A YOUNG Port Glasgow couple whose dream of owning their own home became a ceiling collapse 'nightmare' after solar panels were installed on their roof have had the issue resolved - after turning to the Tele.
Lauren MacLennan and Fraser Tracey were using a wheelie bin and basins to catch rainwater in their main bedroom amid a dispute with contractors whom they claimed had caused a major leak.
The couple - who moved into their two-bedroom semi detached property in Gallahill Avenue during the pandemic - contacted the Tele and said they were being 'palmed off' by energy improvement firm Everwarm.
However, the company insisted that it was 'confident' that its work was not at fault.
Ms MacLennan, 28, and Mr Tracey, 26, signed up to a government-backed home energy improvement scheme after renovating and modernising their property.
The work included replacing wall insulation, having the building re-rendered and they also had solar panels installed during the summer.
However, a leak was soon discovered in the roof space that caused rainwater to seep through into their bedroom.
The couple feared that with further wet and wintry weather to come their ordeal would only get worse.
Ms MacLennan said: "We've spent over £100 on a tarpaulin to cover the panels, rope, buckets, trying to sort this ourselves.
"It's just a nightmare.
"We've saved up for years to buy our own house and we don't have the money to get a brand new roof.
"We've been waiting at least two months and they promised us that they'd fixed the issues."
Mr Tracey said: "They did it in the middle of summer, so we're not going to notice that there are any issues until we get heavy rain.
"The damage is under the panels, from what I can tell, where it's leaking in. They've not taken any of the panels off to replace any of the tiles. They've just scattered some new tiles on the corner of the roof.
"It's been a quick fix.
"They've not gone where the water is coming in."
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Mr Tracey says Everwarm representatives placed the blame for the issues on wear and tear and the age of the house and roof.
He added: "We are under no illusion that it is an old roof but it wasn't leaking before they carried out work on it, or at least not to the extent where it was pouring through the roof. It was never like that.
"We would have got the roof seen to but with the way everything is at the moment we can't spend that money.
"If they said to us 'Sorry, we can't put them [the solar panels] up, the roof isn't fit for purpose', we would've been fine with that."
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Ms MacLennan, who works as a home carer, said: "We're gutted by it. I've been greeting, stressed out, missing days of work."
A spokeswoman for Everwarm told the Telegraph that the company is 'aware of the issues' with the roof of the Port property and is 'confident' that they are not the result of their improvement work.
Everwarm said in a statement: "We are fully committed to providing excellent customer service and have been working with the customer to agree a solution.
"We will continue those discussions with the homeowner to ensure the matter is resolved to their satisfaction."
Ms MacLennan and Mr Tracey told the Telegraph that they have now reached a resolution with Everwarm.
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