PETERSBURG, Va. -- A Petersburg mother contacted the CBS 6 Problem Solvers after her apartment has been without heat for nearly a month.
Wanda Winslow lives at the Crater Square Apartments in Petersburg.
Winslow sent a work order for her heating system on December 4, but property mangers have only provided her with temporary space heaters that Winslow said are ineffective.
The bitterly cold temperatures hitting Central Virginia have only exacerbated the problem. Winslow said she is bundling up her three-year-old daughter each night to keep her warm enough.
"Everybody is freezing: the kids, the dogs. Me," Winslow said. "I feel like they've been giving me the run around."
The problem stems from the heating unit inside her apartment. Winslow said maintenance staff reported to her that her apartment was outfitted with the wrong kind of equipment.
"When you cut it on, it blows out cool air. The reason it blows out cool air is because there is an AC unit installed in there," Winslow said.
With no sign of a permanent fix in sight, Winslow contacted the Problem Solvers. CBS 6 took her concerns to the property manager on site Tuesday. The manager told CBS 6 the company, Greenbrier Management, took over management of the property at the end of November. The manager said they were unaware of the heating system issues when they took over control of the property from the previous company.
Wanda Winslow
Crater Square managers confirmed that Winslow's unit is incorrectly installed. They said an outside HVAC company will inspect Winslow's heating system in the next few days.
Petersburg code enforcement confirmed they have given Crater Square 48 hours to fix the heating issues. Code enforcement said multiple tenants have reported similar problems and that those heating systems are outfitted with "antiquated" equipment.
For her part, Winslow said she will be putting her rent money in an escrow account until the heating problems are fixed.
"As a tenant that pays rent on time, I should have heat," she said.
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