A NEW £7 million biomass heating system in Broomhill has been plagued by problems - with residents living in the cold with no hot water.

Ward councillor Colin Jackson says he has uncovered a catalogue of failures with the system and is now calling on River Clyde Homes to take immediate action to sort the shambles out.

In one case a young family had their heating cut off and had to spend a fortune topping the meter up and were forced out of their home for Christmas.

Housing association bosses admit there are problems and say they are working with British Gas to sort it out.

Councillor Jackson said: "Some residents in Broomhill have been left for days without hot water and heating.

"Others are finding the temperature of their heating and water inadequate and cooler than the system it replaced.

"I am really concerned that there are other tenants out there who are affected and left without heating because they do not know where to turn.

"For one resident this has been ongoing for nearly a year.

"When they contact River Clyde Homes they have been given excuses which include the scaffolding around the building is affecting the heating, the meter can’t connect to the O2 wifi and the battery in the meter is faulty."

But one of the biggest problems appears to be with residents unable to credit their account.

Councillor Jackson added: "The only way to fix the heating until the money credits is to get an engineer to bypass the meter, which can restore the heating, but RCH are reluctant to do this as they insist the problem is that of their contractors.

"They have only done this when contacted by me."

River Clyde Homes has installed the biomass system into its housing stock and encouraged home owners and private landlords in Broomhill to do the same.

But dad-of-two Brian Quigg, was forced to go elsewhere to celebrate Christmas because he has been plagued by problems.

The 29-year-old, who stays in a private let in Ann Street with his wife Holly and two children Ruby, four, and Rory, four months, said: "Our heating and hot water was cut at one point for a full week.

"We have had problems ever since the system was installed.

"They put in a new boiler but it is still the same.

"In the run up to Christmas we were having problems and I contacted the Broomhill housing office who put me onto a team leader. She told us to put £20 into our account every day. Who has that kind of money?

"It was still saying there was only £4 left and we were so worried we were going to run out that we decided to change our plans for Christmas dinner in case we had no heating or water."

Care worker Brian added: "It isn't just the heating and the water system, there has been nothing but problems here since they started the regeneration work. If you are not a tenant they don't care.

Councillor Jackson is concerned that residents have to call a London-based contractor working with River Clyde Homes to report faults, leaving them facing hefty phone bills.

He added: "River Clyde Homes use a company called to run their heating payment system.

"When contacted by residents the average wait for a contact agent is around 50 minutes, with a premium rate costing around £10 per call.

"And when residents eventually get through, they are told there is nothing that can be done."

Homeowner Sam Wilson, 57, also blasted River Clyde Homes over the biomass mess.

The haulage driver said: "We were encouraged to put this in.

"I was quite happy with my heating before and now we have nothing but problems.

"The system broke down, it is still under warranty and I couldn't get an engineer out.

"It is never at the right temperature and we have to put it away up to warm the place up.

"River Clyde Homes don't want to know but they are happy to take your factor fee."

David Falla, the housing association's head of asset planning and development, said: “River Clyde Homes is aware of the ongoing issues surrounding the district heat network in Broomhill and is working closely with our principle contractor, British Gas, to resolve the situation.

"We recognise the frustrations surrounding billing and metering and are looking at options to improve this as soon as possible."

But RCH insist they were unaware of people facing problems crediting their accounts.

Their spokesman added: "If this is the case I would encourage those affected to contact our customer experience team on 0800 013 2196 explaining their situation. We will do everything we can to help.”