A taxi driver has spoken out in desperation over losing out on work due to a water leak at his home.
Kosovar Kamberaj, 54, is a private hire taxi driver who lives in a council flat in Granville Road, Southcote. But he has been stuck at home due to a water leak, which staff from Reading Borough Council promised him would be fixed.
Mr Kamberaj said: “I’ve had a problem with leaking water since the weekend.
“I put a bucket in place just to stop the water leaking. I reported it on Monday, and said I needed it to sorted out ASAP. They [Reading Borough Council] said someone would fix it on Tuesday, I waited five hours and they didn’t turn up.”
In a follow-up call to the council, it was promised that the leak would be finished between 9am and 12pm on Wednesday, July 17.
But again, no one turned up. Mr Kamberaj then claimed that the work was being delayed to Thursday, July 25.
In desperation, he said: “I have a daughter and a wife, I’m a family man, I’m losing time.
“It seems like the council are doing it on purpose. I don’t have capacity to fix this myself.”
Mr Kamberaj also raised a previous issue when he was left without hot water in his flat. On that occasion, councillor Deborah Edwards (Labour, Southcote) was able to intervene for him to get the repair completed.
Mr Kamberaj said: “I vote every time, I pay tax, now I’m losing money. I don’t know what to do any more. Reading Borough Council are playing with me.”
Mr Kamberaj raised the issue to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Wednesday, July 17. Council staff were able to fix the water leak that day.
A council spokesperson said: “We apologise to Mr Kamberaj for the delay in repairing his water supply which was due to an internal scheduling error.
“The council contacted the resident to create a new appointment and our out-of-hours plumbing team attended the property that same evening to complete the repair.”
Council tenants who have a problem with their home can report issues in an emergency by calling 0800 318 296 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or 0118 937 3737 (out of hours).
Housing issues can also be reported on the ‘report a housing repair’ webpage on the council website.
