A TENANT who has been left with an enormous hole in his ceiling has accused a housing association of poor quality work, claiming his boiler tank was installed incorrectly. 

Shaun Miles said he has suffered constant problems at his home in Wilmott Way, Winklebury which is owned by Vivid, including a faulty boiler tank and a leak in the hallway.

The 41-year-old moved into the property in March 2018 and said he has experienced problems for the last two years.

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(Image: Shaun Miles) “I have had nothing but problems,” he said, adding: “I was without a toilet for six weeks at one point."

The final straw came after he reported a leak to Vivid on June 8 which had caused a hole in his hallway ceiling.

The leak was found to be coming from the boiler tank, which was repaired on June 10.

However, Shaun said after Vivid sent someone to fix the problem, the heating kept turning itself on, resulting in him sweltering in high temperatures when it was already hot outside.

Vivid found a problem with a valve and pipework and ordered parts before fixing the issue on June 27.

However, Shaun has accused the company of incorrectly installing the tank in the first repair. 

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The I Talk volunteer asked an independent electrician to assess the work and said he was advised that it had been installed incorrectly.

He is also frustrated that the hole in the hallway ceiling has been left for six months because Vivid said it may contain asbestos.

Shaun has now lodged an official complaint and asked Vivid for compensation for the stress and inconvenience caused to him.

To make matters worse, when he called up to complain, he said the call handler was “disrespectful and unprofessional” after likening the spelling of his name to Shaun the Sheep.

In reply to the complaint, seen by the Gazette, Vivid confirmed that it had listened to the call and the advisor did reference Shaun the Sheep but ‘apologised immediately after for any offence caused’.

“Please accept my apologies that this poor choice of example was used,” the letter said.

The letter said that an investigation into the complaint had found “no failure in our services” adding that it is “confident the works meet our standards”.

Vivid agreed to follow up regarding the asbestos report and to “share the next steps” on July 12 regarding the repair of the hole in the ceiling.

However, it remains unfixed.

“I’m sorry you have had to accommodate multiple repairs and appointments and can appreciate how difficult this has been for you,” Vivid said in its letter.

Mark Churcher, head of repairs and compliance at Vivid, said in a statement sent to the Gazette: “We have been made aware of intermittent issues with drainage in the home and a replacement required of a cylinder. Both issues have been resolved and are in full working order.”