Woman furious after Hyde Housing leave her without full use of her wetroom in Westree Court, Maidstone, for more than two weeks
06:00, 18 August 2021
updated: 16:08, 18 August 2021
A disabled woman is furious after a housing association left her without a fully functioning shower for more than a fortnight.
Annette Lewis-Rendle of Westree Court, Maidstone, initially reported issues with a faulty pump in her wetroom to her landlord Hyde Housing.
Annette Lewis-Rendle shows the issues she is having with her shower in her wetroom
She is now forced to travel to the home of her daughter, Tina, to get showered as her specialist facilities - installed last year - have been left out of action.
The wetroom includes a shower seat, curtains on both sides and specialist flooring.
Mrs Lewis-Rendle, who first moved in during 2018, was briefly visited by a plumber on August 6, five days after she says she first raised the issue, but the plumber couldn't resolve the problem. She was then eventually visited by a plumber and an electrician who claimed to have solved the issue on Wednesday.
But all was not as it seemed as the mum-of-five discovered both her shower and pump did work - but only for a matter of seconds before cutting out once again.
A Hyde Housing spokesman says it has been in contact with her to arrange another appointment.
Mrs Lewis-Rendle says she was initially told she won't be visited again at the £150-a-week rented property until Thursday, September 2, after reporting the latest problem, but she is now due to be seen tomorrow.
The 61-year-old who is registered disabled, uses crutches to walk and a mobility scooter to get about is far from happy with the way she has been treated.
Asked how the situation had made her feel, she said: "Angry, very angry, and I’m very stressed with it all.
"They shouldn’t treat a disabled person like this.
"How much longer do I have to wait?
"I think it is disgusting the way I’ve been treated. It still has not even been done."
A Hyde Housing spokesman said: "We first became aware that there was an issue with our customer’s wetroom on August 2.
"We visited the property on August 6 and established that it was a faulty pump. We then replaced our customer’s pump on August 11.
"We were made aware that, unfortunately, the water turns itself off after 60 seconds and have spoken to our customer to arrange an appointment for a plumber and electrician to attend, and rectify the problem as soon as possible."
Mrs Lewis-Rendle, who lives with her eight-year-old Jack Russell dog, Rusty, is having to travel to see Tina, who also lives in the County Town, so she can get washed.
She said: "My daughter lives by the hospital.
"I don’t want to keep bothering my daughter and asking ‘Do you mind if I have a shower’ but she insists ‘Mum, come around mine and have a shower’.
"But I have a wetroom with a seating capacity.
"In her house, she has a shower but it is a very small cubicle one."
She decided to head to Hampshire to see daughter, Sarah, for a few days over the weekend to get away from it all.
She added: "You don’t leave vulnerable people in a position like that."
