them backmost on.

Raymond said the agreed extortion star panels, vigor pumps, boiler portion and caller radiators were ne'er completed.

The erstwhile radiators were drained and removed leaving lone unattached pipes and the lone vigor root successful the location is an aged wood-burning stove and electrical blanket.

He added: ‘The 2nd signifier of the vigor pump and the star panels was past owed to instrumentality spot connected September 3. But erstwhile it came to day they gave maine immoderate cock and bull communicative astir radical being disconnected sick and enactment the day back.

‘Then I couldn’t get clasp of them astatine all. I kept asking erstwhile they could truthful the enactment due to the fact that I the wintertime months were coming up. But past each of a abrupt they stopped replying oregon answering my calls, they adjacent blocked my number. So my household tried and helium did the aforesaid to them.

‘I tried to instrumentality connected different steadfast to decorativeness the enactment arsenic they said the backing for present has already been spent. So I tried contacting the government, Ofgem, Citizens’ Advice and Herefordshire Council but I’ve conscionable been going astir successful circles.’

Raymond said helium doesn’t privation the concern he’s been done to hap to anyone else.

A spokesperson for TrustMark, which certifies contractors arsenic competent to transportation retired enactment funded by the scheme, said it believed each the agreed enactment scheduled for Raymond’s spot had been carried retired – which helium strenuously denies.

Raymond added: ‘I person emails wherever they corroborate backing has been agreed for partition and extortion insulation, ventilation, star panels and an aerial root vigor pump.

‘I tin guarantee you lone the insulation was done truthful the agreed enactment has not been carried retired astatine all.’

After months of frustration, London-based steadfast GRM & Partners, has present agreed to instrumentality connected the enactment astatine the rented spot starting aboriginal this month.

Raymond added: ‘After this nightmare, I volition judge it erstwhile I spot it. But it conscionable goes to amusement the statement astir backing moving retired can’t beryllium existent arsenic this different steadfast says I suffice for it too.’

The institution which primitively agreed to bash the enactment was Birmingham-based iEnergy.

It’s manager Naser Ali said: ‘With regards to this customer, it fell nether a authorities strategy but the backing tally out. We are not installers and usage 3rd parties to undertake our work. The customer’s boiler was already knackered and that was an contented betwixt him and his landlady.

‘Some of the enactment was carried retired but we were incapable to transportation retired much due to the fact that the assistance had been stopped. I sympathise with him and I privation I had £10,000 to supply him with a caller boiler but I person a woman and kids of my ain to feed.

‘I tin lone apologise but erstwhile the wealth isn’t determination anymore to undertake the work, determination is small I tin bash astir it. If he’d paid for a boiler and I hadn’t installed it past I could spot the problem. But with these authorities grants the concern tin alteration astir overnight. I had to artifact his fig due to the fact that I had each his household calling maine up and threatening maine but it was retired of my hands.’

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: ‘While we are incapable to remark connected idiosyncratic cases, we would impulse Mr Morris and anyone with concerns to prosecute with TrustMark for a resolution.

‘Insulation and different vigor ratio measures fitted nether authorities schemes indispensable beryllium fitted by a TrustMark registered installer and to the highest standards.

‘Any measures installed indispensable beryllium harmless and effective, with issues promptly and decently rectified.’

An Ofgen spokesperson said: ‘Ofgem doesn’t remark connected idiosyncratic cases. However, fixed the quality of the concerns raised we volition expect the supplier who has claimed the task to investigate.’

Get successful interaction with our quality squad by emailing america astatine webnews@metro.co.uk.

For much stories similar this, check our quality page.

MORE: Full database of UK bid presumption closures and disruptions implicit Christmas 2024

MORE: Storm Bert to bring 70mph winds, snowfall and rainfall this weekend

MORE: Full database of schools closures crossed UK contiguous successful different time of snowfall warnings