Installation damp

Y.skinner · 01-01-2016, 14:29

Hi all. Iv had some massive issues with Virgin media recently. See what you make of this....

1) Oct 2014-Virgin installed in 1st floor bedroom.
2) Dec 2014- Brown water dripping from internal Virgin box and mould appearing on wall.
3) Jan 2015- Virgin took responsibility and sealed hole outside which was not done properly at time of installation and paid for contractor to rectify interior, which he said only needed repainting.
4)Nov 2015-Wall very mouldy and paint cracked (now have an 8week old baby sleeping in here).
5) Dec 2015 - Installation mgr viewed mould and organised for surveyor to assess. He also gave me mobile number to keep in contact.
6) Dec 2015 - surveyor attended and looked for EVERY possible cause that it was being caused by my property!!! I complained to Virgin customer service that very same day to say he was not acting 'impartial' and I wanted a 2nd opinion. Installation mgr did not answer phone calls or reply to voice messages.
7)Xmas 2015- Area mgr did not answer 1 single phone call or ring me back. Phoned customer service at least 5times to complain as had no phone calls to update me of survey or my complaint about surveyor. Area mgr was not even replying to customer services either!! They sent emails to his mgr, who also did not reply!!
8) Dec 29th- I emailed Virgin CEO as still no phone call back from customer survives or mgr.
9) 31 Dec- phone call from CEO team to say damp in not caused by them and they will not take responsibility. My complaint isclosed and they will not send me the survey.

So, as you can imagine I'm fuming!!

Next stop for me is do have my own damp survey done and to contact CICAS.

Any ideas people have regarding legal avenues I should explore or opinions I should seek? Have contact CAB to ask what is a fair amount of compensation for their lack of customer care, aggravation at me having to contact them for updates and my young baby sleeping in these conditions, not to mention the cost of recifying it.
I also think it's important to expose the surveyor, as he's clearly just trying to keep Virgin sweet to maintain their contract.

Y.skinner · 01-01-2016, 21:09

Pictures of the damp.
1} Shows original leak with brown water 2014
2} Damage today with mould and cracked paint.

Foo Fighter · 01-01-2016, 21:29

I doubt a cable entry would cause that amount of damp

jungleguy · 04-01-2016, 20:13

humidity seeks out the coldest part of a property. Your problem is that your property is insufficiently ventilated. The humidity generated from cooking and showering etc is heading to the hole in the wall created by the VM instal.

Mike Flex · 04-01-2016, 23:44

Unless VM made a particularly massive hole, I'd be amazed if that was all that's going on there.

weenie · 05-01-2016, 09:14

I would get my own independent survey done then if the problem is caused by VM as you suspect, you could maybe contact your own Insurance to see if you have legal cover if not maybe an no win no fee. IMO I do not think an independent surveyor would risk his/her reputation in keeping VM sweet but I could be wrong. I suspect that it is now up to you to get an 2nd opinion as VM has already arranged a survey on your property.

heero_yuy · 06-01-2016, 18:15

If the cable comes straight through the wall from the omnibox then it's unlikely that it is the cause of the damp. If however the cable just comes through the wall from some other point outside it should have a "drip loop" so that rain drips off rather than running into the wall.

Y.skinner · 06-01-2016, 20:36

The cable wasn't properly sealed or had a drip loop on installation. Plus the hole was not drilled at an angle. The 2nd pic shows the amount of water that came through the little hole for about 3mths until Virgin sealed the hole and just repainted the wall. The hole was full of mould and the wall was already becoming mouldy (see spots of damp in pic).
I believe the plaster got damp and possibly trapped water behind which prevented it from drying out. When it got cold, the paint has cracked and mould grown again (see 1st pic).
I'm getting a damp inspection done this week.

Thank for your comments.

weenie · 07-01-2016, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Y.skinner

The cable wasn't properly sealed or had a drip loop on installation. Plus the hole was not drilled at an angle. The 2nd pic shows the amount of water that came through the little hole for about 3mths until Virgin sealed the hole and just repainted the wall. The hole was full of mould and the wall was already becoming mouldy (see spots of damp in pic).
I believe the plaster got damp and possibly trapped water behind which prevented it from drying out. When it got cold, the paint has cracked and mould grown again (see 1st pic).
I'm getting a damp inspection done this week.

Thank for your comments.

I hope all goes well for you and you get it sorted soon. I must admit I will be interested in the results of the damp inspection and if VM are indeed at fault let's hope your claim against them runs as smoothly as possible. Good luck.

judgey · 07-01-2016, 19:41

alot of damage for a 8/10mm hole

alanbjames · 08-01-2016, 08:37

What are those yellow blotches on the skirting board?

Theres no way they could have come from the hole virgin made unless water was squirting through the hole in all directions.

raging bull · 08-01-2016, 09:07

Could the blotches be nicotine washed out of wallpaper?
(Signs of a smoker in the household) lol

MrIca · 08-01-2016, 09:29

I agree, I would say the damp has been caused by the fact that originally the hole wasn't sealed. It's now got to the stage where it'll need more serious work.

Y.skinner · 09-01-2016, 14:53

No smokers in this house I'm afraid. I had a full building survey done in Aug 2014, which didn't highlight any areas of damp. The brown water is from staining either from the 140yr old bricks or rusted screws. The water dripped through the hole for 3mths until VM sealed it.
Had a damp contactor look at it today who believes the plaster should have been stripped last year and re-done, so was not given the chance to dry out, hence that cracking now.
Looking like VM are at fault, as they should have done more than simple 'repaint' the wall.
This is what is looks like under the box.

---------- Post added at 14:50 ---------- Previous post was at 14:39 ----------

---------- Post added at 14:53 ---------- Previous post was at 14:50 ----------

Horizon · 10-01-2016, 11:11

Get a solicitors letter sent off to VM quick smart.

VM won't go to court over this, it's blatantly obvious they've messed up based on the pictures you've posted and they will settle. DO NOT get any more contractors organised by VM. When they do settle use that money to sort it out yourself.

Make sure to claim for ALL costs:

Time off work;
Damp contractor;
Get three quotes for the plastering and painting to be done, including mould removal;
Solicitors costs;
Phone calls etc