A disabled woman has accused her landlord of being "uncaring" in a battle over a door that she claims has rumbled on for more than a year.
Carol Aldridge, 62, is a wheelchair user and said she's been left in a permanent state of "emotional distress" following issues with the electric door failing to open or close.
She lives in her flat owned by Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP) and says she's had multiple contractors come out over the past 14 months. The housing association insists its staff are in regular contact with Ms Aldrige in providing support, however contests many of her claims.
Ms Aldridge said the situation is "getting out of control" and complains she's been left at her wits' end.
She told the Mirror: "I find as a disabled lady and wheelchair user it is quite frustrating that I have to go to the door to let people in and that I have to stand up to close the door behind me."
"It's disgraceful, depressing and frustrating to deal with the attitude and behaviour of an uncaring landlord."
She claims that she was told there was a fault in the lock and that she has been waiting for a new one to be delivered.
She added that before that, she was told it was the fob and the receiver that was faulty.
Ms Aldridge, who lives in Chelmsford, Essex, said: "There was a fault in the lock and I am waiting for that to be delivered, prior to that it was the fob and the receiver.
"And now I don't know what to believe.
"The guy who came in last week Saturday said it was the lock and another guy came out on the Monday and clarified that.
"The new lock has been ordered but I don't know when it will be delivered."
Carol first told The Mirror on Friday, January 27 that CHP was still unable to update her on when the lock would arrive and to date, nothing has changed.
Carol has cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition that affects a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture.
She has no carer support or family in the area and says she is very independent.
The automatic mechanical door was fitted when she moved to the property in 2017 to help her with her limited mobility and lack of strength.
She says she does receive housing benefits, but she pays a service charge that goes towards the maintenance of the building.
She said: "The idea of a door closure fitted is that it opens with a fob and the landlord had put it in to make my life easier."
In a previous statement from November 2021, CHP said they would replace the door, but Ms Aldridge thinks it wasn't put in correctly.
She claims: "It's been over 14 months since it was installed I've had nothing but trouble and it stems back to when it was first installed.
"The people who were installing it didn't know what they were doing.
"Since then I've had numerous callouts and the last one is about the lock. The door has been reprogrammed so many times and a fault has never been found.
"I pay a service charge and they are not providing me with the service. I am unable to get in and out from my door."
Ms Aldrdige also claims she's been waiting since May 2022 for another door replacement because her current one isn't fire compliant.
She also added that sometimes the door opens by itself.
She said: "At the moment I am also waiting for the door to be replaced as its not adequate because it's not a fire door.
"I was told in May it was going to be replaced and then late last year was told it was being manufactured and now I'm told it needed specialised work so that it still qualified as a fire door.
"It's been left in the lap of the gods - when will my door ever be working correctly?
"I suffer with chronic pain anyway and I have limited mobility - I am waiting for a hip replacement so that has a lot of pain and all of this together with the emotional distress.
"It's getting out of control, I need my door fixed as soon as possible, I am a disabled woman with a nonfunctioning door, which is absolutely useless.
"Also the arm on the mechanism part of the door would occasionally open on its own.
"It was resolved at one time but it still happens. It is a manual door with the power switched off."
A CHP spokesperson told The Mirror: “We know Carol extremely well and speak with her often. We work closely with her and always do everything possible to resolve any issues she reports. We are very sensitive to her needs, and several of our team take extra time to care for her. As recently as last night (January 26) one manager took time out of his day to spend two hours with her and another manager spent 90-minutes on a social visit the day before.
“Whenever she has told us about a repair we have visited her home to identify the issue and, if there has been a problem, we have fixed it promptly. This includes a recent call about a fault with the electronic closer on the door to her flat inside the sheltered accommodation where she lives.
"The engineers from our specialist electronic door contractor found there was a problem with the catch, so we have ordered a replacement. Carol told us she was happy we would not be able to confirm the date for completing the repair until we knew when the new part would be delivered. We said that as soon as we know she will too. We expect this will be very soon.
“The electronic door closer was removed as a temporary measure by the specialist engineers when they returned to visit Carol two days after the initial visit. This means the door currently functions manually and with her full agreement for her peace of mind, so she knows that the door will remain shut when she closes it. Out of care for Carol we offered to move her into a hotel until the replacement part arrives and the electronic closer can be re-fitted. She declined. If she changes her mind, we will be happy to help.
“In a separate recent report, she said that the door has opened its own. However, when the engineers visited, they were unable to recreate this or to identify anything that might cause it to happen.
“With regards to the claim that she has been waiting for a new door since May 2022, this is not the case. Nor is her current door unsafe. We check the fire safety of her door each year and the fire safety of the communal areas in her block each week. We also do fire safety checks inside her flat every six months. These confirm she is not in any immediate risk and that her door will provide protection in the event of a fire.
“The new door is part of a planned programme of investment that we will complete by 31 March 2023. Carol’s door is currently being manufactured and we will confirm the installation date with her shortly.”
