Thanks Stu, Yes, I think the last couple of years has taken its toll...I think all the ignoring and fobbing off from A2 and the water company has finally got to me and I've given in. I've even got fungus growing in my bathroom from a leak A2 said they would deal with (before I moved back in)…but just lost motivation to push. I will indeed send an email to the ombudsman tomorrow....hopefully when they contact me I'll be more alert. As I believe I've said from the start, I am very grateful for the support I've received from you and this site.

Hi Stu, thanks for popping in. I am doing ok thanks, just struggling for motivation right now and still waiting to hear anything from the Ombudsman

Thanks Stu, will certainly keep you updated, and yeah the wait with the ombudsman has been shocking, but seems that they have valid excuses and would most likely repeat the same to my MP: 27 June 2023 Dear Mr xxxx Complaint: xxxxx0 - A2Dominion Housing Group Limited I am writing to provide an update about your case. We are aiming to determine your case by the end of December 2023. I understand that this is longer than you may have expected. Demand for the service has increased dramatically, following various changes and events in the housing sector. In response to this, we are prioritising the investigation of sensitive and complex cases. We are doing our best to manage this situation. Our casework team has tripled in size to deliver the excellent level of service all of our residents and landlords deserve. You will be contacted as soon as your case has been allocated to a caseworker. In the meantime, if your circumstances change (or have changed) please let us know. Yours sincerely,

Today I received an email from the ombudsman, apologising for delays etc. Said they have now received the info they requested from A2 and that I'll hear from them again once my case has been allocated to someone. They aim to have it resolved by December.

HI Stu, Sorry, I missed the email notification for your previous post. Everything has gone pretty quiet on this. The meeting was essentially a waste of time, as all points raised were pretty much dismissed by A2 or fobbed off. SHP were present (was a zoom meeting) All has gone quiet on this front and I have heard nothing from the Ombudsman. SHP are pushing A2 to do some of the works that should have been done now I am finally back and thats about it. Having attended a drop in with Thames some weeks ago, I found two things 1. that FLIP devices were offered for free to all properties that were flooded in 2008 and that they tried hard to contacted everyone and 2. That it's likely the flooding here was caused by drainage issues. They were supposed to send me some paperwork, but clearly forgot! Also during that meeting, it was let known that part of the reason things took so long was because they found water damage in walls that was as a result of previous flooding too. My understanding is that a lot of work was done on the drainage in my absence (however I don't know for certain) and perhaps in due course I can try and get A2 to disclose all. TBH having moved back, trying to settle back into life after this 21 months or so I am struggling to motivate myself to fight.

thanks for this Stu SHP will be present (online meeting and will take notes) and the questions will be asked.

Hi Stu, It's all still really frustrating...A2 haven't fed back on anything and certainly not on the Right to repair scheme. Another meeting is scheduled for this week, so we will see what they say..as was expected they keep delaying the property being fixed yet further. Thanks again

thanks stu, I have messaged the ombudsman, and let my support worker know, she is trying to arrange another meeting with A2. will keep this you informed if I hear anything back

Hiya Stu, I am doing OK thanks, hope all is well with you. I did indeed let SHP know and they informed me that had contacted A2 with relevant links and would get back to me when they have heard anything (we were already expecting a response in regards to points/questions I raised), yet a few weeks on and have heard nothing back. repairs now quoted as being scheduled to be complete by mid March from mid Feb...which was to be expected really. Thanks for the link, these will be very handy for future when I start bidding for properties once all this has concluded. Interestingly I see there is a Decant policy. upon searching, A2's says: ...... If this is not possible, we will talk to you about alternative options, including temporary accommodation through the local authority, bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation. I didn't get spoken to with any options, just take this place...and when I later told them I was starting to go crazy here and asked to be moved, I basically got ignored . Hopefully, at least next time, I will be more clued up. Thanks again

Hiya stu, This meeting is due for the end of the month and I am to attend (I believe its a virtual meeting). SHP are aware of this thread as I included the details in the complaint. I've since met with the new support worker and she seems clued up so it's looking promising. So along with what you have mentioned above, I need to work out what else to put to A2

hi Stu, just updating that I received an acknowledgment letter from SHP today and also that they have arranged a meeting to discuss things with A2 which all seems positive. thanks again

Hiya Stu, Thanks for checking in. I'm doing ok thanks and looking forward to hopefully going back home next month (but we will see). Hope you also had a good xmas an new year also. I received a call from SHP on Friday to apologise etc and was told a response was in the post. So ill pop that up here once received. Thank again

Thanks Stu, I have amended and posted this off

this is fine Stu. Thanks again

Hi, As mentioned earlier, my MP very kindly contacted A2 on my behalf. It seems he also contacted Thames water. here is the email: Dear xxx Following my enquiries to A2Dominion and Thames Water, I have now received the below responses. I am aware you have an outstanding complaint with the Housing Ombudsman, although I sincerely hope the below information is useful to you. Thames Water have provided reassurance that your property is being considered as part of the customer protection review. They are happy to arrange a survey of your property and have asked you to contact the team on 0208 xxxxxx (Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm) to do so. I am expecting another update from the team in relation to historic flood alleviation measures. I will write to you when I have a further response, although I hope the below is useful to you. Kind regards xxx xxx MP See response from A2Dominion: Dear Mr MP Thank you for your email which has been passed to me. I was sorry to read Mr xxx’s concerns regarding the delay in undertaking repairs to his home, a suspected data breach and communication issues with A2Dominion staff. I can confirm that A2Dominion maintains full repair responsibility for Mr xxx’s home; all required repair works will be undertaken. Please see the following points which summarise A2Dominion’s response to the concerns raised: I should inform you that the significant delay in this case has been caused by protracted discussions between an external insurance company and loss adjusters Unfortunately, the repairs could not be undertaken until agreement could be reached and this was outside A2Dominion’s control However, I have been informed by my Pyramid Plus colleagues that the repair work has begun and that a site meeting with contractors is planned for today (Thursday 10th November) I have asked the Pyramid Plus Customer Experience manager to call Mr xxx following this meeting to provide an update on the timeline for the works With regard to concerns raised about a suspected data breach, insurance and communication issues, I understand from my colleagues in the Complaints & Resolution Team that these issues were addressed in the stage 2 complaint response which was sent to Mr xxx in July This response also included an offer of compensation to recognise that Mr xxx deserved a better service The lessons learned from all complaints are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that any required improvements are made to our services I very much hope that this update regarding the works is reassuring. If Mr xxx remains dissatisfied, we would encourage him to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service, as referred to in the stage two complaint response sent to him in July. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter further. Best regards, Senior Technical Manager - See response from Thames Water: 17 November 2022  Our Ref: xxxx Case Ref: xxxx xxxxx -Flat x xxxxx xxxxxxx Dear Mr MP Thank you for the email of 2 November, in which you have raised concerns on behalf of your constituent, xxx xxx, I am sorry to learn of the wastewater flooding at his home in July 2021. I appreciate how disrupting and inconvenient this situation must have been for him, especially given the challenges he has faced since moving into his home. We recognise a number of our customers who were flooded in the July storms, are concerned they are at risk of being flooded again and I appreciate Mr xxxx is keen to prevent future incidents at his property. I also understand he would like to get a better understanding of the potential prevention measures, which may have been considered at his home in the past. I’ve spoken to my operational colleagues about this matter, and I trust you’ll find the below helpful in explaining our findings and next steps. Heavy rainfall in London It may be helpful to begin by explaining, during the exceptionally heavy rainfall on 12 July and 25 July 2021, some areas of London saw a month’s rainfall in just an hour. This put an immense strain not just on our sewers but on parts of the drainage system for which other organisations are responsible, such as road gullies. The huge volume of rain that fell was more than our sewers could cope with. In some areas the rain couldn’t enter the drains as the road gullies were blocked, in other areas rain couldn’t enter the sewer as it was already full, and in a few areas, an overloaded sewer overflowed lower down the network. This is classed as hydraulic overload, meaning more rain falls than the sewer network is designed to cope with. Customer protection review Following these incidents, we have been carefully gathering data on where the sewer flooding occurred, and we have developed a programme to help increase the resilience of those homes at highest risk. Our plan involves surveying all the properties that were reported to us via our sewer flooding questionnaire, as affected by sewer flooding from the 12 July storms. These assessment surveys will help us assess the risk to the property and/or whether flood protection options may be appropriate to help protect the property. For example, a NRV (Non Return Valve) on the property’s sewer connection or a Flood Local Improvement Programme (FLIP) device, which acts like a mini-pumping station to help protect properties from hydraulic flooding. I can reassure you Mr xxxx’s property has been included for consideration in our customer protection review. As such, we have tried contacting him by telephone on 11 October to arrange a survey appointment. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach him on this date. More recently, my colleague, xxx xxx, Customer Experience Manager, emailed Mr xxx on 2 November. If he would like to book a survey, I would be grateful if he could call us on 0208 xxxxx. Our lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. History of flooding at the property In relation to your query concerning the history of flooding at this property; Having checked our systems, I am unable to find an earlier record of sewer flooding impacting Mr xxx’s property prior to July 2021. I am aware, we previously had a project in this area, known as the Counter Creek Flood Alleviation Scheme. As part of this scheme, we surveyed some 3,000 properties in the catchment area. We offered FLIP devices to: Customers with basements in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea who reported internal sewer flooding to us and are recorded on our ‘DG5’ flooding register (for which a rainfall event with a return period of less than or equal to one in ten years which caused flooding). Customers with basements in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea who have reported internal sewer flooding to us and whose properties are shown by our hydraulic model to be at the highest risk of flooding Customers who would be affected by neighbouring FLIPs. FLIPs could only be installed with the customers permission. I have contacted my colleagues in our Asset Management team, to check our archive records, to see if this property was given consideration under this scheme for a FLIP device to be installed at this property. We will of course keep you updated on our findings. Next steps I trust this information is helpful. I have asked xxx xxx, a Senior Case Manager in our Executive Office, to closely the monitor the progress of our outstanding investigations with our Asset Management team. xxx will contact you with an update, by no later than 29 November. Contacting us in future Your constituents may be interested to know, they can report some of the most common issues, such as blockages and leaks, on our website here. If no existing issues show up after searching for their address, they can click on the map to start a new report. For future reference, the quickest way for them to get in touch to report issues, or for any other advice, is to contact us on Twitter or Facebook. We’re available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Alternatively, should they prefer to call us, our Customer Contact Centre is available on 0800 316 9800. Lines are always open. Yours sincerely    xxx xxxxx –Local Government Lead