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21.8.08
Residents of Warberry and Cumberland Road, N22 have this week seen full compensation from Thames Water for damages to their homes, after personal intervention from local Liberal Democrat MP, Lynne Featherstone.
Many homes on the Wood Green streets were flooded after the water pressure was increased to industrial levels following replacement of the Victorian water mains. A burst boiler even caused the ceiling over a baby's cot to collapse, which was thankfully not in use.
Initial claims for full compensation from local residents were denied by Thames Water, who instead told residents to claim on their insurance. But after repeated intervention by Ms. Featherstone, Thames Water has slowly caved in.
Any residents who have experienced similar problems as a result of the replacement work should contact Lynne Featherstone's office on 020 8340 5459.
Lynne Featherstone MP commented:
"It is a complete outrage that Thames Water has been so slow in compensating these residents for obvious damage caused by them. After turning up the pressure myself, I’m pleased to have got a result for local residents.
“Clearly Thames Water should have warned people of the increase in pressure so precautions could have been taken - it would have saved local residents and Thames Water a lot of time, money and hassle.”
Jacqueline Howley, Warberry Road resident, added:
"I'm appalled that with no warning Thames doubled our normal water pressure level. Thames then told us they were not surprised when we experienced floods and leaks because everyone's plumbing was so old, yet they had not even told us they were changing the pressure.
“To add insult to injury they then told us to go to our insurers to claim for the cost of the repairs. Where does this leave other London households who will suffer these problems in the future?"
Comments?
If you have any comments on this story, please let me know in the space below, or you can email me at lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org
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