Day 196 - 28th April 2011

Mark Scales will have been back in the office 10 days now following his week's leave but I still haven't heard anything from him.

I still haven't heard anything from Alison Wright either.

Day 184 - 16th April 2011

Still no reply from Alison Wright, my personal claims manager, in connection with the email I sent her on the 23rd March (despite chasing her on the 9th April and 13th April).  I review all the outstanding queries that I am still waiting for answers to. These are issues separate to the issue of whether undamaged tiling should be covered by the policy and answers are needed before I can move forward.  They are as follows:

Which tiling will be classed as covered and which will not?

I need to clarify whether the section of the tiling around the bath surround will be covered as some of it is on the stud wall that needs to be replaced. The policy says tiling is covered where it forms part of a specific area and the tiling around the bath surround is a specific area. I first raised this issue with Nadine Trigg on the 14^th December but she did not provide an answer. As the matter got passed to Mark Scales to deal with, I raised the question with him on the 28^th January but he made no attempt to answer me. I made it clear in my email to him of the 2^nd Feb that this point had still not been answered but again, he did not reply.  I advised Alison Wright at Asprea on the 14^th March that this query had not been answered but did not receive a response. I advised her again on the 22^nd March but still did not receive a reply.  Having had cause to email Alison on the 23^rd March about another issue, I also mentioned that I hoped she was arranging for me to get a reply to the outstanding query regarding which tiling was classed as covered. She replied the same day to say that she believed that the query was answered in January and that if I have any further query about it I should address it to Mark Scales. I replied by return to state categorically that this was NOT dealt with in January and that if she maintains that it was, could she please send me copies of the emails. I copied Mark Scales in on this email so that he could be aware that I have not received an answer.  I did not hear anything further regarding this query from either Alison Wright or Mark Scales so I emailed them both again on the 9^th April requesting a response.  I did not receive a reply or acknowledgement from either of them so I emailed them both again on the 13^th April , this time getting an out of office message from Mark Scales to say he was on holiday from the 11^th to the 18^th April. I received nothing from Alison Wright.

Has my contribution to the cost of the uninsured tiling been calculated correctly?

The email from Mark Scales on the 2^nd February states that the total number of square metres of tiling in the bathroom is 16.6.  In addition he confirms that 5.6 square metres of tiling will be covered by the policy and that I (the customer) will be paying for 11 square metres of tiling. As the insurance company have agreed to pay 50% of the uninsured tiling, I queried whether I should in fact be paying for 5.5 square metres of tiling rather than 11. If they have got the square metres wrong, the calculation of how much I have to pay will not be correct.  This needs to be clarified before I pay and I have chased for a response on the 14^th March, 22^nd March, 9^th April and the 13^th April but have not received a reply.

Does my contribution include any costs for removing and refitting the fixtures and fittings?

Having been trying to ascertain since the 14^th December what the cost to me for the uninsured tiling would be, Nadine Trigg advised me on the 19^th January that it would be £651.36 +VAT.  The information she provided stated that this would include a share of the cost for removing and replacing the fixtures and fittings. The surveyor at the initial visit said that I would not have to pay any of this cost as it all needs removing in order to replace the floor. I tried four times to get this clarified with Nadine but was not successful. As the complaint passed to Mark Scales to deal with, I asked him to clarify the situation on the 28^th January. His reply to me states very clearly that “the customer is paying towards the removal of any sanitary wear”. I asked Mark on the 2^nd February to provide a clear explanation as to why this is the case. I have chased for a response on the 14^th March, 22^nd March, 9^th April and 13^th April but not received a reply.

Who was responsible for the tiles not being removed carefully for reuse as agreed with the surveyor?

It was agreed with the surveyor that the tiles would be removed carefully for reuse so that full retiling wouldn’t be necessary in the event of the exiting tiles no longer being available to purchase.  The tiles were not removed carefully- they were hacked off quickly with no consultation with me.  I queried this with Nadine Trigg and she advised me in an email of the 14^th December that she had queried this with the contractor and it had not been possible to save them.  It was not until my husband and I were investigating different solutions to the tiling problem that we tried to remove some of the tiles ourselves and found that they come of extremely easily indeed. It is clear that either the Contractors were not told to take the tiles off carefully or that they just didn’t bother to try. I asked Mark Scales on the 2^ndFebruary who was at fault in this respect but did not receive a reply. I have chased on the 14^th March, 22^nd March, 9^th April and 13^th April but still have not received a reply.

Why hasn’t the cost allowance for wallpaper in the scope been increased to £11 a roll from £7. 

It can be seen from this schedule of events that Alison Wright agreed on the 20^th October that the cost allowance for wallpaper would be increased from £7 a roll to £11 a roll.  The schedule of works that Alison sent me on the 23^rd March shows the allowance for wallpaper as £7 a roll.  I queried this with Alison on the 23^rd March but did not receive a reply.  I chased on the 9^th April and 13^th April but have still not received a reply.

Why are some items on the schedule of works annotated *A* or *B*?

The schedule of works that Alison sent me on the 23^rd March so that I could look into getting my own quotes for the work instead of using the insurance company contractors have some items that are annotated *A* or *B*.  So that I can make sure I don’t miss anything important in obtaining comprehensive quotes, I asked Alison on the 23^rd March to explain what the annotations mean. I chased on the 9^th April and the 13^th April but have not received a reply.

Has replacement of the stud wall been allowed for in the scope of works?

 I advised Alison on the 23^rd March that the schedule of works that she provided for me to use to get my own quotes does not allow for the replacement of the stud wall that the surveyor agreed would be done.  As this materially affects the cost of a settlement figure I would have expected her to comment but despite chasing for a reply on the 9^th April and 13^th April I have not heard anything from her.

Day 181 - 13th April 2011

As I have not received an acknowledgement from Alison Wright or Mark Scales in connection with the email that I sent on the 9th April 2011, I send an email to chase them up.

Later that day (3 hours later)I receive an out of office email message from Mark Scales to say he is out of the office from the 11^th April to the 18^th April.

Day 177 - 9th April 2011

I receive a letter from the Ombudsman to say they will be asking Aviva to send them information about my case and that once they have this information one of the adjudicators will be able to start work on my case within eight weeks.

I've been close to exploding with the stress of all this since before Christmas, now I can expect to wait somewhere in the region of another three months before the Ombudsman even starts to look at my case.

I review the current position re outstanding queries to see how I might be able to move forward.  I can't bear the thought of living with the bathroom in its almost inhabitable state for another three months.  I am still waiting for the outstanding queries in my email to Mark Scales on the 2^nd Feb to be answered (despite telling Alison Wright on the 14^th March and the 22^nd March that these queries are still unresolved.)  I am also still waiting for Alison Wright to answer the questions that I put to her on the 22^nd March. I email both Mark and Alison                  asking for a reply.

Day 170 - 2nd April 2011

I receive an acknowledgement of my form that I sent to the Ombudsman.  They tell me that they are receiving very high volumes and will provide a full response as soon as they can.