'It nearly killed me': Water leak that turned into a four-year battle
A pensioner claims she has had a four-year battle to get repair work at her home done following a leak and says the wrangle with the insurance company has affected her health.
Four years ago Barbara Swinford-Grovell purchased a dishwasher, but shortly after it was installed a leak caused flooding in her home in Llanidloes Road in Newtown, damaging her belongings.
Insurance company Ageas came out to carry out the repair work, but Ms Swinford-Grovell claimed it was substandard.
The Public Ombudsman for Wales ordered Ageas to pay for the work to be done properly. And an apology was finally offered this week by the insurance firm.
Ms Swindford-Grovell, 74, said: "This ordeal has destroyed my life, it is hell, I honestly thought it was going to kill me.
"What began as a leak has turned into a four-year battle to get something done, it has taken that long.
"It has destroyed my health, and it is horrific what I have had to go through. I had no hot water for months and had no access to basics in my house, it was a nightmare. Time and again I have had to battle with Ageas and it went to the Ombudsman in the end."
An Ageas spokeswoman said: "We are sorry that the work our contractors did on Mrs Swinford-Grovell’s property was not completed satisfactorily.
"We have now paid her compensation for her inconvenience alongside a payment to cover the cost of the outstanding work so that she can choose her own contractors.
"We understand that it will take a maximum of eight weeks for these contractor to complete the ‘snag’ list and so we’d be happy to talk to whoever Mrs Swinford-Grovell appoints to agree an appropriate time for her furniture to be returned from storage."
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies has also been fighting alongside Ms Swinford-Grovell to resolve the situation.
He now hopes she has reached the final point of the long ordeal and she can get her life back on track.
He added: "My office has been assisting Barbara with her case since the end of 2014. It has been an extremely long, frustrating and upsetting period for her, which has turned her life upside down and also affected her health.
“There is no doubt that this situation could have been avoided and indeed quickly rectified had Ageas and their contractors acted in a more professional and sympathetic manner.
"It is due to a catalogue of errors that what started out as a simple water leak quickly turned into near full destruction of Barbara’s house.
“Last year the Ombudsman upheld Barbara’s complaint against Ageas, ruling that they had caused her ‘significant trouble and upset’.
"I very much hope that she has now reached the finishing straight in being able to put her house back to how it was.”
