I came home one evening to find water pouring under the kitchen door. The tank in the attic had overflowed after the ballcock valve broke and brought down part of the kitchen ceiling. My insurer, Lloyds, speedily dispatched a surveyor and a drying company, but two months later nothing further has happened. The drying company won’t install dehumidifiers until the rest of the soaked ceiling is safely removed and this hasn’t been done because Lloyds has not yet approved the repair costs quoted by its contractor. Meanwhile I am living in a wet and increasingly mouldy house and more cracks are appearing in the ceiling.
LA, Hereford
You are in your seventies and the health implications of two months in a sodden house are serious. As are the consequences for the rest of the property as the damp and mould spread. Your bedroom and bathroom were also affected. It’s shocking Lloyds did not authorise removal of the ceiling so drying work could start while it pondered the repair quote. It’s also shocking you were not offered alternative accommodation. Lloyds admitted that it had let you down and offered a paltry £200 for the “inconvenience”. It was another three weeks before the ceiling was removed, and the repairs were finally completed five months after that.
