October 26, 2010
I received this email a short while ago. The author has given permission for me to post it:
Dear Admin,
I am a leaseholder and have been hit with some ridiculous charges in the final demand for 09/10
I want to take Stevenage Homes to a tribunal, but [because I have a job] it would cost me more for the tribunal than the actual amount that I am disputing. If an unemployed person applied for a tribunal they could claim legal aid not need to pay for the tribunal. All the other leaseholders could that add their disputes to it and all go in together with 1 big case.
Do you know if there is anyone out there that is unemployed and willing to ‘lead the way’ for the rest of us?
Just one example of what I believe to be extortion is that Stevenage Homes are trying to charge our block £208 to clean a gutter – I’ve called several local plumbers and the average they are quoting is £40-£50 !!!
We need to stick together and take them on as one.
I’m not sure you can get legal aid when dealing with one of these tribunals. I think it is a question to ask the Leasehold Advisory Service when they are in Stevenage on November the 6th. So far I have not booked a place. There is only room for 40 and I thought I would let anyone who has an outstanding problem to book first.
I will book today and go along to see what they have to say.
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October 13, 2010
Lucy Johnson tells me she has queried a £1378 bill for repairing a leaking water pipe under the communal garden of her block. Her memory of the incident is:
A man came for 2 days and dug something up in the garden.
She has been investigating:
I called up a few plumbing companies for quotes of similar repairs, a national company came back to me with a fixed price of £549+VAT, which will include up to 7 days of work, digging up grass, repair or replace any broken pipes, 12 months free service.
Lucy contacted Anne Hensley from Stevenage Homes and told her she thinks the charges are unreasonable. Anne Hensley said she will get back with the repair details shortly.
I think Lucy speaks for many of us when she says,”…and from this financial year with the extra management fee, I don’t know how I can keep up with their increasing charges.”
[Update A response from Stevenage Homes]
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October 7, 2010
I have some spare time, so I thought I would go through the list of maintenance charges thoroughly this year.
If you have queried anything I would be interested in knowing, especially if you live in The Towers.
This is the text of the email I sent to Stevenage Homes.
1) Caretaking and cleaning coast is over 17% greater than the estimated costs. I would have thought that cleaning costs would not be that difficult to estimate.
Dose this extra costs stem from any incidence where we have been charged for?
2) From the itemised bill – non-fire alarm system related, please see questions in column 1
From the itemised bill – non-fire alarm system related
| Question |
Order Ref |
Raised |
Comp |
Description |
Inv |
| Could you please explain what this is for |
566467/1 |
22/04/2009 |
23/04/2009 |
MONTORING CHARGE FOR 12 MONTHS ENDING 2/4/10 FOR CARE LINE REFPO1O762 |
£440.22 |
| When were common areas boarded up for a long period of time? Is this not referring to one flat on ground floor |
567037/1 |
27/04/2009 |
27/04/2009 |
Caswells are going out today to remove boarding from windows. Please can the boarding be renewed once casvsells work is complete |
£27.84 |
| £129 to replace 6 lights is excessive.
The garages beside the Towers are not part of the common area of the Towers. |
587951/1 |
07/09/2009 |
23/09/2009 |
INSPECT:3x lights gone outside backdoor nr sheds also about 3 lights 23-Sep-09 out in garage area – bottom garages |
£129.40 |
| Should this plumbing work be attributed to a single flat not whole building |
589098/1 |
12/09/2009 |
12/09/2009 |
emergency call out -12.9 10th floor o/f
to entrance advised tenant – Carried out by Scoffs plumbing |
£56.25 |
| When we complained about the length of time it took for the leaking pipe that caused this damage to be fixed we were told that SH were taking responsibility for the damage, as I think it was due to a leaking pipe in a tenants flat which SH were not prepared to fix. |
594258/2 |
30/10/2009 |
06/11/2009 |
please clear communal taking coiling.
fill up holes & paint ceding between flat
no 1 & 2 also minor repair to ceiling by lights. |
£107.50 |
| Not enough information to determine if this was for a single flat or the block. |
|
14/01/2010 |
15/01/2009 |
Attend emergency call out on 21.12.09 |
£120.00 |
| £780 for a “variety of small jobs” is not an itemised list of work.
We can not verify if this work was for a single flat or the block.
This has previously been a reason for incorrect charging. |
622139/1 |
26/03/2010 |
26/03/2010 |
To undertake SOC External remedial works to the Towers – SOC forwarded to Zero Carbon on 25.03.10. A variety of small jobs carried out to the exterior of the building whilst the scaffolding was in place for the cavity wall insulation. |
£780.00 |
3) From the itemised bill – non-fire alarm system related, please see questions in column 1
From the itemised bill – fire alarm system related
| Question |
Order Ref |
Raised |
Comp |
Description |
Inv |
|
569305/1 |
11/05/2009 |
12/05/2009 |
emergency light testing and repair |
£50.00 |
|
575069/1 |
15/06/2009 |
19/06/2009 |
carry out full fire alarm test and inspect log book |
£150.00 |
|
575324/1 |
16/06/2009 |
25/06/2009 |
emergency light testing and repair |
£50.00 |
| What do we get for this? |
575639/1 |
17/06/2009 |
29/09/2009 |
lighting protection & report |
£106.00 |
|
577298/1 |
29/06/2009 |
20/07/2009 |
emergency light testing and repair |
£50.00 |
|
583140/1 |
05/08/2009 |
24/08/2009 |
emergency light testing and repair |
£50.00 |
|
569226/1 |
15/09/2009 |
29/09/2009 |
full fire alarm test 31 /5/09 |
£150.00 |
|
589227/1 |
15/09/2009 |
23/09/2009 |
EMERGENCY LIGHT TESTING & REPAIR |
£50.00 |
| £170 to replace an optical detector? |
591584/1 |
20/09/2009 |
12/10/2009 |
REPEATED 1X CONTAMINATED OPTICAL DETECTOR |
£170.00 |
| Does the Fire service charge to inspect and repair lights? |
598143/1 |
10/11/2009 |
24/11/2009 |
emergency light testing & repair -County Fire Services |
£50.00 |
| Why was this done twice in the same month? |
599727/1 |
18/11/2009 |
09/11/2009 |
To carry out monthly emergency lighting test at the above address. |
£52.68 |
| Is £109.80 the standard charge for doing anything to any part of the fire alarm system? |
600038/1 |
19/11/2009 |
03/12/2009 |
REPLACED DAMAGED SMOKE SENSOR ON 9TH FLOOR |
£109.80 |
|
601240/1 |
26/11/2009 |
14/12/2009 |
To carry out monthly emergency lighting test at the above address. |
£52.68 |
| £238.84 to replace a smoke sensor, base and batteries? |
603948/1 |
11/12/2009 |
21/12/2009 |
To attend emergency call out for fire
alarm – replace smoke sensor, bases and batteries. |
£238.84 |
|
604017/1 |
11/12/2009 |
17/12/2009 |
full fire alarm test |
£150.00 |
|
604777/1 |
16/12/2009 |
05/01/2010 |
to carry out emergency lighting repairs extra work (reported by inspector) |
£143.74 |
|
607538/1 |
06/01/2010 |
07/01/2010 |
To attend emergency call out -9th floor test key broken |
£109.80 |
|
607657/1 |
06/01/2009 |
19/01/2009 |
TESTING: THREE MONTHLY TEST
EMERGENCY LIGHTING Discharge |
£52.68 |
|
608109/1 |
08/01/2010 |
26/02/2009 |
CARRY OUT FULL FIRE ALARM TEST – NEXT DUE MARCH 2010 |
£150.00 |
|
609895/1 |
14/01/2010 |
15/01/2009 |
Attend emergency call out on 21.12.09 |
£120.00 |
| Again these fees are high, what do we get for them? |
609897/1 |
14/01/2010 |
15/01/2009 |
Attend emergency call out on 6.1.10 -work required to optical detectors * call out fee |
£169.80 |
|
613634/1 |
08/02/2010 |
19/02/2009 |
TESTING: MONTHLY TEST EMERGENCY LIGHTING |
£52.68 |
|
616776/1 |
25/02/2010 |
11/03/2009 |
fire alarm call out 12/1/10 – earth fault showing on main control due to water ingress, renewed senor and reset |
£109.80 |
|
617603/1 |
01/03/2010 |
11/03/2009 |
fire alarm call out 15/12/09 – weekly fire alarm test key snapped off inside break glass unit |
£109.80 |
| So we pay £120 any time the fire alarms go off? |
622723/1 |
30/03/2010 |
31/03/2010 |
to reset alarms – reported by chubb 14.05-brigade on way - |
£120.00 |
|
|
|
|
Total |
£2,618.30 |
4) We are now paying £52.68 a month for emergency lighting testing and repair, £150 every 3 months for a full test. What company is carrying this out this work?
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October 4, 2010
Certificates of Actual Expenditure have arrived. These show how much a landlord will be charging for services provided, compared to how much was estimated. Mine have often been a nasty shock.
Surprisingly, this year mine is nearly half of the estimate. Others are less happy. I have been contacted for advice on going to Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. I have never been myself, and I am in no position to give legal advice. So I have been pointing people in the direction of the Leasehold Advisory Service.
I met Mr N Kissen from the Leasehold Advisory Service when he gave a presentation to the Leasehold Services Group that George Filer used to organise. Mr Kissen was very helpful and supportive.
I have asked Stevenage Homes for a breakdown of the costs behind the service charge. I am still looking through it.
As yet, I have not been sent next years estimates. [Update: I was sent these for this year back in March]
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