A devastated teacher has been forced to move out of her beloved home and live in an Airbnb as she claims a leak from her £5,000 new Wickes bathroom turned her house into 'a swamp'. Fay Guest splashed out on a new bath, shower, sink and toilet from the store and was initially thrilled with it when installed last month.
But just three days later her delight turned to horror when a panicked friend who was cat-sitting rang her urging to come home as the two-bedroom house was flooding with water pouring from the ceiling. The 33-year-old rushed home on January 29 only to discover her terraced home underwater, describing it as a 'horror movie' that has destroyed her kitchen and left her without electricity.
Fay says she contacted the home improvement retailer on the day of the leak, sharing clips of the devastation on social media on February 13 as she was being 'fobbed off' by them. Shocking footage shows large pools of water on her carpeted living room, in her kitchen, water-soaked kitchen appliances and water pouring through wooden ceiling beams.
The devastated homeowner, who claims an installer confirmed the leak was caused by faulty piping under the bathtub, says she's been forced to move out of home and racked up more than £1,000 in Airbnb fees. Wickes said it was sorry to hear about the issue and that their customer relations team 'would remain in contact with Fay to ensure the issue is fully resolved'.
Fay said: "I wasn't there because I was visiting family, my friend was feeding my cat over the weekend. On Sunday morning, my friend told me that I needed to come back now because my house was really badly flooded.
"She was panicking, I couldn't fathom at that point where the flood was coming from, I was just completely stunned. Then she said that water was coming through the ceiling. I walked in to see a swamp, that's the only way I can describe it.
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"It had come all through the kitchen - all of my kitchen stuff is ruined. I've got no electricity in there, because the water has gone into the electricity. It then flowed into the living room. I'm in a classic terraced house, long and thin, and it managed to get all the way towards the front.
"I went from stunned disbelief to complete panic. Even upstairs that wasn't wet felt damp because it was just so full of water. The whole house absolutely stinks now.
"I haven't been able to live there since. I had to move out that night and I've been in a £500-a-week Airbnb since. I'm devastated. I moved into my house two years ago, and I've been spending time trying to get it nice."
Fay has been in touch with Wickes since January 29 and claims she's been told the team is 'aware of the issue and that it is being looked into'. She shared footage of her water-damaged home on Twitter on February 13, posting a clip filmed shortly after the water was turned off on the day of the flood. Fay says that a drying team provided by her insurance company has ripped up her waterlogged living room carpet and is drying out plug sockets that they hope to use for heating and a dehumidifier.
Fay, from Bideford, North Devon, said: "I said that the bathroom was going to look exquisite when I'd managed to paint it - but that doesn't make much difference now that the rest of my house is a swamp. Any other thing and it probably wouldn't cause that much damage but, because it's water, it causes catastrophic damage.
"The service from Wickes has not been great. To be honest, it's been a bit of a traumatic thing anyway.
"I'm now at the point where I'm getting sick of being fobbed off. It's a shame it's come to the point where I've put something on Twitter."
A Wickes spokesperson said: "We are very sorry to hear about the problem that Miss Guest has experienced with the installation of her bathtub, shower, toilet and sink as we always aim to deliver a high standard of customer service. A designated member of our Customer Relations Team is currently liaising with Miss Guest to understand where we can support and help ease some of the pressures experienced while she goes through the claim process with her insurers. Our Customer Relations Team will remain in contact to ensure the issue is fully resolved and that the work is completed as soon as possible, with the best possible care."
