Inverness man hits out at Highland Council contractors over leak in flat
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A Highland Council tenant is angry after shoddy workmanship caused damage to his flat.
James Fraser (59) claims that Highland Council contractors put wrapped blue paper – similar to kitchen towel – around a faulty water boiler in the house above his in Anderson Street, and it was left that way for two months.
The problem did not come to light until the water came seeping through his ceiling damaging electrics in his home, as well as flooding his carpet.
Mr Fraser, who lives in a ground-floor flat and is partially sighted, said he only noticed the problem when he walked on the carpet in the middle of the night.
“I phoned the council the following morning only to be told the problem was coming from the house above mine,” he said.
“The housing officer I spoke to asked me to speak to my neighbour to ask him to switch off his water, but when I did I found out where the problem started.”
He continued: “He told me that two months before he had to call out a plumber one weekend after noticing a leak in his boiler cupboard.
“Contractors to the house attended, and they did not have the right part, so they wrapped blue paper roll around the boiler.”
Mr Fraser believes the contractors then forgot to pass on the job to council staff, resulting in the flood to his home.
He said: “The electrics to my carbon monoxide and fire alarms must have become faulty because later the same day when I came in from the shops all the alarms in the house were going off.
“I had to call out the emergency electrician from the housing team, and they didn’t turn up until the following day to complete the job.
“I had to phone four times to get someone to come out and finish that job as well.
“I am partially sighted so this could have been devastating if there had been anything wrong in the house, because I probably would not have known about it.
"The length of time the boiler was left in that state is frankly ridiculous. It has caused a lot of damage, and a lot of waiting about to have it fixed.”
A council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the problems Mr Fraser has experienced and are taking all necessary steps to repair the damage to his home.”
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