Elderly people living in a block of flats have been without a door entry system for months. When a repair man finally arrived he could do nothing because he couldn’t get in!

Bernard Wincott, 90, lives in an apartment in Dormer Court, Banbury and has been having to lower a key to let his family in. The flats are managed by Stonewater Housing Association.

Son Chris said: “Dad is 90-years-old and recently had a knee replacement. When I visited on August 2 his door entry system did not work - he could speak to me but not let me in - he had to walk down unlock the door.

"I reported the problem via the website and was told the fault would be repaired in 48 hours. We are still waiting. Several tenants have to throw their keys out of the window to let people in.”

Bernard Wincott lowers down a key in a box to allow his son entry to the block of flats

placeholder image — Bernard Wincott lowers down a key in a box to allow his son entry to the block of flats

Tenants have been promised twice that repairs would be carried out within 48 hours.

“One engineer report said there are two faulty units caused by tenants disconnecting them. Another said there are 14 faulty units and the system is beyond repair.”

A Stonewater manager who visited in mid September promised the repair would take place the following week but the engineer who visited found the unit was not repairable.

Chris Wincott said Stonewater ignored complaints by converting them into a ‘service request’ and passing them to the maintenance department.

Bernard Wincott is pictured in his flat in Dormer Court

"They didn’t tell me they’d done this until I asked about the progress of my complaint. The Housing Ombudsman has confirmed they cannot ignore or reclassify a complaint without a good reason, which can be reviewed by the Ombudsman,” he said.

“I have submitted several reviews on Trustpilot. Stonewater ask for more information and then post a response saying they will fix the problem, but don't. It feels like they are gaming the system."

Stonewater said: “We are sorry residents at Dormer Court have been affected by these issues. We fully appreciate how inconvenient it must be for Mr Wincott and those with mobility challenges to have to walk down or resort to other means to let visitors in. No one should face such obstacles in their own home and we are committed to resolving this as quickly as possible.

“We assure customers there is no safety risk with the system, which is only affecting four homes in the block, and the warden alarm system is working.

“This has been a challenging case. This is an older system and sourcing replacement parts is no longer possible. Our contractors have worked hard to find a suitable longer-term fix and will get it back up as soon as possible.”

“We are aiming for the door system to be working again by the end of this week (ending September 26). We will let customers know if this changes. As parts for the current system are no longer made, we are going to adapt it with new parts – the quickest way to get it working again.” Last Friday an engineer visited but left because they couldn't get in - as the door entry system didn't work!

Stonewater has confirmed a courier failed to deliver the required parts for the engineer last week. They are due to redeliver tomorrow (Tuesday), with the hope the repair will happen on Wednesday.