People are fuming after being left without heating or hot water for weeks.
The ECHO has spoken to many of those who live at Darcy Court in Port Sunlight, Wirral, a retirement housing complex with around 58 apartments. Residents are furious after going through weeks of getting by with cold showers and carrying kettles full of hot water across the room to wash up.
It is understood Sanctuary, the company which runs the complex, charges around £450 per month to live at Darcy Court. A spokesperson for Sanctuary apologised to residents for what it called “unacceptable delays while we awaited the delivery and installation of a specialist part for the heating system”.
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They said this part has now arrived and all repairs are expected to be completed today. Betty Evans, 73, a resident of Darcy Court, said: “It’s the fourth week i’ve been having problems, it’s distressing. Another lady has been having problems for seven or eight weeks.
“58 flats have had nothing [no heating or hot water] for at least four weeks. They’ve given everyone a different story. They’ve said there’s a leak, the boiler's broken. They said there’s been no complaints since 2020, that’s not true.
“[On May 16], they said it would be fixed within 48 hours.” On carrying a kettle of hot water, she said: “I’ve fallen before [this happened, so it could happen again]. My daughter is fuming, my brother said it’s disgusting.
“We’re used to having hot water and heating and we’ve had it taken away from us. It’s not easy to get used to. One of the residents is 94, they couldn’t carry hot water.”
Many shared Ms Evans’ experiences. Ann Kirk, 72, said: “We’ve all been told different stories. We pay them for hot water and we’re not getting anything. We were offered electric heaters, just after our electricity bills doubled.
“You can only have a cold wash or a cold shower, or the kettle to wash up. I’m worried with my hands that I could drop something.”
Residents were particularly aggrieved, given it is not something they expect from somewhere they believe to be lovely to live in apart from this problem. Commenting on this, Ms Kirk added: “The flats are nice and we make an effort to keep it tidy.”
John Williams, 78, also lives at Darcy Court. He said: “We’re on our fourth week without hot water. They should’ve sorted it out, but we’re not getting anywhere.
“Carers come and look after some people, others are left carrying kettles of hot water. If it scolded someone it could kill them.”
“[Sanctuary] have been rubbish. If they would have come to us and talked to people we would have been fine. I was left on the line for 45 minutes before I could talk to them.”
He added: “I put letters up for people to meet the councillor [Sue Percy], but [Sanctuary] took them down saying they were a health and safety risk and we needed permission. They said they could cause a fire.”
Local councillors have been getting involved in the issue on the residents behalf. Cllr Joe Walsh, a Labour member, said: “It’s a disgrace in this day and age.”
Cllr Sue Percy, his Labour colleague, said: “Some [I have spoken to] have had no heating or hot water for seven to eight weeks. Sanctuary Housing keep putting it off all the time, it doesn’t seem to be an emergency [to them].”
Before hearing of Sanctuary’s commitment to get the job done today, Cllr Percy said she was concerned the work could take another three to four weeks to complete. She added: “To be left with no heating and no hot water is unacceptable in this day and age.
“I’m really upset about it. [When I met with 24 residents] they were desperate, they were saying what can we do to get help. They do love living there, they just want this addressing.
A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “We apologise to all the residents affected by the unacceptable delays while we awaited the delivery and installation of a specialist part for the heating system. We have been in regular contact with residents since the issue was reported to us earlier this month and we are pleased to say the required part has now arrived and we expect all the repairs to be completed today.
“We can also reassure our residents that any additional costs incurred as a result of this issue will be reimbursed.”
