Family left without heating for 12 days
Mum, 35, angry with landlords
A MUM and her two young children were left without heating and hot water for 12 days – after a gas leak.
Donna Marsh has now slammed her landlord’s response after her gas supply was cut off.
The 35-year-old benefit claimant had done a £265 shop – which included chicken and meat – the night before her gas was switched off following the leak.
She was unable to cook that and was forced to send her ‘crying’ children to her mum’s house due to the ‘horrendous’ living conditions.
The gas was switched off at the Cheadle property on April 1 following a safety inspection and the issue was not resolved until April 12. During that time her children – aged six and nine – were wrapped up in coats and the family survived on microwave meals and Pot Noodles.
Now Donna has hit out at the Your Housing Group delays.
She told the Post & Times: “The gas inspection people came out and said I’m lucky I didn’t blow up my house because I smoke there and my fridge/freezer is in there where the leak was.
“They told me that because I am on a priorities list for gas and electric, I was on a 24-hour callout.
“But that went by and nobody came. Then Monday (April 4) came and nobody had been in contact or done anything.
“I was fuming, they had promised me somebody would be out. On April 5 I raised a complaint with Your Housing and they logged it.
“I asked if they could phone me to make me aware that they were coming because I’ve got nobody in the area.
“My mum has just moved up so the children have gone there. I had to explain to my children – while they were crying and wearing coats – why it was so cold.
“On April 7 somebody turned up at my house. I didn’t know somebody was coming out and I was with my friend for safety measures, I explained the situation to them. He went back to the company and said there was no access and they closed the claim down.”
Donna has had to seek help from her friends and used their homes to bathe herself. She now wants assurances that the works – booked in for May – will be carried out on time.
She added: “I should not be without gas and hot water. I pay my rent every month. It felt like it was my fault because when you try to explain to your children, you feel like a failure when you’ve only got microwave meals and Pot Noodles. They went to my mum’s crying.
“The children have been very upset, they have been through a lot and it’s hard on them.”
Your Housing Group has apologised to Donna.
A spokesman said: “The gas installation was isolated after the annual service on April 1. At this point, Miss Marsh was offered temporary heating, which she declined.
“Unfortunately, due to an error by the engineer, a followon job was not raised as it should have been, which led to the delay. We have offered Miss Marsh our sincere apologies and financial compensation.”