A Skipton couple were baffled when they returned from holiday to find scaffolding had been erected around their home and parts of the exterior were missing.
Graham and Susan Tudgey, who had not asked for any work to be carried out, were shocked to discover relatively new guttering and downpipes had been removed, thrown in a skip and taken away.
“It turned out that Yorkshire Housing, who own two properties on the same row as me, sent contractors and erected scaffolding around the wrong houses,” said Mr Tudgey.
“It really annoyed me. Not only because they had no right to enter my property without permission, but because I had only recently replaced my guttering and downspouts when I had a new roof fitted last year.”
Mr Tudgey, who lives in one of a block of four terrace houses in Clifford Court, off Broughton Road, immediately tried to contact Yorkshire Housing, but to no avail.
“I have tried to speak to someone at Yorkshire Housing’s repair team and asked for someone to ring me back or make a home visit, but I think they are too embarrassed to talk to me,” he said.
“I may now seek legal advice to find out whether I could claim for illegal entry and trespass onto my property, damage to my guttering and rent for the scaffolding that is taking up space on my property.”
Yesterday, Chris Welch, head of investment at Yorkshire Housing, apologised to the Tudgeys for the error and promised their home would receive new guttering before the weekend.
“Yorkshire Housing has been working with a local contractor to carry out guttering repairs on some of our properties and due to an error, the wrong property was identified by workmen,” he said.
“We have spoken at length with the contractor who has expressed sincere apologies to the Tudgeys.
“We are now installing new and improved guttering on the property, with a 25 year guarantee, along with other painting and repair works, this will be done in the next two days.”
He added: “Yorkshire Housing sincerely apologies for the inconvenience caused. We will be working closely with our contractor to ensure future works are carried out without error and all works meet with the Tudgeys’ expectations.”
