Waste of time, and an insult. You'll wait well over a year for a response, only to be told that they don't take into account photographic or medical evidence, and that anything the landlord records cannot be challenged- so landlords can lie and fiddle records, and get away with it. On top of a long list of disrepair issues, my landlord didn't wire in a new storage heater properly, as they only connected the day-time supply for the boost and LCD display- they didn't wire in the night- time supply! They initially tried claiming that I hadn't switched it on (!) and I was left without heating for weeks. In the end, they had to admit I was able to work basic electrical switches, and arrange for electricians to come and wire it in properly. I was there when they did it- it took all afternoon, but apparently , the landlord lied again, and had recorded that I hadn't set the timer correctly! The re-wiring, which demonstrates the electrics were unsafe, and that 'void' procedures had not, in fact, been followed, appears not to have been recorded. It's clear the landlord were covering the fact that the electrics hadn't been checked before the property was let. Nonetheless, the caseworker just said that there was no evidence against the landlord as it was my word against theirs! Remarkably, during the complaints process, another heater the landlord had fitted burned through it's switch and nearly caused a house fire, but the ombudsman didn't even advise the electrics should be checked. Also, they won't compensate you if you have receipts for repairs that were the landlord's responsibility. No wonder there are so many reports on the news of people living in damp, mouldy slums- the housing ombudsman are quite openly allowing it to happen, and sadly, human life is cheap to the housing ombudsman service (if you're a social housing tenant, anyway). If you're lucky you'll get a couple of hundred quid for what they think of as minor inconvenience due to 'service failures ', when you've lost several thousand and been left with nothing, but I guess you should be grateful you're still alive after one episode of anaphylaxis and a major electrical fault. Dickensian attitudes, at best .
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