Torrent of water outside front door makes life hell for a vulnerable Orbit female tenant in Tredington – with slow response adding to frustration

A mysterious torrent of water is making life hell for a vulnerable tenant in Tredington – with landlord Orbit’s slow response adding to the frustrating situation, she says.

Caroline Martin-Tatli, 62, contacted the Herald in despair over the ongoing situation.

“There is a constant stream of water pumping down the pathway through my garden from under the house, and it’s made everything sodden. During the cold spell it turned into an ice rink, and I’ve slipped and fallen on it twice.

“I’ve got a dog that needs to be taken for walks, but I’ve lost my confidence and feel like I’m stuck in the house,” she added.

Ms Martin-Tatli says she and her neighbours have had problems with damp in the houses on Armscote Road for a long time. But then in January she noticed a pool of water forming at her front door.

“It seemed to be getting worse, so I called Orbit on 30th January and told them what was happening,” explained Ms Martin-Tatli. “Unfortunately you just get through to the call centre, and they decide on the severity on the job. But they don’t always speak English so well, and seem to not fully engage with what you’re telling them, it’s very frustrating.”

Three days after her first call, and with no one attending, a hard frost left the ground icy and Mrs Martin-Tatli suffered the first of two falls.

Although she is a survivor of breast cancer, the mum of two has been left with debilitating conditions from all the chemotherapy and radiation, including lung disease and Bertolotti syndrome, leaving her with breathing and mobility problems.

“I don’t walk well, and I have only got three to five years life expectancy,” she said.

Eventually, after waiting days for a maintenance worker to appear, Ms Martin-Tatli rang Orbit again and this time got through to a manager who promised to send someone out.

“A very nice man from contractors Fortem came out,” she explained. “He was horrified by the ice outside my door and immediately went out to get some rock salt especially to put down. However he said another contractor, Hall Mechanical, would have to be called out to fix the pipes.”

Annoyingly the message sent by the Fortem worker was not relayed properly, and the call centre again asked Fortem to attend.

“The same workman showed up and was very apologetic,” said Ms Martin-Tatli. “He explained that he was obliged to come out because it was down as an emergency call – even though he knew it should have gone to Hall Mechanical.”

She continued: “Eventually a Hall Mechanical repairman did come out, and after some debate about whether the problem was with a Severn Trent pipe – in the end it seemed it wasn’t– he clamped the pipe, and put a barrier around the hole. However an hour later the water started pouring again.”

A kindly neighbour tried to call Orbit on Ms Martin-Tatli’s behalf.

“I could hear the conversation with the call centre and they were so confrontational and basically said it’s only a bit of rain.”

Two weeks on from her first call, Ms Martin-Tatli said the falls have made her scared to go down her own front garden and was instead going to stay with a friend in a caravan in Shropshire in the hope that things might be mended in her absence.

She added: “I just can’t deal with it anymore. Even though it is a rented property I like to keep it looking nice, and had put in some block paving – that’s all ruined now too and the garden is a mess.”

An Orbit spokesperson said yesterday (Wednesday): “The safety and welfare of our customers is our number one priority.

“We were made aware of a leak from a burst pipe which was repaired on 7th February. Ms Martin-Tatli has since reached out to us with a separate concern, and we are attending today (12th February) to investigate whether any further works need to be completed. We remain in regular contact with Ms Martin-Tatli and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.”