A dad is worried that he and his family might be stuck in a rented bungalow while work on their house carries on into 2023 following a storm last year.
David Wright, his partner and their two children from Irby, were forced to leave their family home when part of his roof blew off the house during Storm Arwen in November 2021. Following a number of phone calls and organising with his home insurance company Zurich Insurance Group, it was agreed that the dad of two would move his family into a rented bungalow in Springfield.
The 45-year-old construction compliance manager said during a meeting with a number of people involved in the project that it was discussed that it could be a further six to eight months before they can return to their home. David told the ECHO that the work is now being tendered as the current contractors are no longer working on the job.
READ MORE: Dad gets phone call after neighbour spots scaffolders 'in his hot tub drinking beer'
He said: "There's no proper estimated time that we can move back in but it was said in conversation that it could be six to eight months. We're going to be out of the house for 12-14 months. I honestly don't know where we are at. It's unbelievable. We were told we would be out of the property for four months max.
"We got a six-month lease after initially looking for a month-by-month lease but they told us to get a six-month one. We were told three to four months."
In response, a spokesperson for Zurich Insurance Group told the ECHO: “Our claims team is working closely with Mr Wright and doing everything they can to ensure the family can return to their home as soon as possible. We are currently working towards the end of October, factoring in current pressures on labour and raw materials.
"We have also re-confirmed that we will be paying Mr Wright compensation for the level of service he has received as well as reimbursing him for other added expenses he has had to cover whilst not being in the property.”
The news that the family will be displaced for more than a year comes after the ECHO ran a story over the weekend that showed beer caps on David's decking, believed to be from scaffolders working on the property. This is what summed up the last seven months, with David claiming that he received a phone call from his neighbour that the scaffolders employed by the insurance company to put scaffolding up were using his hot tub.
He originally told the ECHO: "They took the wrong ceiling down in the house. They haven't taken any of the wet plasterboards down. The flat roof that they put on it is wrong. There are all kinds of different problems. The emotional stress and heartache has been horrendous. I am honestly so close to just breaking.
"We've been let down time and time again. I rang up the project manager at the time [the scaffolders went in the hot tub] to say that someone had been in the hot tub and that my neighbour had witnessed it and that they believe it was the scaffolders. I came back and the hot tub lid was up and damaged.
"On the hot tub you have wind straps to keep it down, they were all open so I rang the sub-contractors and they told me to phone the police if I thought it was a problem. I even have photos of the beer caps on the decking from where they've drank beer out of the fridge."
A spokesperson for Zurich Insurance Group said at the time: "We are very sorry to hear about the problems Mr Wright has faced in relation to the claim for damage to his roof. The delays and some of the service he has experienced falls short of the high standards we pride ourselves on. We have issued a compensation payment of £350 in recognition of this.
"Following a meeting yesterday, we have agreed a way forward to address the outstanding works required to Mr Wright’s home. We are also conducting a full investigation into some of the contractors used, to ensure that those hired on behalf of Zurich, provide the best and most professional service possible."
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