Woman waits months for heating repairs after fire

Denise Graovac has been living in her Thames Ditton property for 30 years

A woman says she has been left without hot water since November due to a delay in repairing her water system following a fire.

Denise Graovac said she is still waiting for an insurance claim to be processed after a fire at her home in Thames Ditton when a lithium-ion handheld vacuum exploded in her garage.

She said repairs needed to be carried out to her garage and a boiler refitted, but she could not proceed until her insurers, Aviva, processed her claim.

Aviva said they offered Ms Graovac alternative accommodation and that they would arrange an invoice to be paid once they received an estimate from her preferred engineer.

Ms Graovac said: "We are still without central heating and I've had no hot water since November.

"I am still waiting for insurance assessors to say what I can or can't claim for which has taken forever.

"They offered alternative accommodation which wasn't convenient as my daughter is autistic, it was easier to stay at home."

Denise Graovac left her lithium-ion handheld vacuum cleaner charging and unattended in her garage

Aviva said in a statement: "We sincerely apologise for the delay that Ms Graovac has experienced and we are actively working with her to resolve her claim as swiftly as possible."

The company said it visited the property last month to remove debris and clean fire damage in the garage, and a further visit had been arranged.

It said they offered Ms Graovac £800 to cover costs for coal, wood and firelighters to heat her home.

It added: "Ms Graovac has stated that she has a preferred engineer that she would like to use, so once we have received an estimate for the boiler, we will arrange for the invoice to be paid."

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.