Great-grandmother slams Edinburgh Council after contractor destroys her kitchen

Botched repairs have proved a problem for Eileen Lawson. Picture: Jon Savage

 Eileen Lawson, 72, from Broomhouse, was meant to have radiators removed and repaired, as well as a new combi-boiler fitted and an old water tank taken out on August 22 – only to have her kitchen and hall floor flooded and seriously damaged.

When removing her water tank, the council contractors Dalex flooded her kitchen, soaking the floor covering that had only recently been fitted by City of Edinburgh Council, and leaving her with a damp surface that created a stench throughout the house for up to a month.

She said: “I was told this would have been a one-day job to do and now here I am weeks later still waiting for the job to be finished.

“I was left with leaking and damaged radiators, a damp stench throughout my house and nights with no shower or toilet due to the works. It cannot be good for anyone to have to breathe in that damp.”

Eileen catalogued her struggles in a bid to have her issues resolved by the council and Dalex in two notebooks – running the length of 23 pages – and also supplied the Evening News with pictures of the damage caused.

She said: “Not only did I have to wait weeks for my flooring to be replaced, when they did come to do the job they left it in an awful state.

“The lino was miss matching, they left gaps and bits sticking out as it was not finished at the edges and they took so long to rectify the situation that my partner had to mend their shoddy work. Either myself or my great-granddaughter could have fallen and seriously injured ourselves on the flooring.”

Eileen is still waiting for her radiator covers to be replaced and for new flooring to be fitted several months after the damage was caused.

She said the stress and anxiety has left her seeking medical support from her doctor as she was struggling to cope. She also cancelled a holiday to her sister’s in Doncaster as she waited on a response as to when the work would be completed.

She said: “I just feel like no one cares and I know I am a pensioner but I am not stupid.

“I deserve to be treated better than this as a tenant and surely some compensation is long overdue.”

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this is very frustrating for our tenant, particularly at this time of year.

“The standard of flooring put down after the leak was not to a high standard.

“Unfortunately due to the time of year the contractor is not able to fix this until the new year. We do carry out around 10,000 repairs and improvements every month.”

The spokesperson added: “Current tenant satisfaction with this is 92 per cent. We know there are times when we don’t get it right but we always work to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.”

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