Tredington Tenant Plagued by Water Leak, Orbit Housing Response Slow

Caroline is having trouble with water at her home. She lives in Tredington and rents from Orbit. The slow response from Orbit makes things worse for her. Caroline contacted the Herald newspaper because she feels hopeless.

Water constantly flows down her garden path, coming from under her house and making everything wet. Ice formed during the cold weather, and she slipped and fell twice because of it.

Caroline owns a dog that needs walks, but she feels trapped inside because she is scared. The water has flowed for almost two weeks. It’s on Armscote Road, where she lives.

She and her neighbors had dampness problems before. In January, she noticed a water pool by her front door, and it seemed to get worse quickly. She called Orbit on January 30th to report the issue.

She spoke with a call center that decides how serious the problem seems to be. She finds it frustrating because they don’t understand well. Three days later, she fell on the ice. Nobody had come to help yet.

Caroline has health problems from cancer treatment, including lung disease and Bertolotti syndrome. She has trouble breathing and moving, and doctors expect she has only a few years to live.

Caroline called Orbit again after waiting for days and spoke to a manager who promised help. A Fortem worker arrived and put down rock salt because of the ice. He said Hall Mechanical needed to fix the pipes.

The message did not get relayed correctly, and the call center sent Fortem again by mistake. The same Fortem worker returned, feeling bad, as he knew Hall Mechanical should have come instead.

Hall Mechanical finally sent someone who debated if the problem was Severn Trent’s. Then, he clamped a damaged pipe and put a barrier around the hole. An hour later, water was flowing once more.

A kind neighbor tried to call Orbit for Caroline but heard the call center being difficult, saying it was “just a bit of rain.” Caroline is now scared to use her garden, so she will visit a friend in Shropshire.

She hopes things will be fixed while she is gone, as she says she cannot handle the stress. She put block paving that is now ruined, and her garden is a mess because of the water.

Orbit said customer safety is their priority. They repaired a burst pipe on February 7th. Caroline then shared another concern, and Orbit is looking into it on February 12th. They said sorry for the trouble.