Thread by @davidbenque

I don't normally tweet personal stuff but the last few months have been tough, and I can't let this go. Friends I'm asking you to like or RT the tweets below for visibility if you can. Sorry to add more doom to your timelines

CW: images of a flooded home

On 14th September 2021, a @thameswater sewage pipe exploded outside our basement flat on Anerley Park SE20 8NF. Our flat and 2 others were completely flooded by sewage up to over a meter high
@elliereeves @LBofBromley @Pengecouncillor #thameswater @myldn

It was 7am, we had under 5 minutes to wake up our kids (3 and 5) grab a few things and get out with help from @LondonFire as the @thameswater sewage gushed in. Thankfully no one was physically harmed
@elliereeves @LBofBromley @Pengecouncillor #thameswater
london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2021…

Since then we've thought a lot about what would have happened if the timing had been different, for example if I hadn't been awake to hear/smell the @thameswater sewage coming, which gave us these minutes

This courtyard, another one like it, and the 3 flats in between all filled up in ~20mins

In the days that followed we did our best to clean up, mainly to cope with the fact that most of our stuff was beyond saving. We did not get one single bit of support from @thameswater in that time

To remove all of our destroyed belongings, @thameswater contractors wanted us to sign a letter saying we wouldn't hold them responsible. We did not sign so months later we had to pay £1.5K for the removal ourselves

We did not have contents insurance but given the major incident a loss assessor took our case with good confidence that @thameswater would give us *something* to make up for all our stuff being destroyed (we counted £32K, obvs not including trauma, stress, time)

After months of back and forth with @thameswater taking weeks to answer each email, right before christmas, they said no. They are not liable and we will not be compensated, not even for the removal of all the stuff we lost, nothing

In the meantime, we were spending ~£15K of money we didn't have to pay for accommodation, rent a new place in London, re-buying essentials, kids clothes and toys, etc, etc, etc, all a direct result of @thameswater sewage flooding our life

5+ months later the repair works by @thameswater to fix the sewer are finally finishing (📷 from 23/01). Anyone we spoke to on site told us this was amongst the worst they've seen. No one in the 3 flooded flats has received anything
@elliereeves @LBofBromley @Pengecouncillor

The only thing more soul-destroying than dealing with the consequences of this flood on a daily basis for months is the thought that @thameswater expect us to walk away in silence with nothing. With the building site closing we are one step closer to that

Our children still talk about the flood and "poo water" on a daily basis. I want @elliereeves @LBofBromley @Pengecouncillor to know that they were made homeless and @thameswater did absolutely nothing about it

Please give this thread visibility if you can. It seems @thameswater are much more forthcoming when their floods get publicity, as was the case with the "Angel Tsunami"

islingtontribune.co.uk/article/angel-…

Thank you for reading. We are looking for advice on what to do next. We have been in touch with @Pengecouncillor and hopefully @elliereeves soon. My DMs are open if you know anyone who might be able to help us (insurance, legal, etc)

twitter.com/messages/compo…