Need a rant

quizqueen why ask if Fred is a car after I said Fred would be back in the hall?

When did I say I was replacing a perfectly good fence ?

I didn’t know until this morning the fence was not my responsibility,

I pay my rent should I curtsy in gratitude to the council for their generosity ?

Why i don’t want the new windows is my decision and I don’t have to offer an explanation unless I choose to, i don’t choose to give you an explanation.

I had my windows/doors replaced - at my own cost -and the whole house was done, including a tricky bay window, by a two man 'recommended' family firm in 3 and a half days with no trouble or much inconvenience at all- each window taken out individually. Why are you so worried about it- you should be grateful your council is taking care of its properties. Also, why were you seeking to replace a perfectly good 8ft fence, which doesn't belong to you, at your own expense? Is Fred a car, bike, bloke or animal - I'm confused -because you said he was back in the hall so can't be a car!!!!!

Thank you all x

I feared I wouldn’t be able to take Fred out ,or Fred take me,

This is life in social housing , I get annoyed at times ,even rant ! But I accept this is how it is, I don’t own property but am happy for those who do.

Well, I have every sympathy with the OP. If Jeremy Corbyn gets in this is what life will be like for everyone all of the time.

Anniebach
Oh poor you.very stressful.sooo much red tape. Hopefully be done quickly.

Anniebach Really pleased to hear that. It is so often a case of being lucky with who you speak to. Some council staff are very helpful and some just guess and you don't always know which. Hopefully you can deal with the same person again if you need to.
I have had a call from the woman liaising with the building company and she said that my cistern is definitely going to be sorted and the electrician is going to come and have a look at the wires so I am a bit calmer too. Can't wait for it to be finished though. Should be done by Friday.
It was probably partly my fault because I kept asking the builders and getting different stories but that was my anxiety kicking in.
It is easier once you get to know them. The building co-ordinator is very nice and I have a good relationship with her. With my housing officer, she will only try and help with our neighbour if I use the word 'sue'.

Just caught up with your post Annie what a pickle. Glad you have managed to sort it all out. If I was near you I would have your dogs for you.
Cup of tea, relax and just let it all happen xx

Sorted, I do love you all x

Rang council, spoke to a lovely girl in repairs dept. She checked plan of the bungalows, the fence is a boundery fence so not my responsibility, fence the other side is but not the end 8ft fence . She said there was someone checking property in the estate near the Cul de sac,she contacted them , they checked and ?

I am having a new wooden fence 8ft high fitted and paid for by the council. ?

I could only afford galvanised chain fencing so anyone on the estate near here could see into my garden,

Now I have to get rid of 12 metres of wire fencing, 6 posts and 6 bags of post mix, Fred can have his garage and I can go out on Fred again .

Sorry to all who are having similar problems, council housing isn’t having your own home , it’s a place to live where the housing officer can come and check the rooms even bedroom when she chooses, to see the tenant is keeping the place clean , that isn’t a home.

So sorry to hear about your added stress annie. I hope the windows get replaced with the minimum of fuss and you get the fence sorted out.

Your experiences sound amazing. Sounds like the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing!

Annie

Sensible advice Hooty, but hard when you are feeling stressed. [hugs] Annie.
Would the council contribute to the new fencing as it is their respinsibility?

I think hooty has the best plan.

(((Hugs))), annie.

Hi Anniebach just to say my Mam was in a similar situation in that when she moved into her council sheltered housing bungalow from an upstairs flat in the same complex after a while She was told she was getting a new kitchen which meant she would lose her storage cupboard off the old kitchen which she loved to store her vacuum ironing board etc and also her shower room which the gentleman in before her had replaced just a year before She was told she couldn’t have one done without the other as money was already allocated!
Also the back doors were replaced They looked out onto the road as the front looked out onto a communal square She was given a colour option and was told she then couldn’t have it as they wanted alternate coloured doors! She then waited ages as they ran out of the red they wanted it to be but wouldn’t give her a blue one We just laughed about it as she had Alzheimer’s so didn’t want her stressed

is it a feeling of powerlessness like its not your place and people can make decisions about your home?

they anything like our new windows. they made from pvc and not double glazed.. cant someone take your dogs for the day ,save money there .get the council to do the fencing ..!!!....not your responsilbilty. .......go out the garden and scream..

Got a bit garbled in the middle but hope it can be deciphered.

I am in a Council flat and have the builders in at the moment. It is very frustrating. They refuse to change the handle on the cistern from the left hand side to the right because they say that would be an 'extra'. I have never seen a left handed cistern before but now I apparently have to have one. This sounds like a minor thing (which in the scheme of things it is) but it is just so stupid and it is stressing me out because I don't do well at dealing with builders and they keep making promises and breaking them.
There is a long wire on the floor in a plastic tube which does not seem to be needed for anything. Part of this plastic tube for the unneeded wire has been plaster in the corner. I'm hoping it can be painted over otherwise I have a white bit of useless plastic up the corner of the wall.
I wish I had said that I didn't want my bathroom changed. I know that people will think that this is ungrateful but I honestly would rather pay to have had it done myself so that I could refuse to pay if they didn't finish it properly.
At least my neighbour is back in hospital so we can sleep at night (or I could if I wasn't stressing about the building works).
Generally I like my flat and the estate is relatively quiet and in a good position so I do like living here and believe that I am lucky to have got a Council flat but I really hate having to deal with the Council about anything.

Does sound like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is up to. I would be livid about the central heating fiasco. Surely a gas engineer/surveyor should have checked everything out before the work was scheduled. Your window, are they old. Perhaps they don't meet the new standards. Not much you can do about them though. As for the fencing. Why not draw a very rough outline showing where the fence is broken. Then another showing the areas you are planning on replacing. Take these to building control and get them to "approve" by that I mean stamp, date and sign as approved. They should be grateful someone is taking care of their property. Big sigh, so frustrating.

Good rant Annie and I hope you feel better for letting it all out. It's very stressful having building work done. I'm in the middle of it now but at least it was my choice. So to have to deal with the authorities too must be so much worse. You've not had an easy time so try not to let it get to you. Cup of tea, lie on the sofa, and drift off and imagine you're on a date with George Clooney

Your ‘to do’ list for today:
Cancel your fence workman.
Phone supplier & ask to return your fencing panels, or sell on eBay or Gumtree etc. if you can’t.
Report fence needing replacing to Council and get them to do it!
Money back in Fred’s pot.
Job done.

Know how you feel Ellan went through that in my previous council bungalow.

Going out, but didn't want to read and run.

It does seem like a lot of disruption and the problem is that it is not your decision. I had noticed that, when I visit family in Wales, the social housing around their area is all being upgraded at what seems like considerable expense.

It is a good thing, but I would have strong words with them about the fencing and, if you get an inadequate response, talk to your local councillor.

Dear Ellan you have my sympathy. You have no control over this situation, I thought I might with my husband who has had me put the content of the store cupboard in the conservatory whilst he fits sliding shelves. Unfortunately as the sun has come out hs is now in the garden! fine weather promised for the rest of the week!

Anniebach, you have my full sympathy as I'm going through similar except it's to fit central heating.

Last October it was decided to remove the old storage heaters ( useless ) and put in radiators for central heating so I thought yippee it'll be done for Christmas. No-----it wasn't but a chap along the row had his done in the December. Nothing else was mentioned about mine until a letter this January to say that it was set in place for them to get cracking.

It was then decided that there was no gas coming in to my place yet I have an annual check to make sure that the " capped area " behind the kitchen units is within safety measures ?
Anyway the next job for me was to get in touch with a supplier to fit a gas meter and when he came 2 weeks later he couldn't fit it as there were no gas pipes to connect to a meter !

Back to the drawing board ! All this to-ing and fro-ing and the contents of my kitchen cupboards, dishes etc, are in my living room cluttering everywhere.
I'm then told that a meter can't be fitted on the outside wall because of the cost----yet it was decided to remove a large unit to get at the area inside in order to make room for piping and the meter--------I can only imagine the muck and dust from that and it fills me with horror every time I think about it. Not only that I'll have to set to and move the kitchen into the living room.

I do realise that central heating will be a lot cheaper than this clapped-out storage heater, but sitting here in limbo, is it really what I want ? Nearly 6 months this has been going on, I hoover around things but I'm getting to the stage where I don't even want to do that.

The support officer has been great but there's only so much he can do and even now he's gone beyond what anyone else would do by emailing the " top " telling them of my present plight.

To say I'm also fed up and pi55ed off is an understatement. Sorry about the length of this but in actual fact it's just a snippet of the nonsense that's gone on !

And will have to phone council this morning for permission to put up the fence and I know they will tell me I will have to replace their fence with identical paneling . It’s 8 ft high !