A PENSIONER says his confidence in his housing association has been destroyed after he claims they left him with a malfunctioning smoke alarm.

Melvin Funnell, who lives in Pinkerton Road in Worting, says he called Sovereign out to fix the problem, claims he was told he would have to sort the issue out himself.

“I have no confidence in them whatsoever,” Melvin said.

“I want to see some regulation they have actually adhered to.”

Melvin rang his housing association three weeks ago to ask someone to fix the smoke alarm that was beeping. He claims he was told to do it himself or get a family member help.

When he informed them it was a wired-in, sealed unit, they said he’d have to pay to have it changed.

Undeterred, he called the emergency line the next day and an engineer was sent out.

Though Melvin says that did anything but solve the problem. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

Melvin claims the engineer installed the smoke alarm but failed to wire it in properly. The unit, which is supposed to last nine years, only lasted six months.

“My main concern is, if this one has been fitted incorrectly, what other properties have been done wrong?

“Does the fire brigade to go around and do an official check on Sovereign’s smoke alarms?

He also claimed that on a previous incident where his toilet was leaking, Sovereign sent out engineers on two occasions without plumbing qualifications to replace the seal.

On the third time when a plumber inspected it, the seal had been placed upside down.

“I’d like to see that they send out qualified people for the job in hand,” Melvin told the Gazette.

Stuart Brookes, operations director at Sovereign Housing, said: “We always aim to get things right first time. We’re therefore sorry to hear Mr Funnell has experienced problems with repairs that were carried out at his home. We’ve contacted Mr Funnell as a matter of urgency so we can work with him to resolve his concerns as quickly as possible.”

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