One bad week can be all it takes to throw your finances out of control. I’m going to tell you a story that you just can’t make up. Thankfully, it didn’t happen to me, but to my parents, who recently had a very unfortunate week, which caused them a lot of upheaval, stress and ended up costing them over £1000.
It was a few weeks before Christmas. Every time I went round my parent’s house I noticed a bit of a damp smell when I first came in. At first I didn’t say anything, because I thought that maybe they had a spillage or something, or a towel drying. They help me with childcare 2 days a week so I’m there a lot. After a few times and it was still there, my Mum told me they’d had some trouble with the electrics in the kitchen, the dishwasher and fridge freezer had gone off. They phoned the home insurance company, who told them they weren’t covered. They then phoned their emergency home cover insurance, and were told as it was a single circuit and they weren’t totally without power, that they weren’t covered either! What is the point of having insurance? I was really cross on their behalf. They thought a mouse had got behind the dishwasher and nibbled the wires, as their cat often brings them little presents.
A local Electrician was called and he pulled out the dishwasher and discovered that the waste pipe from the dishwasher had been chewed through, allowing water to drip onto the circuit, causing it to short. He fixed the problem and my parents tried to get a replacement pipe but it was so expensive they decided to tape it up. Problem solved.
Or was it?
In the week that followed, the TV, oven, and more importantly, the broadband power kept coming and going and eventually the dishwasher stopped. They got the power back via extension leads, so it wasn’t an issue with the electric supply. They called the electrician back, it was now the Thursday before Christmas and the whole family were due round for Christmas dinner! The electrician pulled out the oven and discovered droppings that were a little big for a mouse. Another professional, 1st A Pest control came that same day. He said it was definitely a rat, not brought in by the cat but via the drains. He was very good, he checked in the loft and other places, but said it was only in the kitchen. My mum was horrifed! Apparently, the plastic of electrical wire is like sugar to rats. He’d also been stealing cat food at night. They had to buy a new cooker and dishwasher, the cooker was due to come Christmas Eve. I offered up my home as back up, as long as we were all together, nothing mattered. Traps were laid and the pest control man cam back on Christmas eve – no rat in the traps, he promised to come back again and check. The new cooker was bought and installed by Wrights of Maidstone on Christmas eve – Christmas was on again! The dishwasher was out of action, so we all washed up by hand after dinner.
In the new year, the pest control man was back, he pulled out the dishwasher and a huge, filthy black rat was found in the trap. My Mum was horrified and can still see it in her mind’s eye. She had no idea it would be so big. At least they caught it and there have been no problems since. Pest control took out the dishwasher and wrapped it (due to the risk of Weil’s disease), cleaned behind it and recommended she bleached it. The next day they had a rodding company come and check the drains with a camera. They couldn’t find specific entry point, the rat could have got in where the drains of two properties met. Any and all possible holes have been filled. Apparently this is a common problem and is something all the professionals had seen before. I for one couldn’t help but sing ‘There’s a Rat in The Kitchen What are we Gonna Do?’ By UB40 every time we talked about it!
The new dishwasher arrived and they tried to fit it in, but where the frame is swollen from the water leaking, they couldn’t get it in, so the original fitters who delivered the machine left and they cancelled the payment. At the moment it’s still waiting in the kitchen to be fitted by the original kitchen fitting company. Eventually it will be completely sorted, but the whole thing was a complete nightmare! I can’t believe despite being well insured they had no cover for any of it, plus no help at all from the Insurance company. By the way, the damp smell has thankfully gone!
Unexpected incurred costs:
Electrician call out and work done
Pest Control call out and work done
New oven and fitting
New dishwasher and fitting
Dynorod call out and work done
Cement and materials to fill holes
Total cost: £1200
Luckily, my parents have some savings, if this had happened to us, we would be in (further) debt right now and I’d be wringing my hands. Christmas would not have been so rosy either. The truth is, it can happen to any of us. One bad week is all it takes and your finances can spiral out of control. In the UK, 4 in 10 people have less than £500 in their savings and 28% of adults have nothing in the bank, according to debt advice and managent website Payplan, leaving them vulnerable to debt should life throw them a curveball. I’m one of the 28% with little or no buffer, and more than one crisis would tip us over the edge.
All opinions are my own and nothing here is exaggerated or made up!
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