How a bathroom flood led to a week from hell

Upon first, second and third glance, it seemed as though a burglary had taken place. Who else would smash the door down and leave it hanging open, with the doormat hastily pushed aside and the wall dropping plaster from the use of some rather serious (and possibly dangerous) equipment?

When arriving home at 10:30pm from a fun, refreshing weekend, the last thing anyone wants to see is their door aggressively bashed in and the carpet covered in crumbly wood and plaster. Neither is it reassuring to find all the lights switched on and the kitchen cupboards left carelessly flung open.

The damage to the wall and doorway, which is now boarded up.

This happened to me on a cold late-October night.

 I live alone, so I was expecting to just get home, check on my pet snake, shove on some comfy pyjamas and head to my living room to crash on the couch and watch my favourite Disney+ series, Wandavision. 

This was not the case. I realised something was off when I opened the door to the building - a door with a keypad for security. This door had been forced open, leaving the keypad useless. This set off alarm bells, but I thought maybe it was just the door malfunctioning. 

I went upstairs to my flat and was greeted by the unsettling sight of my door messily forced open, with wood, plaster and paint chips all over the carpet. My heart sank immediately. Thoughts flew through my head, “what’s been taken?”, “when did this happen?”, “what’s been taken?” and “has this happened to any of the other flats?”

you can see the mess of plaster and wood chips all over the carpet.

I ran back outside, hoping Nando’s downstairs might still be open - it wasn’t. I rang my uncles, who told me to contact the police. I spent what felt like hours telling the police operator what I’d just come home to. 

I rang a 24hr boarding company to secure my flat, but I made sure I checked my snake was okay first and left her food and clean water before the door was boarded up and I wouldn’t be able to wander in and out. 

Whilst the flat was being secured, I went downstairs to enquire as to whether Nando’s had any CCTV. Luckily, although the restaurant was closed, the manager was still there and took me into his office to discuss what had happened. 

“What flat do you live in?” the manager asked. He looked inspired, as if he might know what happened.

I told him flat 4, to which he responded, “Oh, because we had a leak, it may have been coming from your flat”. 

I was told that there was a leak coming from my bathroom

I was doubtful, as my flat is on the top floor and I assumed the water would have caused chaos in the flat below before it reached Nando’s. 

The manager on duty rang his colleague who had been working on Saturday, the day the flood occurred.

I was then told that it WAS my flat that had been leaking, badly enough for Nando’s to have to close for a day while the flood was dealt with. I was informed that it was the fire brigade who forced open the main door to the building and my own front door - and it was them who opened my kitchen cupboards, looking for the stop tap. 

However, the stress did not end there.

Metro PM have mixed reviews on Google

It’s now over a week since this unfortunate event occurred and my door still hasn’t been replaced or repaired - neither has the main door to the building.  

Metro Property Management (Metro PM) is the company that manages the building - The Ribbon Factory, Coventry. This building contains a Nando’s restaurant on the ground floor and six flats spread across the first and second floors.

Metro PM did not contact me when this incident occurred on Saturday 23rd of October, so when I arrived two days later, I was none the wiser. They also didn’t do anything about boarding up my flat, leaving it unsecured until I was able to ring the boarding company once I saw the state of my door. 

I have since been told that they are working through the situation with their insurance provider, but haven’t been given a date or any indication of a date when my door will be sorted out and I’ll be able to move back into my flat.

With it being my third year of university, I could have done without the stress of thinking my flat had been broken into, followed by the stress of not having a working front door. 

I have been lucky in that I have friends and family to stay with while the management company sorts out the insurance and gets the door repaired. Other people may not have been so fortunate, and may have faced immense challenges looking for somewhere to stay.

Building management companies should be more diligent when looking after their buildings - especially if they know it is occupied by students and or other young and potentially vulnerable people.