A Scots dad has been forced to sleep on the couch for months as he claims his local council has failed to fix a crack in his window - leaving a draught in his flat. James Thomson has slammed Edinburgh Council for leaving him with the broken window for months, which has caused one side of his flat to become unbearably cold.
The dad-of-two says the window was broken when he moved into the high-rise block in the Wester Hailes area of the city. James says the extreme weather conditions coupled with the issues with the window have left him spending hundreds of pounds on heating as he fails to keep heat in his home.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live , he said: "When I moved in the window was already broken but I was more focussed on getting the house ready for my kids coming over. By the time I got round to reporting it the guy came out and measured it then told me it would be about two weeks for a replacement bit of glass due to a backlog at the time.
"A month passed so I phoned up and they said it would be another few weeks so when the day eventually came around, an electrician came around and disconnected the fan on the window and tried to get in touch with the glazier but he couldn't. He then told me I've to phone up the council again which I done and the woman on the phone said she would contact them herself.
"The glazier then told her that when he went to pick up the glass it was missing and so it would take another two weeks to get it re-ordered. After waiting again, I was told the exact same when they were a no-show this time around but Id have to wait a month.
"I've been given that excuse about eight times now and I just keep going round and round in circles. It's becoming an issue as I can't even open the kitchen door due to the broken glass and the fan making the living room temperature to plummet."
James added that his flat has several storage heaters but although they turn on, they don't actually heat up, which has also been reported to the council.
He continued: "I don't even use that end of the house at the moment, I've been sleeping on my couch for the past two or three months as it's too cold to sleep in that end of the house.
"It's at the point where I'm scared to have my kids up as I don't want them sleeping in a freezing cold room and there's nothing I can do to heat up the flat. I'll only have them round for an hour or two a week which breaks my heart.
"Getting this house was supposed to be something that allowed me to look after my kids more but so far I'm seeing them less."
"Another window is screwed closed after they mechanism snapped when I opened it once, that also causes a draft. It was around March time I started to notice it getting colder in the flat and I knew I needed to get it fixed, but I'm still waiting nine months later."
A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council apologised over the window and said that they are currently investigating the issues reported.
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