A RENTON man is refusing to pay his council tax until West Dunbartonshire Council finally fix the faulty heating system they installed in his property a number of years ago.

John Daly says he has lost count of the number of engineers who have been out over the intervening period to look at the system, which he says does not heat up correctly and causes scalding water to come out the tap.

The 72-year-old has been issued with a final notice from the council demanding payment of £90 in council tax arrears, but John insists the council will not get a penny from him “until they do something”.

He told the Reporter: “It was replaced about three or four years ago because the old one kept breaking down. As far as I know it was the gravity fed tank that was done away with and now the water is all pressurised through the boiler.

“In the morning when I go and turn it, the heating comes on when the dial is about 22 degrees and I can hear it clicking on. The living room heats up quite nicely, but then by mid-afternoon you think “oh I’m cold” because it reaches 22 and shuts off completely until the temperature drops completely, so you have to sit freezing or turn the dial to 25. If you want about 20 that’s alright but if you have to keep turning the dial up through day to get a heat you end up going to 25 or 27 degrees - that’s a crazy system.

“Two women who used to visit my wife said by the afternoon they would also be sitting freezing cold.

“My wife Rachel, before she passed away in March, got scalded a few times. I can pull my hand away quickly enough, but it is dangerous for older people, with not much mobility or for young kids.”

Fortunately John says that staying warm is not an issue as he has a convector heater and his electric hearth fire, but he will “continue to fight for what is right”.

He added: “If this system is in other houses, then I bet there are a lot of unhappy tenants because they are too feart to complain and just accept it.

“My wife was always too feart to complain in case we were left with nothing, but this time I’m digging my heels in.

“I’ve had my winter payment put in, I’ve got all the heat I want and money to pay for it, so the ball is in council’s court. As far as I’m concerned it is only fit for scrapyard.”

John has been in contact with councillor John Millar about the issue.

The councillor visited John just before Christmas and has assured him he is going to see what can be done to resolve the issue and will keep him updated on any developments.

Cllr Millar said: “I met with Mr Daly and saw that there is an issue with the heating system that he has and it looks like there is a problem with it.

“I will get the housing repairs manager out with me again so as he can see the problem as the weather is turning colder. Mr Daly needs to have his heating fixed asap as a pensioner he becomes even more vulnerable to the cold although he has electric heaters which he is using they’re far too expensive to run.

“The problem I see with the heating is it won’t stay at a particular temperature. Its cutting off so the room gets cold, hence why Mr Daly has to use his electric heaters so I will be asking council officers to sort out the problem.”

The council also recently sent a housing officer out, who monitored the system for a couple of days, but the problem has continued to persist, according to John.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “We are sorry to hear that Mr Daly is unhappy.

“A full new system was installed at his address recently as part of our upgrade programme and we have been working to resolve this issue since our officers were made aware of it.

“We will continue to offer every assistance to our tenant throughout this period.”