From: Donald Oddy
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2014 8:11 AM
To: Alex Bosman
Cc: James Costantino ; Leader Paget Brown ; Tim Coleridge ; Tim Tim Coleridge ; (T) Complaints ; Robert Black ; Jane Clifton ; Keith Noble ; Lorna Cunningham ; John Griffin ; Ray Hylton ; Janet Edwards ; Nick Paget-Brown ; Clare Lees ; Laura Murphy
Subject: Re: Enquiry Ref 153876
Dear Alex,
I will try to call you today. Unfortunately I'm not available this afternoon. Generally I am available most days in the morning from 8 AM to mid day. But not this week.
1. Thank you for the attached copy
of the electrical report and works, and the certificates. It does not inspire confidence that these certificates might not be tracked down in the future when they are saved for flat 10 Curran house, although the contents appears to be that of my flat, flat 12 Curran house.
2. I am content for works to start on Monday 11th and be completed on Tuesday 12th with provisions agreed. Will this also include repair to carpet/cleaning the carpet as you mentioned in your previous note? And to prevent further damage to my carpet, will the installers please bring suitable coverings to prevent further damage? If they cannot prevent further damage, then we need some new contractors?
3. I think T Brown need to be challenged on their assertion that they have completed the job mentioned: they have not put sealant into my heating system at any stage since the boiler was changed couple of years ago. I don't like it when people say they have done something when they have not, I suspect that Mr Marsh may have made assumptions based on me chasing him, and he expecting that something has happened when it is not yet been done. I assume they have the sealant now, so there need be no delay in them coming to do the job. And the reason why I assume they still have some sealant is because it is not in my heating system.
Item 4 in this note which is labelled item 7, regarding the draining board, very happy to you to look at draining board and make a decision. I would suggest you come on the Monday morning 11th of August before the contractors start.
The reason for me copying in various people, it is not to put any pressure on you, it is to provide information to those people who have yet to reply to any of the issues which have been ongoing for some years. Including a new person, Mr James Costantino who is part of level I, purple zone whatever that is.
From: Alex Bosman
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2014 2:51 PM
To: 'Donald Oddy'
Cc: (T) Complaints
Subject: RE: Enquiry Ref 153876
Dear Mr Oddy,
Thank you for your response below, I have called today and left a voicemail however if it is convenient for you I would like to visit your home tomorrow afternoon between 4.30 and 5.30, please confirm if this is possible.
I am also able to provide some further information on some of the points below:
- For your reassurance I have attached a copy of the original electrical certificate which list the system as unsatisfactory and the second part of the document which certifies the system following the rewire works.
- If my visit tomorrow is convenient I would like to agree the plan of works with you and a proposed start date of Monday 11th August with works being completed on Tuesday 12th August.
- Having discussed the works to your heating system T Brown have confirmed that sealant was put in to your system to address any minor leak, having reviewed your repair history I see that the last report of low pressure was on the 7th July, it would be useful to discuss this issue when we meet to understand if it has now been resolved.
- I am happy to review the condition of the draining board with you and arrange for a replacement if necessary.
Kind regards,
Alex
Alex Bosman
Head of Contract Management
Kensington & Chelsea TMO
292a Kensal Road
W10 5BE
07970 248 534
From: Donald Oddy [mailto:donoddy@outlook.com]
Sent: 05 August 2014 11:04
To: Alex Bosman
Subject: Re: Enquiry Ref 153876
Dear Alex,
Thank you very much for your response, and for taking the time and trouble to go through each point I made in my complaint. As a general rule, it would be better to get back to the service user in a more timely fashion. You did not fulfil your own criteria when managing complaints, and it would be acceptable as an apology had there not been a failure to communicate properly and deal with issues over the last few years in a timely manner.
I don’t know if you keep a log of time spent by contractors at my flat, don’t forget I too have had to endure time with contractors in my flat. And if you think I might be an inconvenient tenant, I will leave it to your imagination just how inconvenient your department has made my life. Especially when the TMO staff have been less than truthful when it comes to issues and resolutions.
Same as you, taking each point I made, I have added notes in a different font/colour so you can understand where I am coming from.
I am agreeable to you coming and discussing what needs to be done to put matters right. And as part of this exercise, a plan? A project plan may be with the usual, what, by who, contact names and numbers, duration and completion. And hopefully with who is signing off and by when.
I also noticed that the email system used by the RBKC and the TMO makes it clear that my communications have been received by those I have sent them to in the past. Failure to communicate back to me on issues, be they procedural or otherwise is quite insulting. And I do not expect you to apologise for their indolence, or their insulting behaviour towards me. They will have to apologise themselves, if they choose to apologise is not for you to concern yourself with as part of getting the jobs done.
I look forward to seeing you as soon as possible,
Donald Oddy
Dear Mr Oddy,
RE: Enquiry Ref 153876 - Flat 12 Curran House Lucan Place London SW3 3PG
Thank you for your email dated 18 July 2014 having reviewed the specific concerns you have raised I am able to respond in the same order; I also understand that you have some overarching concerns and I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these in person to understand if they are historic and have been addressed by changes made within the Asset and Regeneration team over the past year, are areas which have been identified for improvement or need to be addressed.
1. Rewire post inspection
The purpose of the post inspection is not to test the safety of the new system as this is carried out during the works by the registered NIEC engineers with details recorded on the new certificate. The post inspection is intended to confirm works have been completed in a tidy manner to the residents satisfaction and match the specification.
[Rewire: thank you for that information, I did not know a new certificate had been issued as a consequence. I did not know that this was part of the contract with either the main contractor or the subcontractor who carried out the work. There is a conflict in knowing and as a resident that the post-inspection was all about tidiness on the one hand, and to match the specification on the other. As I was not party to the initial specifications, anything I might have signed to indicate completion and satisfied is outside my purview and my knowledge of the initial contract. These were some of the points I made before the wiring went ahead after I complained about the behaviour of the main contractor.]
2. Leak from walk in shower
I apologies that you have historically received conflicting information regarding the possible leak from your walk in shower to the property below. I understand that Keith Noble has recently been working with our contractor to resolve this long standing issue which Keith believes has been caused by incorrect instillation. To resolve this it will be necessary to install a formed shower tray with new a waste connection below the floor finishing which will be renewed. I understand this has been a long standing issues and that you have received conflicting information however I am confident that Keith has correctly diagnosed the cause and necessary works required to resolve this issue; due to the nature of this leak and the impact it is having on the resident below it is important that these works are completed as soon as possible. Although works were programmed to start today I have been informed by our contractor that you would not allow them access due to your other outstanding concerns; I would like to reassure you that I will address your concerns appropriately however the works to your bathroom need to be programmed urgently. I attempted to phone you today to discuss these concerns however you were unavailable; I will call again tomorrow and would appreciate the opportunity to visit your home to discuss your concerns.
[The shower room: this has been an ongoing problem since I first came to live in this flat. Problems with the power shower and installation became apparent over a very short period. The power shower has been replaced once as the first unit failed.
Shower room floor: the shower room floor has been a concern since I first took up residence. The shower room floor has been inspected on numerous occasions by TMO staff and two surveyors in the past. And still the floor has been leaking for some years. I agree this is an urgent matter because of damage to my neighbour downstairs, and the health and safety implications have been raised by me for several years with regard to electricity and damage and hazardous conditions for my neighbour. Thank you for reminding me just how important health and safety is and how sadly the TMO have ignored, indeed denied there was a problem over the years.]
3. Leak to your heating system
The works to resolve the possible leak to your heating system are included within the current domestic boiler servicing and repair contract and do not require authorization by the TMO. I apologies that these have not yet been completed by our contractor and have contacted them to confirm the exact works which have been completed and if necessary will arrange for an engineer to re-attend at a convenient time to resolve this matter. Once I have received feedback from our contractor I will be able to confirm to you if any further works are required.
[Heating system: I have forgotten just how many times I have had to ask the TMO to come and recharge the water system for the gas boiler. I have not forgotten how much effort I needed to encourage the TMO to replace radiators. I have not forgotten that the TMO denied the true age of my previous gas boiler, and it was only when I found the first guarantee left by the previous tenant, that I was able to get the TMO to agree that the gas boiler was much older than they emphatically declared for some years.]
4. Kitchen window repair
Thank you for confirming that works to your kitchen window have now been completed.
Kitchen window: yes the kitchen window has been repaired following the intervention of Mr Keith Noble, with whom I have no problem. Indeed Mr Noble has been very helpful in the main. But I suspect that he has had to go through quite a number of hoops to do his own job, and I understand that Mr Noble is a consultant and not part of RBKC TMO.
5. Pest proofing
During my proposed visit I will be able to inspect and specify any necessary mouse proofing which may be required following the recent electrical works.
[Pest proofing: every year since I have been living here, there have been problems with mice coming in. And the recommended pest proofing, it has always been haphazard, incomplete and truthfully it cannot be done correctly without removing kitchen units, voids at the back of the WC and replacing mouse proofing in the walk-in shower. Personally and without prejudice to myself, the pest control officer and what he has done has been most effective. If you were to try and pest proof my abode, it would involve taking the kitchen and the toilet apart, something I cannot imagine you doing.]
6. Damage to carpet
I understand that Keith has arranged for our contractor to clean the affected carpet when they re-attend to carry out the works listed in point 2 and has reinforced with the contractor the contractual importance of using floor protection during works to prevent possible damage and achieve resident satisfaction. I apologies that this did not happen in this instance.
[Damaged carpet: when the tradesmen/subcontractors came to see me last week, nothing was said about cleaning up the carpets as part of the job. The contractor offered to start work on the Friday, leaving me without a bathroom over the weekend. And then to finish the job on Monday. I have disabilities which mean I need toilet and bathroom facilities twenty-four hours a day. Friday was not a good idea. I was expecting a reply from your department by Friday last week with regard to these matters. And I also asked the contractor to text me about starting on the Monday. These two elements did not happen, the contractor did not text me and I could not contact him, and your department did not get back to me within ten days, and I was left without any understanding, least of all about the carpet and what the intentions were regarding these matters.]
7. Damage to draining board
In addition to the cleaning of the carpet Keith has also arranged for the contractor to rectify the damage to the drainage board caused during the repair to your kitchen window. I will be discussing these concerns with our repairs contractor to achieve service improvement.
[Damage to draining board in kitchen: some years ago when you had to replace the draining board I did complain to the TMO about the quality and my concerns about the draining board being flimsy. Your surveyor at the time said it was perfectly adequate, and because I have been careful with the draining board, only when workmen ignored my suggestion to be careful, did it get damaged twice, each time they came to mend the window.
I don’t think the draining board can be put right, without it being unsightly and water puddles forming and not draining away.]
There have been a number of changes within the Asset and Regeneration team over the past 18 months to improve the service we offer to our residents; due to the complex nature of some of the works we carry out and the number of homes we maintain it will take time to imbed these changes. As previously mentioned I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these changes with you and understand where we still have work to do.
Although our complaints policy allows a ten day period for investigation and response we aim to be able to resolve matters more swiftly depending on their complexity. I am sorry that I have not been able to provide a response in a more timely manner on this occasion.
From my understanding of your concerns I hope the information above clarifies the actions which are outstanding and how these can be resolved; however if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
[Following recent events, I am aware that emails sent by me complaining to you or other individuals of the RBKC and TMO have been received and ignored. Or assumptions have been made following their receipt that somebody somewhere has been doing something about my situation. Far be it from me to suggest people find it acceptable to ignore communications. Fortunately I now know that communications have been received, because some people within RBKC and TMO put their email system onto automatic holiday response. And even now, the automatic holiday response has been adjusted in the last twenty-four hours. So I know all of you have been aware, and have received my emails since the beginning.]
Kind regards,
Alex
Alex Bosman
Head of Contract Management
t: 0800 137 111
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Bosman
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 6:06 PM
To: 'donoddy@hotmail.com'
Cc: (T) Complaints
Subject: RE: Enquiry Ref 153876
Dear Mr Oddy,
RE: Enquiry Ref 153876 - Flat 12 Curran House Lucan Place London SW3 3PG
Thank you for your email dated 18 July 2014 having reviewed the specific concerns you have raised I am able to respond in the same order; I also understand that you have some overarching concerns and I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these in person to understand if they are historic and have been addressed by changes made within the Asset and Regeneration team over the past year, are areas which have been identified for improvement or need to be addressed.
1. Rewire post inspection
The purpose of the post inspection is not to test the safety of the new system as this is carried out during the works by the registered NIEC engineers with details recorded on the new certificate. The post inspection is intended to confirm works have been completed in a tidy manner to the residents satisfaction and match the specification.
2. Leak from walk in shower
I apologies that you have historically received conflicting information regarding the possible leak from your walk in shower to the property below. I understand that Keith Noble has recently been working with our contractor to resolve this long standing issue which Keith believes has been caused by incorrect instillation. To resolve this it will be necessary to install a formed shower tray with new a waste connection below the floor finishing which will be renewed. I understand this has been a long standing issues and that you have received conflicting information however I am confident that Keith has correctly diagnosed the cause and necessary works required to resolve this issue; due to the nature of this leak and the impact it is having on the resident below it is important that these works are completed as soon as possible. Although works were programmed to start today I have been informed by our contractor that you would not allow them access due to your other outstanding concerns; I would like to reassure you that I will address your concerns appropriately however the works to your bathroom need to be programmed urgently. I attempted to phone you today to discuss these concerns however you were unavailable; I will call again tomorrow and would appreciate the opportunity to visit your home to discuss your concerns.
3. Leak to your heating system
The works to resolve the possible leak to your heating system are included within the current domestic boiler servicing and repair contract and do not require authorization by the TMO. I apologies that these have not yet been completed by our contractor and have contacted them to confirm the exact works which have been completed and if necessary will arrange for an engineer to re-attend at a convenient time to resolve this matter. Once I have received feedback from our contractor I will be able to confirm to you if any further works are required.
4. Kitchen window repair
Thank you for confirming that works to your kitchen window have now been completed.
5. Pest proofing
During my proposed visit I will be able to inspect and specify any necessary mouse proofing which may be required following the recent electrical works.
6. Damage to carpet
I understand that Keith has arranged for our contractor to clean the affected carpet when they re-attend to carry out the works listed in point 2 and has reinforced with the contractor the contractual importance of using floor protection during works to prevent possible damage and achieve resident satisfaction. I apologies that this did not happen in this instance.
7. Damage to draining board
In addition to the cleaning of the carpet Keith has also arranged for the contractor to rectify the damage to the drainage board caused during the repair to your kitchen window. I will be discussing these concerns with our repairs contractor to achieve service improvement.
There have been a number of changes within the Asset and Regeneration team over the past 18 months to improve the service we offer to our residents; due to the complex nature of some of the works we carry out and the number of homes we maintain it will take time to imbed these changes. As previously mentioned I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these changes with you and understand where we still have work to do.
Although our complaints policy allows a ten day period for investigation and response we aim to be able to resolve matters more swiftly depending on their complexity. I am sorry that I have not been able to provide a response in a more timely manner on this occasion.
From my understanding of your concerns I hope the information above clarifies the actions which are outstanding and how these can be resolved; however if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Alex
Alex Bosman
Head of Contract Management
t: 0800 137 111
