A strange buzz around Camden Repairs. June 8, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , trackbackNow normally, I’m quite happy to be the leaseholder of a council flat. This is a good area, the neighbours are quiet and friendly, and generally Camden are quite good.
But the repairs department are putting me through a nightmare of kafkaesque proportions at the moment, and I am slowly going insane.
After 10 days, hours on the phone to Camden repairs, our communal door is still not working. It buzzes constantly, as if someone in a flat was leaning on the unlock button on the door intercom.
It started about 10 days ago, and the next day, I rang Camden Repairs to be told that a neighbour had already rung, and It would be fixed the next day. It wasn’t, and we all endured the weekend with the loud buzzing noise.
On Monday, I spoke to Camden Repairs and was told that an engineer was going out that afternoon. By Wednesday, it still wasn’t fixed, and I spoke to someone else. I asked to speak to his supervisor, but they were all in a meeting. I was told it would be fixed the next day.
That was yet another fantasy in what was becoming an increasingly surreal situation. When I got home that night, the buzzing had stopped and the door was locked. But the intercom didn’t work at all, and there was no light in the stairwell. I guess either a fuse had blown or someone had managed to work out how to turn the lot off.
And so, this morning I rang again, and spoke to the extremely helpful call centre operator. Apparently another neighbour had rung to complain about the lack of lighting. Amazingly, they managed to get someone out to actually fix that, which, of course brought back the buzzing. This is not the result my neighbour (or any other sensible person ) wanted, but apparently the contractor decided to do precisely what he was told, and engaging an ounce of common sense was too much to ask for.
And then, at about 5pm, Ali told me that a contractor was on his way. I raced home from work, got there at about 5.45, but no sign of a contractor. My neighbours hadn’t seen one either. I doubt this contractor has turned up to any of his appointments for us, if he has, he certainly hasn’t done anything useful. Then I rang the emergency out of hours number, who say that they’ll send an electrician before 10pm tonight. I’ll believe it when I see it.
So now, I’ve done an ‘official’ complaint, and I’m about to email my patch manager and the Councillor in charge of Housing. Might even have to turn up at a District Management Committee meeting, where I’m supposed to represent my block. Tomorrow, I may post some photo’s of Camden’s fascinating electrical work. The distribution board is macrame.
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