A DEVASTATED woman has been forced to move out of her home after claiming a leak from her £5,000 Wickes bathroom turned her house into a “swamp”.
Fay Guest, 33, splashed out on a new bath, shower, sink and toilet from the Barnstaple, Devon, branch of the store and was initially thrilled with it when installed on January 26.
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But just three days later her delight turned to horror when a panicked friend rang her urging to come home as the two-bed home flooded with water pouring from the ceiling.
Teacher Fay rushed home on January 29 to find her terraced home underwater, describing it as a “horror movie” that has destroyed her kitchen and left her without electricity.
Fay says she contacted the home improvement retailer on the day of the leak, sharing clips of the devastation on social media on February 13.
Shocking footage shows large pools of water on her carpeted living room, in her kitchen, water-soaked kitchen appliances and water pouring through wooden ceiling beams.
The devastated homeowner claims an installer confirmed the leak was caused by faulty piping under the bathtub.
And Fay says she’s not only been forced to move out of her home but has racked up more than £1,000 in Airbnb fees.
Wickes said they were sorry to hear about the the issue and that their customer relations team “would remain in contact with Fay to ensure the issue is fully resolved”.
Fay, from North Devon, said: “I wasn’t there because I was visiting family, my friend was feeding my cat over the weekend.
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“On Sunday morning, my friend told me that I needed to come back now because my house was really badly flooded.
“She was panicking, I couldn’t fathom at that point where the flood was coming from, I was just completely stunned.
“Then she said that water was coming through the ceiling. I walked in to see a swamp, that’s the only way I can describe it.
“It had come all through the kitchen – all of my kitchen stuff is ruined. I’ve got no electricity in there, because the water has gone into the electricity.”
Fay explained how the water flowed all the way into the living room and manage to get all the way towards the front of her house.
She continued: “I went from stunned disbelief to complete panic. Even upstairs that wasn’t wet felt damp because it was just so full of water. The whole house absolutely stinks now.
“I haven’t been able to live there since. I had to move out that night, and I’ve been in a £500-a-week Airbnb since.
“I’m devastated. I moved into my house two years ago, and I’ve been spending time trying to get it nice.”
Fay has been in touch with Wickes since January 29 and claims she’s been told the team is “aware of the issue and that it is being looked into”.
Fay says that a drying team provided by her insurance company has ripped up her waterlogged living room carpet and is drying out plug sockets that they hope to use for heating and a dehumidifier.
‘CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE’
Faye said: “I said that the bathroom was going to look exquisite when I’d managed to paint it – but that doesn’t make much difference now that the rest of my house is a swamp.
“Any other thing and it probably wouldn’t cause that much damage but because it’s water, it causes catastrophic damage.
“The service from Wickes has not been great. To be honest, it’s been a bit of a traumatic thing anyway.
“It’s a shame it’s come to the point where I’ve put something on Twitter.”
A Wickes spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about the problem that Miss Guest has experienced with the installation of her bathtub, shower, toilet and sink as we always aim to deliver a high standard of customer service.
“A designated member of our Customer Relations Team is currently liaising with Miss Guest to understand where we can support and help ease some of the pressures experienced while she goes through the claim process with her insurers.
“Our Customer Relations Team will remain in contact to ensure the issue is fully resolved and that the work is completed as soon as possible, with the best possible care.”
