Radford residents' anger over TV antenna is 'last straw' at housing block

[dutchman]

People living in John Tofts House said the "once in a lifetime" event had been spoiled



Coventry residents have had enough at a housing block where their Coronation experience was "ruined" after a company failed to fix their TV antenna problems in time for the occasion. People living in John Tofts House said they weren't able to watch the historic event on their TV sets due to bad connection with a communal aerial - and they say the incident is the 'last straw' amid several other issues.

Despite reporting the problem to block maintainers Citizen the day before the coronation service (5 May), no engineers turned up to investigate it. The company said they were sorry to hear about people's experiences but said the issue wasn't classed as an emergency repair.

Residents of the block first got 'no signal' messages on their TVs asking them to check their antenna connection late last Thursday (4 May.) They asked around and found the problem affected at least six people and could potentially affect up to 24 people living there.

Multiple people reported the problem to Citizen the day after (5 May) but a promised repair worker never turned up to look into the issue, they told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS.) The problems remained over the weekend and their TVs displayed jumbled images and sounds alternating with the 'no signal' message.'

For those without broadband or mobile devices it meant they couldn't follow along with the King's coronation service and other special programmes. One lady living in the block told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was "very very disappointed" and felt "robbed" to have missed the event.

Asked why she didn't go to the 'big screen' in the centre of Coventry, she pointed to the weather - "It was absolutely lashing down with rain." And by that point she'd already missed it, as the event had come and gone.

"We did live in hope that [the repair worker] might rock up on Saturday morning, as it wasn't a bank holiday that day," she added. Another resident, who couldn't go to the big screen event or follow along on other devices, said the occasion was "spoiled and ruined" by the company's lack of action.

"This is a once in a lifetime for us, we're not going to see another coronation and it's been spoiled and ruined," she said. She said she rang Citizen three times that Friday asking for help and was told someone was coming out - only to be told later the worker was ill.

Residents we spoke to saw this as the latest example of the company not doing enough for those living in the block. One called it "the last straw." Service charges for homes in John Tofts House are around £800 per year, they told the LDRS.

But windows haven't been replaced for over 20 years, the car park also needs resurfacing and new lines put in, and an entry system is "on its last legs." A visit from the LDRS on Tuesday (9 May) confirmed that at least one TV set in the block still had bad signal.

[dutchman]

The company said they were sorry to hear about people's experiences but said the issue wasn't classed as an emergency repair.

They don't even class a broken-down heating system in the middle of winter as an emergency repair let alone a TV signal.

The repair service has got progressively worse since it was offloaded from the city council.

[rebbonk]

One called it "the last straw."

Unfortunately, I see little that the residents can do. They are going to have to keep paying for this sub-standard service unless they are going to vote with their feet and move elsewhere. It's not a good situation at all.