Disabled Woman Reportedly Forced To Bathe With Wet Wipes For A Year After Builders Never Finished Her Bathroom
They cost her over $30,000 which was never returned.
t-lorien | Canva Pro A woman found herself living in an unimaginable nightmare after a group of construction workers destroyed her water pipes and never returned to repair their mistakes.
The woman, Mary Lukins, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), was unable to use the restroom or shower for an entire year, relying on wet wipes and a bucket each time she needed the toilet or had to bathe.
Despite Lukin's constant texts and emails to the building company, her messages were ignored, and she was left living in unsanitary conditions.
The disabled woman was forced to clean herself with wet wipes after the builders reconstructing her bathroom reportedly disappeared without a trace.
59-year-old Mary Lukins from Southampton reached out to a building company in February 2022 to make her semi-detached house more accessible by adding a rear-single story extension and a downstairs bathroom.
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Lukins was diagnosed with MS in 2016, and her mobility was beginning to deteriorate. A downstairs bathroom would make it easier for her to shower and use the toilet.
After receiving planning permission to build in July 2022, the builders demanded an additional £7,000 (around $7,770 in U.S. dollars), claiming the groundwork to be technically complete. They also requested an extra £1,100 (around $1,500 in U.S. dollars) for French doors.
However, in August 2022, the builders disappeared without a word, leaving Lukins’ bathroom unfinished with damaged pipes.
“Within five or ten minutes of me paying them, they packed up the cement mixer, took their equipment and that's the last time I ever saw them," she told Express U.K.
The disabled woman said the incomplete work left her unable to use her toilet, shower, dishwasher, and washer and dryer.
Whenever she attempted to flush the toilet, Lukins said that “raw sewage” would spew all over her garden, leaving her with no choice but to rely on using a bucket for a toilet due to her limited mobility.
"For more than a year, if I needed the toilet, I had to jump in the car. I could wee in a bucket, but for anything else, I had no choice,” she said.
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"I couldn't bathe because I could still get in the bath, but I couldn't let the water out, so for a year, I had to use baby wipes and the odd shower in a can.”
On some days, Lukins was able to make it out of her home to use a friend’s restroom at their house. However, she described the entire ordeal as “utter hell.”
The disabled woman said her attempts to reach out to the contractors and building company were met with silence.
Despite reporting the builders to Southampton City Council Trading Standards in late August 2022, she was told that "the Trading Standards service was unable to pursue criminal offenses using consumer protection legislation."
"I was desperate. I was telling them I have no drains, I'm living in an unsanitary, hazardous house, but nobody cared,” a devastated Lukins said.
"I felt like I was a victim all over again; it was like being mugged in my own home."
After working as a family support worker for the council for years, Lukins opted for early retirement in 2021 as her condition worsened.
She planned on splurging on a world cruise, but her plans crumbled after she lost £33,000 (nearly $44,000) throughout the entire ordeal.
“Not only did they take £22,000 of my money, they caused over £11,000 worth of damage to my house and left me living in a hellhole,” Lukins said.
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After the disabled woman reported the incident to Checkatrade (the British Angie's List), she was compensated £1,000 as part of their 12-month guarantee.
"These were looked into by the trading standards service, and they determined that no criminal offenses were committed by the builder,” a spokesperson for the Southhampton City Council said.
They added that cases like Lukins’ are extremely rare and are taken with the utmost seriousness.
While that seems unfathomable, the fact is, without details of the contract, we have no idea what rights Lukins may have signed away or agreed to. Without looking at the fine print, contractors can abandon a project for a variety of reasons.
Even if the City Council determined that there was no criminal activity involved in Lukins’ case, most of us can agree that it was inhumane to leave a woman with limited mobility without a toilet, shower, or even a way to wash her dishes.
When a worker promises service, especially if they demand compensation before even starting the job, they must complete their work.
If they cannot do it themselves, they should ensure that the services are covered by someone else up for the task.
Things happen, and jobs can take longer to get completed. That’s understandable.
What is not understandable nor acceptable is a woman being left with nothing but a bucket and wipes for bathing while raw sewage seeps into her backyard.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.