A family have slammed their insurance company seven months after a burst pipe forced their kitchen to be ripped apart.

Catherine Baldwin, who lives with her husband and 21-year-old daughter in Bushey Mill Lane, Watford, says they have put up with the “shell of a room” since April and has hit out at their insurers AXA for the “nightmare” they have been through.

Having initially been given a timescale of no more than two months, and numerous visits and calls from contractors, the Baldwin’s are still left with just a hob and kettle and are forced to make trips to a nearby launderette to clean their clothes.

The family reported a leak in the kitchen earlier this year and AXA, who they have been with for around two years, decided the whole kitchen needed replacing.

Watford Observer:

Mrs Baldwin said: “They have taken a completely unreasonable amount of time to do this. We’ve been left with a hob and a sink, creating chaos in our lives every day. It is dirty and gritty.

“The simplest of tasks you take for granted have been taken away. Promises have been broken, hopes dashed time and time again. Life continues to be a living nightmare for us.

“We can’t entertain. Having anybody here to visit is embarrassing as we cannot offer any normal hospitality and the place is an absolute mess.”

Mrs Baldwin has set AXA an ultimatum of December 5 to get the work done. She has kept a timeline of every single visit and call. More than 20 separate visits have been made, including by surveyors, plumbers, and other workers.

Eventually, the family had enough, and said they would be getting in touch with the financial ombudsman to seek compensation.

Watford Observer:

AXA have given a “disturbance allowance” which covers payments for ready-prepared food. AXA has also offered around £700 in compensation.

Mrs Baldwin added: “We are not satisfied with the level of compensation offered. They took away our kitchen, the heart of our home which we have lived in for more than 20 years, and have left us with a dirty shell of a room for months. We have initiated everything since. The misery has to end. We want our kitchen back.”

A spokesman for AXA said the repair was a lot more “complex” than first thought, especially the drying of the floor.

He said: “Our aim is to get customers back on their feet as quickly as possible following a claim, but in this case, we haven’t met our usual standards. We are in regular contact with the Baldwin family and are working hard to repair the damage without further delay. We are continuing to pay them a daily allowance due to the loss of their kitchen.”

Work is expected to get underway again today.