Residents at Windsor Court, Bolton, described several pipe bursts over a period of years, with two coming in the last two months.
Another resident still has not had carpet replaced after a pipe burst over one month ago, which led to ‘ankle deep’ water flooding through her bedroom.
Tracey’s hallway shortly after the pipe burst (Image: Tracey Lowe)
Residents have also been left frustrated with Anchor’s response.
Anchor has apologised and said residents’ health and safety are its priority.
“They just don’t care,” said Tracey Lowe, whose house was flooded around four weeks ago.
“I rang the area manager and told her what happened, and she said, ‘you must be going through lots of pairs of slippers’.
The flooring in Tracey’s bathroom came loose as a result of the water damage (Image: Dan Dougherty)
“It’s just totally inappropriate.
“Someone else said ‘your dog’s belly must be getting wet’” – alluding to Tracey’s sausage dog.
The incident occurred one month ago, and Anchor sent workers around to fix it as an emergency.
The carpet above the burst pipe was removed and taken outside, where it still is.
But the carpet was not replaced, and the main hallway in Tracey’s home is still bare after over a month.
Tracey’s bedroom – the ridges in the carpet are the result of the water damage (Image: Dan Dougherty)
The carpet in Tracey’s bedroom was never even taken out, which Tracey – who sleeps using breathing apparatus – believes contributed to a recent chest infection she suffered.
“The room became very humid,” said Tracey.
“They gave me a dehumidifier and I kept the windows open, but it didn’t help.”
But, according to Tracey, Anchor refused to replace the bedroom carpet and refused to recarpet the hall, telling Tracey she must do the jobs on her own home insurance.
She was told it was ‘Anchor Policy’.
Tracey’s uncarpeted hallway as it currently appears (Image: Dan Dougherty)
Around a month before Tracey’s burst pipe incident, another resident of Windsor Court had a burst pipe in their house, only a few metres from Tracey’s.
Tracey’s 90-year-old neighbour has also had several burst pipes over the last few years.
This means there were at least three burst pipes across a 4m radius over the span of about two months – quite a large number of incidents for such a small space.
Anchor has confirmed it is ‘conducting further checks of the water pipes at Windsor Court’.
Richard Hope, Director of Property Services at Anchor, said: “We’re very sorry for the distress caused to our resident following the water leak.
“Their safety and wellbeing are our priority. We have visited them to check on their welfare, ensured their home is habitable and are taking steps to return their home to its original condition.
“When the leak was reported, we contacted our contractor straight away. They attended the property the same day and fixed the issue.
“We are also conducting further checks of the water pipes at Windsor Court.”
The defibrillator that residents bought (Image: Dan Dougherty)
In a separate incident, residents were frustrated that they had to raise money together to buy their own defibrillator, thinking it was a necessity for a retirement village.
The residents contacted Anchor about this, who refused to help with the purchase, meaning the residents had to spend thousands of pounds of their own money.
Anchor has been contacted regarding its defibrillator policy.
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