A Perth pensioner said she is preparing to chain herself to the offices of her accommodation provider in protest at being left without heating for four weeks.
Valdirmere Tchaikovsky, 71, lives in a property in Gowans Terrace owned by Kingdom Housing Association (KHA). She claims to have been without heating because of a gas boiler that has been on the blink for the last four weeks.
She wrote to her MSP John Swinney on March 3, who replied saying he was “concerned” about the situation. Mr Swinney added he’d asked Kingdom’s technical services manager to pay her a visit.
This week, Ms Tchaikovsky said she had waited all day on Tuesday, but this person had failed to come as promised. She is now researching her rights to make a public protest at the Fairfield Avenue office where many of Kingdom Housing Association’s management team work.
Ms Tchaikovsky said she is fed up shivering in the cold weather. She has arthritis and health problems which make her vulnerable in winter. She claims that on Friday, March 10, it will be four weeks since her heating last worked properly.
She said that several ‘quick fixes’ have been arranged by contractors but she is still freezing cold without heating. She says not only is her boiler unreliable but the radiators are acting up too.
A recent engineer’s visit resulted in a suggestion that the radiators need flushed with an anti-gunk chemical, but Ms Tchaikovsky is asthmatic and worries about the side effects of flushing the system.
She told the Perth Advertiser her problems with the boiler started on Thursday, February 9 but while contracted engineers have come to the house, several repairs have failed to last “even overnight”.
“My boiler needs replacing, the heating packed up again just as soon as the engineer left,” she explained. “I’m freezing cold without heating. It’s horrible – you try it. My dog is 14 and he collapsed on Tuesday night, he had to sleep upstairs with me, the poor old boy needed to be kept warm but no radiators were working.
“Kingdom Housing Association’s customer services are done out of Glenrothes. When you call them they don’t have a clue about where I stay in Perth. I’m sick to death of their attitude. They left me to freeze for weeks and I want to send them a message that their clients matter. I have a bike chain. I’m going to make myself a problem that they can’t ignore.”
KHA responded: “Our gas contractors identified an issue with the heating on February 9 and completed repairs by February 11, at which point the heating and hot water system was working normally.
“The tenant reported further issues including a noisy fan and a couple of leaking parts which have all been fixed, but which did not result in the boiler not working.
“If the gas contractor has any concerns about an appliance or central heating system they advise us quickly and we work together to agree on next steps, including boiler replacement if required.
“This wasn’t something that was deemed necessary in this instance. Our gas contractors have been called out most recently on February 25 and 28 and on both occasions the heating system was found to be working normally with no issues. The health and safety of our tenants is of the utmost importance to us.”
KHA offered to conduct a joint visit with the gas contractor “to consider the best course of action.”
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