Carol Spence is cracking up as she struggles to have her recently refurbished house repaired.
The terraced property, which was gutted in a freak fire, was completely rebuilt inside by claims handlers Trinity Claims.
But she has been left with a huge snagging list, excessive gaps throughout the house and flooding in her kitchen.
Carol, 41, said: “I have been fighting for a year-and-a-half to have these repairs done.
“I knew there would be settlement after six months. But this is over the top. The house is a state and it feels unsafe.”
The house, in Cambusnethan, Wishaw, Lanarkshire, was destroyed by fire in 2016. Carol, an airline flight attendant, was abroad at the time.
She said: “I got a real fright. It seems an electrical fault caused the blaze but I was fully covered by insurance.”
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Trinity Claims appointed contractors React, based in Paisley, to reinstate the property. The work started in June 2016 and she was back home by November.
But Carol said: “They told me to expect cracking and to be in touch in six months’ time.”
She called React in June 2017 to report cracking to the stairway and water pouring into her kitchen.
Carol said: “I had massive cracks going up either side of my stairs and the ceilings upstairs no longer looked attached to the walls.
“The bathroom floor didn’t meet the walls and there was a gap in the wall between my bathroom and bedroom. As a result, the tiles had come away. Water poured into the kitchen below every time I had a shower.”
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A surveyor was sent, who said she’d have to move out as the work would take two weeks.
Carol added: “He told me the upstairs walls would have to be taken down and rebuilt but I wasn’t to worry as alternative accommodation would be provided and I wouldn’t be liable for any cost.”
But Carol called me in when the work still hadn’t started.
She said: “My living room floor is starting to bubble from the water pouring into the kitchen.
“It seems React and Trinity are in dispute as to who will pay.
“They are now trying to say that the cracks are cosmetic and I can live in the house while the work is being done. It’s ludicrous. If the work had been carried out correctly in the first place, I wouldn’t have this problem.
“After such a traumatic time with the fire, I need to get my life back to normal. Please help.”
I got on to Trinity Claims. A spokesman said: “We regret occasions when works require rectification and include a two-year guarantee to protect policyholders.
“We appointed an independent surveyor to review the problems and agree a list of works. While we appreciate how concerned Ms Spence would have been when she saw the cracks, these have been caused by shrinkage in the plasterboard and do not render the property unsafe.
“They are cosmetic and do not affect the structure of the building. The contractor does not require her to move out or storage of any contents.
“We have arranged to visit to discuss the new concern at her property further and hope to conclude the matter shortly.”
