A dad claims he’s been living without heating and hot water for four years – and has even pitched a tent in the front room of his flat to try and stay warm.
Daniel Tsimbilakis, of Wheelock House, Nantwich, says he feels like he’s living “in a prison”. The 32 year old, who has Asperger’s syndrome, regularly travels to the home of a family friend in Crewe so he can get a hot shower.
The dad-of-one, who has a carer, also suffers with atopic eczema on his legs and feet meaning there are some days that he can’t physically walk. Due to his disability, he was able to secure a flat through Guinness Homes just before the pandemic hit.
Daniel, who is originally from Blackpool but wanted to move to “a better area”, claims the boiler has never worked in that time despite repeated attempts to get it fixed. The Guinness Partnership has apologised “profusely” for the issue and says it is working with the freeholder to resolve “a fault in the communal ground source heating” as it is unable to directly carry out the repairs.
Daniel said he even had to sleep in a tent inside his house to stay warm as he continues to wait for his boiler to be fixed.
He told StokeonTrentLive: “During the first year I was staying in my tent in the front room as it gave me a bit more warmth. I was in my camping clothes and had my gas fire heaters on.”
Daniel explained that the company gave him some heaters but didn’t really fix the problem. “Guinness provided me with oil radiators but they have never come forward with a proper resolution,” he added.
“The boiler has still not been fixed. When my carer came back in after lockdown she saw me living in the same situation and couldn’t believe it. That’s when we started the complaints procedure again.
“It’s a horrible situation. It’s exhausted my mental health. I feel like I’m in a prison. It’s not fit for anyone. I have a 10 year old son and I couldn’t have him over which creates its own problem. It comes from every angle.”
Daniel was offered £220 compensation, but he doesn’t think it’s enough. He said he thinks the housing company should do more.
“Since day one the heating and hot water has never worked,” Daniel added. “This was before lockdown. They were sending people out and then lockdown happened. Then they left me and ignored me. After lockdown they got in touch with me and I’ve had regular boiler checks but they’ve never fixed it.”
The Guinness Partnership said in a statement: “We apologise profusely for the shortfall in service. We are working with the freeholder to resolve the underlying issue which is caused by a fault in the communal ground source heating (the freeholder is responsible for the maintenance of this system, and we are not permitted to undertake repairs to the system).”
“We have provided Mr Tsimbilakis with other means of heating in the meantime and have covered any additional costs associated with this. We have also offered Mr Tsimbilakis compensation. We continue to work to resolve the underlying issue, and again offer our sincere apologies to Mr Tsimbilakis.”
