A hairdresser who lost two months of business following a “botched” plumbing job worth £5,000 is still demanding answers more than a year after the incident.
Andrew Bruce set up The Premium Barber in Cameron Street, Stonehaven, in 2015 but when he bought the property there was no running water or any connection to the sewerage system.
He hired Business Stream, a subsidiary of Scottish Water, which carries out work for businesses, to get his shop hooked up to the water system.
Work began in October 2015 but, after the road was closed and workers had already started digging up the surface, it became clear the plans needed to be redrawn.
However, it took another two months for the work to be completed, causing the shop to miss out on trade around the busy Christmas period.
Mr Bruce has subsequently asked Business Stream for an apology and a refund, but claims his requests have fallen on deaf ears.
He said: “I’m at the end of my tether, but I am not going to give up on this one until they admit fault and pay up the money I believe they owe me.
“They drew up the wrong plans for the repair, but still expect me to pay for their mistake. It’s unacceptable.
“I’m out of pocket and I’ve wasted a ridiculous amount of time and effort chasing them for an apology and a refund.”
MSP Mairi Gougeon, who represents Angus North and Mearns, raised the issue with a question to Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham at the Scottish Parliament last week.
She added: “Business Stream have really let themselves down with their handling of this issue. They appear to have washed their hands of the complaint.
“I’ve raised the issue directly with the Cabinet secretary.”
Jo Mayes, director of customer operations at Business Stream, said: “When a new connection is requested, network mapping information is provided which includes caveats advising customers (and their contractors) that the information is approximate and that no guarantee accuracy can be provided.
“Unfortunately in this case, the information provided did not fully reflect the network configuration on site and, as a consequence, the work turned out to be more expensive than the customer had anticipated.
“We are doing everything we can to work with Mr Bruce to find a resolution.”