Michael Butler and his 86-year-old grandmother live on the top floor of a block of flats on Europe Road, and both rely on the lift to get around.
The 37-year-old told the News Shopper: “On April 4, the lift broke down.
“Normally, it takes a couple of hours to repair, which isn’t an issue.
“And on April 5, the lift was briefly working, but then it stopped.
“Since April 6 up until the present day, the lift is completely out of service.
“Usually, I wouldn’t be as bothered, but obviously we’re running really low on food, and I use a mobility scooter to get out.”
Michael claims he received a letter from Greenwich Council with “completely the wrong dates” on it, and that his grandmother, who is also the tenancy holder, contacted the council on both April 6 and 7.
He says the council guaranteed them that the lift would be working on both days, but they were “empty words”.
After getting in touch with their local MP, Michael says that the council “covered up their previous mistake”.
He added: “This letter was a bit more up to date, saying that it was going to be seven days for the repair, and then a couple of days later, they decided that all of a sudden, it was going to take many weeks to repair, which is shocking.
“I did make a formal complaint with the council, but they’ve ignored that.
“I’ve also pushed the insurance side of the council as well – no joy there.
“I even tried to get a solicitor, but they said they couldn’t help in that circumstance.
“It’s really taken a toll on my illnesses.
“I can’t get out to do the food shop for Nan.”
Michael’s grandmother has lived in the block of flats for 23 years, and the flat has other elderly people living there too, so the lift breakdown has made life incredibly difficult.
Michael said: “I saw some guy who’s on crutches having to come up the whole flight of stairs.
“It’s affecting my autism quite a lot, because I’ll go and do the food shop for Nan as she’s not very mobile.
“The food isn’t going to last forever, and I can’t really do the stairs.
“It feels worse than being in prison – that’s the best way I can describe it.
“It makes you feel like a crazy person.”
A spokesperson for Greenwich Council apologised for the “distress that the broken lift has caused the residents”.
The spokesperson said: “We’ve been working to get this sorted as quickly as possible and are currently waiting for a part to be delivered before the lift can safely resume normal service.
“We have ensured residents have been kept up to date about the repair, but we appreciate that it has been inconvenient.
“We’ll work with residents to help however else we can while the lift is out of action.”
