Sewage explosion at no. 55!

There was a sewage explosion in the kitchen sink of no. 55 early yesterday morning!  The kitchen cupboards, walls, work surfaces and floor were spattered with erm.... 'matter' which reached as far as the living room  - it stank!

After numerous phone calls and a couple of emails Miss Bateman was pleased finally (after initially being told she could have to wait up to 24 hrs) that the promised contractor did arrive in the afternoon and dealt with the blockage.  An industrial cleaner is due to arrive today to perform a deep clean.

Hope you're feeling better today Rachel:)!

However a black mark goes to Paradigm's front line customer services, the initial contact, who informed Miss Bateman that it would probably turn out to be her fault (it wasn't) and she would be charged for the call out and repair.  Frankly, in view of the complete bodge job carried out on her property during the replacement bathroom and kitchen scheme and subsequent even shoddier repairs, I would say on balance that it is she who is due for compensation rather than the other way round!

On a positive note Miss Bateman was offered the opportunity for her family to be moved out for the night. But she chose to remain in her home thus saving Paradigm from further expense.

The second black mark goes to Chiltern District Council's Environmental Health Dept.  Wanting to be sure of the 'procedure' in cases such as this, I rang the office only to be told that there was no one available and that the lady 'covering' was from licensing.   She did however assure me that an environmental officer would ring back. Needless to say they didn't........

It's not great is it ---when you have 3 children, can't use your toilet, kitchen sink and are told to leave the mess as the sink could erupt again at any time. Also you might have to wait 24 hrs and it's probably all your own fault anyway so it's going to cost you a lot of money!  It's not surprising people get upset and frustrated in these situations.

Hopefully, someone will now come in and properly repair the large holes in her walls which they had to make, after discovering that the drainage system hadn't been connected properly, resulting in the walls filling up with water.  The finished repair consisted of nailing pieces of board over the holes, one of the walls was a brand new plasterboard one which had only recently been put up!

I am not being deliberately antagonistic here toward Paradigm, it's just that I am able to empathise with this lady's situation and know that if I were her I'd be tearing my hair out too.