Homeowners facing cold showers this winter
Published On 21 December 2006
Homeowners are facing a winter of cold showers after new research has revealed that consumers are facing increasing costs to hire tradespeople.Figures from Direct Line Home Response show that one in ten British homeowners have been left without hot water or heating due to the extortionately high hourly rates of Britain's tradespeople.
One in ten homeowners also admitted struggling to find a tradesperson who was willing to come out and solve the problem.
Andrew Lowe, Direct Line spokesman, said: "There is no way that people can predict when they will be faced with a home emergency that needs to be dealt with quickly and professionally.
Going without heating or hot water is never pleasant - particularly at this time of the year - but finding a tradesperson, let alone someone who is reliable and reasonably priced, can be problematic.
"To avoid the risk of a freezing festive period, we would recommend that people have their book of trade contacts to hand or consider one of a number of services that have engineers on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."
As a result of the lack of tradesmen, some 28 per cent of Brits said they had been forced to take a cold shower for five or more days at a time.
