Black mould makes womans life 'a nightmare'

A WOMAN has hit out at letting agents who she says have made her life a nightmare since moving into a new flat. Claire Waller has seen several pairs of shoes ruined by black mould which appeared in her bathroom just after she moved in to the flat in Wes

A WOMAN has hit out at letting agents who she says have made her life "a nightmare" since moving into a new flat.

Claire Waller has seen several pairs of shoes ruined by black mould which appeared in her bathroom just after she moved in to the flat in West Court, Royston, in May of this year.

She contacted estate agents Archers Town and Country, who manage the property, but six months later she says they have yet to resolve the problem, which is thought to have been caused by a water leak under the flat.

Miss Waller, who lives in the property with her daughter, said: "It's been a nightmare. The bathroom looked fine when we moved in, but it soon started getting covered in this black mould which stinks. There are spores everywhere which make my daughter and I cough all the time.

"Archers have been out a couple of times and taken some photos but they haven't done anything about it. They've finally got some quotes but now the landlord isn't happy with how much it's going to cost, so he is getting his own plumber in and things are getting delayed even further."

Having reached the end of her tether, Miss Waller is moving out of the property at the end of this month, and is withholding �160 of her rent to compensate for the shoes which have been ruined.

She said: "I asked whether I could get compensation, but they refused even though I've had to throw my shoes away. I'm worried they'll just take it out of my deposit though.

"It's got to the point where I've had enough and I just want to move out."

Archers declined to comment on the situation.