A HOUSING association has been criticised by an independent watchdog after taking 18 weeks to fix an electrical fault at a block of flats.

William Sutton housing association was ordered to pay £150 compensation after the housing ombudsman service found there had been “maladministration” in the association’s handling of the complaint.

Neil Garrity, pictured, who reported the fault, said he was delighted by the result.

He said: “It’s a victory for the little man. Leaving an electrical fault could have been very dangerous, and for that long as well.

“It’s quite scary that they’re treating tenants like that.

“I’m pleased, but I’m sad that I had to go to that length to get a result. They got it wrong at every level.”

Mr Garrity, the former secretary of the Platt Hill Residents’ Association, complained last April that two lights were not working in a communal hallway at his block of flats in Thistleton Road, Deane.

A caretaker was sent to repair the fault, but he carried out the work in the wrong block, and when Mr Garrity complained again, he was twice told that the problem had been fixed.

It took 18 weeks for William Sutton to fix the fault, by which time Mr Garrity had reported it to the housing ombudsman service.

The ombudsman service found there had b e e n m a l - administration and criticised William Sutton, which manages 580 homes in Bolton, for not treating the repair as urgent.

It also deemed that an apology to Mr Garrity and an offer of £50 compensation, which was later withdrawn, was not good enough.

The report said: “An apology was insufficient redress for the association’s failure to complete the repair in a timely manner, especially considering the length of time that it remained outstanding and the number of times Mr Garrity raised the matter with both the contractor and the association.”

A spokesman for William Sutton declined to comment on the case, which he said was “confidential”, but said: “We take complaints extremely seriously.

“Last year we spent £86 million on improving properties and carried out 550 repairs a day.”

He added that the company’s customer satisfaction rating for repairs was 83 per cent.