Marlborough mum left without heating in Stonewater house since August

Tia Campbell, of Rabley Wood View, has not been able to heat her home since August after being given the run around by her housing association.

She has since been forced to wear hat and gloves around the house during the cold spells this winter.

Tia first contacted her social housing provider in August after experiencing issues with her boiler.

An engineer was sent a few weeks later, who said there was nothing wrong - until the water tank blew up.

“It sparked, it banged everywhere, he basically said ‘I have no idea what is wrong with it’," she said.

Frustration then grew for Tina and her family over Stonewater’s attempt to fix the boiler.

An engineer was sent with a part to sort it out, but it turned out that the housing provider had sent another person to check the boiler out.

Tina says Stonewater repeatedly assured her that the issue was being dealt with, but then things went quiet.

In December, the radiator in the front room stopped working.

Once again, the issue was reported with Tia requesting a storage heater, but she says Stonewater said “it hadn't been put through” one week after the initial phone call was made.

The mother of two said: “Nobody offered me any plug-in heaters, I was given numerous numbers, but the only thing I was offered was a food bank.

“I explained to Stonewater that we have half the hot water because half of our boiler is broken, so we only have half the amount that we should have.

“On every phone call, I mentioned the boiler issue every time but I was told that the man who was supposed to be doing it called in sick.

“It got to minus eight and it was absolutely freezing, our windows are absolutely shocking.

“My kid’s windows in their bedroom, I can fit my finger through the gap.

“I am so scared of my children touching the window because I feel as though the whole window will fall out.

“I had to spend £30 on tin foil just to try and keep my house warm and honestly, I looked like a drug dealer."

Tia is a part-time carer and lives with her partner and her two children who are aged two and four.

She said: “We are now living in one room, we have to close doors every time we leave a room.

“It’s not fair for my children to be stuck in one room, they should be able to run around the house.

“At the age of two, you shouldn’t be told that you have to close a door to keep warm.

“It’s making me feel like a bad mum to my children, it’s bringing me so much stress.

“Coming down to make dinner, I and my partner are fighting because one of us is going to have to freeze.

“Someone has to put on a dressing gown, slippers etc, your hands are falling off because it’s so cold.”

A Stonewater spokesperson, said: “We are really sorry that Miss Campbell has waited so long for a repair to her heating and hot water. Looking at the history of this particular repair and the length of time it has taken it is unacceptable and not the normal standard of service our customers should expect.

“We will raise a formal complaint on behalf of the customer and look at compensation due to her based [on] the inconvenience this will have caused.

“The good news is that the repair has been completed and we can confirm that the heating and hot water are now fully working.”