92 Year Old Veteran Who Couldn't Sleep In His Own Bed Is Saved By ESE Group
Geoff Cunliffe from St Albans, Hertfordshire. (Image - Caters News)
Back during the height of the pandemic, the customer service team at ESE Group received a call from Barbara Meszaros, the neighbour of military veteran Geoff Cunliffe from St Albans, Hertfordshire.
ESE Group were told how Mr Cunliffe, 92, was scammed by construction workers who left his house completely unsafe and in a sorry state of disrepair. He was left with a leaking roof, damp floors, peeling wallpaper, collapsed ceilings and black mould in every single room of his three-bedroom semi-detached home. Unfortunately, he was targeted by cold callers offering to fit new insulation into his roof four years prior.
After a year, it became evident when large amounts of rainwater – which had been collecting in the loft – started to leak into the house. A devastated Mr Cunliffe, who has lived in the house for 52 years, said: ‘I don’t want to live like this anymore, it’s quite upsetting really.’
The widowed pensioner handed over more than £4,000 in 2016 for repairs to his home. However, closer inspection four years later revealed the workmanship was of such poor quality that for his own health and safety, Mr Cunliffe had no choice but to sleep downstairs in a chair, until his neighbours kindly used a tarpaulin to temporarily fix the issue.
Mr Cunliffe’s bed had to be covered with tarpaulin. (image -Caters News)
ESE Group CEO Gary Fredson had much to say on the matter:
“It’s heartbreaking and really disturbing to hear what Mr Cunliffe has been through over the last few years. He’s sadly been taken for a ride, let down by his local authority and his insurance provider. He’s done so much for his country and it’s about time someone repaid him for that service”.
When Mr Fredson found out that Mr Cunliffe was living in such conditions, he made it his priority to help the vulnerable pensioner and covered the full costs to remove and refit his Solar Panels so his roof could be fixed, and installed a new Solar Battery which would significantly help reduce his electricity bills for years to come. Mr Cunliffe will also never pay maintenance for his Solar PV system as ESE Group are offering this service to him for free, for life.
ESE Group CEO Gary Fredson
Part of ESE Group’s service is to regularly check up on installations carried out and recently they travelled to Hertfordshire for a socially distanced catchup up with Mr Cunliffe to deliver a little surprise just before Christmas.
Mr Cunliffe said: “My Neighbour only called you to get a quote to repair my roof, but after speaking with the ESE Group team and explaining my situation, they took it upon themselves to fix my roof and also installed a Solar Battery to help me with my energy bills. When they told me, everything would be done for free, I got really upset on the phone. My emotions got the better of me and knowing that I’ve finally been able to get this problem sorted was a big relief. I’ve been a Solar Maintenance customer of theirs for 2 years now, but I never expected a service like this. It was lovely getting to meet Gary Fredson even if it was from a distance and the food hamper is lovely, really nice. I love cheese and I’m sure Barbara will help me eat it too.”
Mr Cunliffe’s neighbour Barbara Meszaros said, “Things got so bad for Geoff that we started a GoFundMe page to try and raise as much money as we could to help with his roof repair. Thankfully ESE Group stepped in help fix the roof, but his house is still a long way from being fully liveable internally.”
After ESE Group caught up with Geoff, they realised that more needs to be done. Mr Cunliffe has fallen twice in the last year because he needs a stairlift and struggles to manage the stairs by himself. They would like to keep his GoFundMe campaign running with the aim to get enough money to have a stairlift installed and to redecorate his home.
Gary Fredson finished with : “It’s important now more than ever to look after our neighbours and our community, especially the elderly and vulnerable. We hope that whoever comes across this story might take a moment to check in on those around them.
When injustice happens, there’s always people around to help, good will always prevail. Sharing positive stories even in dark times gives us all a strong & reassuring reminder of this.
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