155 Drakefell Road, Telegraph Hill, London, SE4 2DT

The property was in massive disrepair when they put my family in here after my partner died and the twin boys were only 1year each.My daughters were 16 and 5. I spent a ton of money and time doing up the place, only to be aghast at the fact that this property has HIDE BEETLES. Anyone who has experience with these insects will know precisely what that entails. In 7years of living here,we’ve NEVER been able to use ALL of the bedrooms. We’ve had to throw out ALL the flooring i bought,GONE. Furniture eaten, Soft Furnishings and bedding and rugs and towels eaten. Curtains and coats eaten. Our landlord Lewisham Council built a kitchen on top of a piece of corkboard which had been screwed into place to hide about 8x huge massive, deep holes containing beetle nests and access to outside. On closer inspection, the entire “newish” kitchen had been fitted onto a piece of vinyl flooring that was in 3x pieces. There was also ZERO silicone sealant anywhere and NO skirting boards. There are big holes and gaps all around the edges of the entire kitchen floor and this is where they attached the kitchen. The cracks in the wall under the kitchen sink are horrendous and full of beetles. Bright red /maroon beetle stain everywhere. The beetles have nested in the kitchen worktop now and we are expected to prepare food there 🤔😠
The balcony doors were not fit for purpose and after 6years they replaced them and left it in a WORSE state. The new doors don’t fit properly and theres freezing gaps everywhere and about 2cm gap in the middle of pure freezing North facing draught. There’s NO radiator in the kitchen where these said doors are. The window in the same room is so rotten and wet it crumbles and falls apart in your hand. There’s no way to secure the kitchen window shut either. The damp wet and mould in the kitchen is so bad that all my appliances have now corroded and are rusty with bits falling off. I’ve moved the fridge freezer and dryer into the hallway now as I cannot afford to replace them again. I’m “sleeping “ sporadically in the lounge at the moment,despite the fact there’s no glass in the window. I have been taping up with electrical tape and cardboard that window for about 3 years. The landlord sent a drone to take even more photos of the windows and still nothing has been done. On average they send 2-3 surveyors round each year. No work ever gets done. I’ve been reporting these windows for 7years. Despite the beetles living in the rotten wet timber of the window frames, still nothing has been done. No double glazing either. No privacy. People can here what we are saying in the flat because of the shoddy windows. We are on a busy B road but because of the leaseholder downstairs refusing to contribute towards new windows and emailing them (Lewisham Council) constantly,we have been left with dilapidated windows for 7years. All the rotten leaking windows are over the side return bit of patio downstairs at the back which is the leaseholder’s and they keep refusing access to the workmen for my repairs. Anyway, to sum it up, the toilet is disgusting, the kitchen is non existent due to the BEETLES. We are living,eating,sleeping storing all our belongings in 1xroom. I am a 49 year old Mother/widow and despite 4of my children being a 1/4 black, we “appear” white and thus don’t tick any boxes and so are totally ignored. Despite my own mother working her entire life with British Telecom and as a civil servant with the DSS. My father owned and ran his own company for years,and i ,myself worked in the catering and hospitality industry for years until about 1O years ago. My grandfather was in The Royal Navy and then owned his own building company.