Royal Navy couple say they were plunged into debt after ceiling collapsed at their military home
Collapsed ceilings, flooded homes, missed appointments and black mould are just some of the issues many service families are facing this winter.
Dozens of forces families are resorting to shaming the Ministry of Defence's Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and private contractors on social media to get them to carry out the necessary repairs.
The wife of a serving sailor is furious after her ceiling collapsed, causing what she says was an estimated £10,000 worth of damage to their personal belongings.
The MOD has refused to pay compensation, instead telling the couple to claim on their own home insurance.
Kate Parker and her husband moved into the property in northwest London a week after they got married.
Less than a year later she said there was a "catastrophic flood", pointing out that the home's former occupiers had also suffered a similar incident, although this had supposedly been fixed before she and her husband moved in.
The military spouse said: "Vivo 'repaired' the property under the authorised funding of DIO, and on our move in in April 2023 we were advised that sufficient repairs had taken place and the property was fit for purpose."
But while she and her husband were living there, the property flooded again, this time causing the ceiling to give way.
She said her husband, who has been in the Royal Navy for 17 years, was at home at the time and managed to get their two dogs out of the property to safety.
Mrs Parker and her husband were moved out so further repairs could be made, but when she was allowed to return to the property she was less than happy.
She said her house "absolutely stinks" and mould had set in after the contractor apparently failed to cut off the correct water supply to the property.
Mrs Parker went on to say that the images she posted online show the "attic loft hatch was left off by the Vivo operative, and it is quite clear from the water pipes visible that there is little to no insulation on the piping".
She added: "Whilst from DIO advised that it should be Pinnacle liaising with service families, I do not agree that it should take seven days for DIO to make contact with their serving personnel, that has been left devastated by such a major incident.
"Ultimately the MOD have a duty of care to their service families, and we were failed."
In the meantime, Mrs Parker says she has been rehoused after spending time in emergency accommodation and is refusing to make a claim on her own insurance for fear of being penalised with future higher insurance premiums for something which she says is not their fault.
Mrs Parker said this has caused the couple to be "plunged into debt to buy replacement white goods and essentials".
After the suspected burst pipe flooded their home, Mrs Parker says she was wrongly told that they were unable to re-enter their property to retrieve some of their belongings.
In a post on social media site X, Mrs Parker posted: "Failed failed failed AGAIN. MOD DIO your 'computer says no' system to get us urgent removals to save some of our belongings has resulted in more loss.
"Where are you?!? Shame on you. This is #military life in Britain."
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "The Armed Forces go above and beyond to serve and keep us safe, and our contractors have provided permanent alternative housing to the family in this case.
"We are committed to the welfare of service personnel and are investing an additional £400m over the next two years to improve military housing."
Last year, the MOD confirmed it was withholding payments from contractors responsible for maintaining military homes, after a number of similar incidents were reported.
The contracts are worth £640m in total and make up part of the MOD's £3bn Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) programme.
The three companies benefiting from the FDIS contract include Pinnacle Group Ltd, Amey and Vivo.
A Vivo Defence Services spokesperson said: "We realise this would have been difficult for the family and were sorry to hear it happened.
"As soon as we at Vivo were made aware that the burst pipe, caused by the freezing weather, had resulted in a flood, we attended the property to turn off the water and power to make it safe. The family were provided with a hotel room on the same day.
"As the home needs significant repair work and was no longer habitable, we worked quickly over the following days to prepare an empty void property so the family could be permanently rehoused."
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