BUSTED FLUSH
OAP left without toilet for 3 months
AN insurance firm was forced to apologise to a furious pensioner after a burst pipe left her without a toilet for three months.
Mary Kelly, 65, was unable to use her £4500 bathroom after a communal pipe in her block of flats burst in Knightswood, Glasgow.
She has been forced to use buckets of water to flush her toilet as the drainage system is “completely out of use”.
Mary has been relying on friends and family to wash for the past three months after flood damage was caused to her home.
She had hoped factors Lowther, part of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), would fix the pipe but bosses said it was up to the building insurer. Mary has since spent £200 on repairs for the pipe and a temporary ceiling for her bathroom – but said the mess has left her devastated.
Mary added: “My neighbour above has flooded me a few times just through burst pipes.
“In November, the pipe that joins our kitchens burst and the water poured down from his kitchen into my bathroom.
“I was told the issue wasn’t communal even though it is a shared pipe.
“We have been paying for factor fees for about 34 years between us.
“They ripped the bathroom out. I don’t have floors, a ceiling, sink, or walls. I can’t even wash my hands. My home was lovely. I had it just perfect and I had worked hard to make it that way. It cost me £4500 to have the bathroom installed and now it’s been ripped out.
“If you pay for factor services, you should have access to those services.
“I’m not looking for the GHA to be a charity, I’m looking for them to do what we pay them to do.”
Lowther said: “This customer’s home is not insured by Lowther.
“Lowther appoints an insurance company and claims are made by the owner to the insurance company.”
The Davies Group and Ageas Insurance apologised for leaving Mary without a working toilet, adding: “We are redoubling efforts to secure accommodation for her to live in while her home is repaired.”