Dear Ms Sobczak,
thank you very much for the email, and
thank goodness for your recollections. I'm very pleased that the hamper will be
picked up on Monday morning, I took it out of the original box which was broken
and put it into a Marks & Spencer's canvas bag for easy movement. I'm sure
somebody can eat it, but in the main I do thank you very much, that I don't
want to be compensated or any gestures of goodwill. The only gesture of
goodwill I would like is for things to be fixed and put right.
You can regard the whole of what has
happened over the last three months as a complaint about the RBKC TMO's office
as of now, although the original incidents are understood by me, and Mr Stuart
Thompson upheld my complaint, he was the one who said I was getting a hamper in
his email to me. Hence my desire, and in fact emphatic response that getting
matters right ought not to be rewarded or require an offer of a gift. I don't
want to benefit, other than the basics in my flat be serviceable. The more
people try to justify what has become a catalogue of errors and mishaps is
because people do not get the job done correctly in the first place and then
offer half-hearted and half meant if it all meant, apologies.
When it comes to dealing with people
and getting the job done, surely it is a matter of common courtesy to treat
people openly, honestly fairly and with integrity. The number of people who've
come from Willmott Dixon, some more than once, and some who were just given the
job without any particular detail is obvious. So the tasking of Willmott Dixon
by the TMO repairs Department is at fault. Lack of good communication, has
further been demonstrated by the contractor who came to block the mouse holes.
I am not unhappy with what he told me and his approach to the problem, however
it was entirely different from the report or records submitted by the rodent
Department. If one half don't know what the other half is saying or suggesting,
is it any wonder that contractors become confused? And it is obvious that there
is a knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes people turn up unexpected, and then people
just don't turn up either at the time suggested or on the day you have
suggested in the past, and then said it was a different day and the contractor
could raise no one whilst I was actually here.
I do not think or feel that Stuart Thompson
is the right man to handle this complaint. He is part of the problem, and he is
probably quite agitated and angry at being challenged. So I do not expect
Stuart Thompson to be able to handle this complaint correctly. Robert Black, if
I remember correctly, is the person who was supposed to deal with this. It
seems to me you are asking "the physician to heal himself." Indeed,
in my experience, physicians cannot heal themselves. And if they try, they get
into trouble.
If you have read my blog, today you
will notice that following the previous contractor coming, he was able to clear
up the mystery and provided me with a scientific understanding of water levels
and how they rise and fall in the toilet. This is quite humorous and quite
serious because it is the first explanation I have received over the years
which makes any sense.
I too can get things wrong and end up
feeling aggrieved when matters would have been dealt with, had somebody applied
common sense and gumption.
Following on from the mouse proofing,
the actual state of kitchen cupboards and what is behind them is quite
startling. Dirt and grime and rodents with free and unrestricted access for
years. Part of the reason why I find this startling is the wind that blows up
through these areas and contaminates whatever I keep in the cupboards under the
sink and side areas. This is a very unpleasant discovery and something could
have been done had people been able to tell me the truth.
As I mentioned in my video, my
expectations always have been lowered whenever I have been involved talking to
the TMO repairs Department, and any of their representatives. So I'm not
expecting anything from them, other than justifications and nonsense. Indeed,
the more I can stay out of anything to do with the TMO repairs Department will
make me very happy and quiet. And by that I mean I do not expect or have any
expectations that the TMO repairs Department are capable of what other people
have described as, "going back to basics."
And in these times of austerity, I am
not expecting anything ever again. However, because there are other repairs to
consider I need to make them known to you and whoever has the capability to
deal with them:
The shower room floor needs attention,
it is uneven, and has come away from the glued side, wooden fastenings. And
there are places where the mastic needs replacing, following previous repairs.
In the kitchen, the window winder needs
attention and the mechanism fails to work.
The kitchen sink taps were secured in
place with mastic and need attention, because the mastic has worn away over
time, and thus causes water to get in under the sink.
It is my duty as the householder to
point these things out to you, and this I am doing.
Me and my health:
The consequences for me as an
individual with type I diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, and many other problems
associated with the disease have been complicated and it seems to me not taken
seriously. I did experience an infection and troublesome times because I
couldn't wash properly. Make no mistake, I'm very grateful for where I live,
and the help I have had, during the years of homelessness, it was a very
desolate and mentally disturbing time. When a person cannot care for themselves,
I recognise it is very difficult for anyone else to help.
And without doubt I do owe my life and
well-being to Council officers who recognised my plight and did their best to
help me. If it had not been for them, I would have perished. And this is why,
when I encounter the difficulties over the last few months that I despair with
regard to the attitude and behaviour of some parts of the council.
I am a very fortunate person, having
lived through the most difficult times. And if I am encountering problems like
these, I am not the only one. Indeed if we did a survey questionnaire,
depending on how the questions are posed, the view you would get of the TMO and
what it does and how it does it, it would be grim reading. So don't do that
because it is a self-serving instrument of consultancy. All that is needed is
to pay attention, look at the process, make it work and don't hide from
problems, simply solve them. If you run a department properly, operate within
budget, you know what you can do now and what you cannot do now.
And with regard to budgets, they are
set and if managed correctly, the budget is spent. I noticed in the council
newsletter and that umpteen million had not been spent. That is not a good
thing to show as an achievement, it is a failure of budgeting and management of
the budget.
In many ways the council is tremendous
and I take my hat off to those who are good at their jobs and get the job done.
I'm alive because of the compassion and support of many people within the
Council. And I do not doubt how difficult their job is when dealing with people
who are mentally disturbed and suffering and have no way out of their suffering
without help.
It is very easy to forget what the
council is there to do, that is RBKC, the TMO and all the people who really do
help as best they can. And it is easy to become embroiled in internal politics,
attitudes and behaviour which are self serving. I am trying to be helpful, even
though it seems a painful process, certainly for me, and certainly for other people
who need help with the simplest basics. And even if you can't do the basics, it
is better to know what you can do and what you cannot do, because there is
acceptance and that is recognised not only by your teams, but by the people who
are anxious to do their best and be good citizens again. And others,
simply to survive in some cases, and in other cases thrive again in some way..
I also recognise that the lack of
communication can lead me into assumptions about people and how they do their
jobs. And I can be wrong, and certainly I don't mind being better informed,
With regard,
Donald Oddy
From: (T) Complaints
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 4:34 PM
Subject: RE: Update Complaint ref:84490 - 12
Curran House
Dear Mr Oddy,
Thank you for your
email below and for your further emails/video links/blog links received
recently.
I note though that the
issues of mice proofing works have never been a part of your original complaint
case, you raised it with me later and this matter has never been treated as a
complaint, however I do appreciate your frustration with the overall
experience. I am sorry to hear that you feel insulted by the hamper received
from Willmot Dixon, we do recall that you have never asked for any
compensation, the hamper was only a good will gesture and not an intention to
insult you.
As per your request,
we will collect the hamper, can you please confirm if next Monday, 1st
July, morning would be convenient?
Our Repairs Manager,
Stuart Thompson will respond to your further comments/feedback by Monday 8th
July.
Regards
Ewa Sobczak
Complaints Officer
Complaints Officer
