A furious council tenant has been struggling to get a hole in his loft permanently fixed for two months.
Russell Bennet, 69, complained about the roof to Stoke-on-Trent City Council on August 8 after he discovered the water leak affecting his home.
StokeOnTrent Live reports that the authority sent out an emergency worker who put temporary felt on the roof of his loft.
However, it wasn't until another two months had passed that workers were sent out to complete the "emergency" work.
He said: “We heard rain coming in so I looked in my loft and bright daylight was peeking through the hole.
"I got some roofing felt and put it on the floor in the loft underneath the hole and put a towel over it so it wouldn’t seep down.
“It was a Sunday and when I rang the emergency repair team they came out that day.
"They said somebody would be out the following day because they could only put a temporary repair with a bit of felt to stop the rain coming through.
"But nobody came and then when I phoned up on the Tuesday two men came out, looked around the house, and ordered scaffolding.
“The following week two different men then came out to check what scaffolding was needed. I turned around and said they had already ordered it.
"They said they were the only ones that could order scaffolding. That was another week wasted. They said they could do it off a cherry picker.
"In the meantime, the temporary felt had a hole again and there was rain coming in again.
“I tried phoning the repair people and waited 51 minutes before anyone could answer. A woman answered. It was around 4pm and she said she needed to go and find out some information. I waited another seven minutes and then it was hung up.
“We went for nearly two months with a hole in the roof.”
Russel says he is now "relieved" that the roof is fixed.
He added: “It took from August to early October for it to be fixed. It’s a very poor service, it’s not good enough. I’ve made a complaint to the council.
“I am waiting for an internal review about Unitas and the service it gave. Somebody phoned me and apologised the day after the work was completed. He gave me a card to go online if I have any other repairs to be done.
“But if people haven’t got the internet you are waiting for over an hour on the phone before they even speak to you.
“It was getting me stressed out trying to get through to the council. My wife hasn’t been in very good health for the last 12 months so it was another thing we didn’t need.
“The two men who did the job were very good. They made a good job of that but it’s about what you have to go through to get work done. We had to fight to get the job done and it shouldn't be like that.
“If you have water coming through it’s important to get it sorted because it could cause any kind of damage. I’m relieved it’s fixed.”
Councillor Carl Edwards, cabinet member for housing, said: “We are committed to resolving property repairs quickly and efficiently. This repair was no different and was repaired on the same day with follow-up work.
“We are sorry that the resident feels distressed. We are always looking to improve, however, a same day repair would be seen by most as a very good service.”
