Pensioner 'disgusted' by water company after leak
BBCA pensioner who claims a faulty water meter installation caused a leak in her kitchen says she is "disgusted" by her water company.
Carmela Donovan, 69, from Swindon said she had first noticed the issue a month after Thames Water fitted the smart meter in a kitchen cupboard with the floor beneath "full of mould".
Carmela, who has emphysema, described the leak as a health hazard and said she had been left unable to sleep due to the stress of waiting for the issue to be fixed.
A spokesperson for Thames Water said the company was reviewing the case and would only provide a statement when this had been completed.
"I am disgusted the way they've treated us," Carmela said.
"They've got me down as vulnerable and then they treated me like that," she added, explaining that she had lost sleep over the "stress of waiting".
Her son Ryan Donovan said his parents had not even wanted a smart meter - which automatically sends your water consumption records to your supplier - but had given in to pressure from the water company after her bills kept rising.
Thames Water said it had the right to fit compulsory meters under the Water Industry Act 1991, claiming the equivalent of 40 Olympic swimming pools' worth of water a day were saved by the use of the meters.
"A qualified engineer allowed an apprentice to install it which is fine, apprentices need to learn, but it seemed like the checks weren't sufficient enough," said Ryan.
He added that the cupboard has been left completely soaked, with the rotten plinths beneath "completely snapped" from the pressure of the swollen wood.
The family said Thames Water had sent an engineer to locate and fix the leak, and they were advised two kitchen doors and part of the carcass would be replaced.
However, when they tried to replace the units they found that the style they had installed had been discontinued.
Ryan said the water company had then "washed their hands of the issue" and left his parents with "a completely ruined, mismatched kitchen".
"My parents deserve to be left exactly as they were before Thames Water's negligence...not exposed to respiratory health risks," Ryan added.
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