A MUM-OF-TWO was told she needed to climb a ladder every DAY while six-months pregnant to deal with black mould in her newbuild property.
Gemma Stewart, 34, and her partner Mark Jolley, 37, moved into their three-bed Essex newbuild in 2017 – but noticed rapidly-growing mould in the ensuite just three weeks later.
They flagged the issue with developer Bloor Homes but were quickly “fobbed off” – with the contractor ordering Gemma to climb a ladder to clean the guttering daily while six months pregnant with her second daughter Kalia.
Four years later, despite several professional cleaning jobs, the mould has persisted – and has given Kalia, now four, a “chesty cough”.
Gemma said: “They said I needed to get up a ladder every day to clean the guttering – but I said was six months pregnant. They just fobbed me off.
“They gave me a leaflet about mould and how to clean stuff and I replied, as a relatively educated person, I am aware of this and I can’t stand on a ladder every day.
“I was working full time as well and the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day was deal with the mould.
“I have never had this proved, but Kalia had a chesty cough.
“And my dad and brother are in medical professions and they have wondered if it could be to do with the mould. We were sleeping in our bedroom when she was a baby.”
The couple also live with their daughter Chloe, 15, who is “never surprised” when there are builders in the home.
“I work part time so I can spend time with the kids – but I spend it with the builders,” Gemma added.
Mark accused the developer of having a “fobbing off technique” – and said the mould hasn’t stopped growing.
He added: “It has created a lot of stress. It comes a point where we’re like, what’s the point?
“It is just dragging on and on. We could have spent £5,000 to get someone in to do it but why should we? We put our life savings into this place.
“It never stops. A guy comes round to clean it with mould cleaner. Then three weeks later, back it comes.
“Well clearly there is a bigger problem but they haven’t told us what.
“They blame the extractor, that we don’t have the extractor on, we don’t open the windows.
“Then the next person says, have the windows shut. We’re just round and round in circles.
“They don’t know what they are doing.”
Bloor Homes spokesperson said:
A Bloor Homes spokesperson said: “Bloor Homes acknowledges that Mr Jolley and Miss Stewart have not benefitted from the journey the majority of our customers enjoy.
“That said, Bloor Homes has at all times have made every effort to address the issue raised by the purchasers and are committed to ensuring this matter is resolved.
“Throughout we have offered our sincere apologies for the disruption and inconvenience this has caused.
“We have no records of the customer being told to climb a ladder at any time, and this is not advice that we would give.
“We have undertaken several investigations since the initial complaint in December 2017 and continue to work towards resolving the situation with additional works carried out between 2018 and January this year.
“As a result of the visit in October 2021 further mould reported works were deferred until the New Year, at the request of the Customer.
“As of January 21st this year, to mitigate the potential of recurring mould, an additional outlet to the venting pipes extracting through the roof has been put in place.
“To complete the works some insulation will be replaced in the loft and localised redecoration will be completed. This will be scheduled to the customers convenience.”
