Connect, Inform, Organize and Respond
I received notification just before Christmas that the final correction from last years Service Charge was £4.45. Mind you this goes to all leaseholders in the block.
I suppose the question is was it worth it? Probably not, But other years it certainly has been.
There has been no corresponding reduction in my standing order as yet. Hopefully it will be reduced this month.
This was the response that I received from Stevenage Homes to my quires. To be fair to Stevenage Homes I received this on 22 October 2010. I have been a bit busy over Christmas so have not had time to post.
Comments from Stevenage Homes are in Red.
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. <
Our estimate is based on the previous 2 actual expenditure calculations + a percentage increase for RPI. However this year we have also calculated hourly rates specifically for Saturdays and Sundays rather than charge the caretaking and cleaning to tower blocks at the same weekday rate irrespective. There was a total of 858 hours 14 minutes spent at The Towers during the financial year.
Also an allowance is made to each flat block to cover the caretakers undertaking the following duties throughout the year:
Dose this extra costs stem from any incidence where we have been charged for? No.
2) From the itemised bill – non-fire alarm system related, please see questions in column 1
| Question | Order Ref | Raised | Comp | Description | Inv |
| Could you please explain what this is for
This is the annual charge for monitoring the red care line which covers all fire alarms, lift alarms and careline alarms. It ensures that the relevant emergency service is alerted to attend the block |
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 This is related to works order 565592/1 where Caswells were asked to remove 2 external cement panels located on the ground floor close to the stores. | 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. The actual works order states 10 x 2D lamps were replaced. I am removing the charge for the 3 garage lamps – £129.40 divide 10 = £12.94 x 3 = £38.82 to be credited. |
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 I am unable to find out any further information on this so I will remove the charge. |
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.
The leak you are referring to was in 2008 – all charges relating to this were removed from the repairs list for 2008/09. As I recall it was not that SH were not prepared to fix the leak but we had many problems gaining access to the flat. Broken appointments etc. |
594258/2 | 30/10/2009 | 06/11/2009 | please clear communal flaking ceiling. fill up holes & paint ceiling 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.
County Fire Services attended the block – see scanned copy invoice attached. This is their standard call out fee for calls between 5pm – 8am or for weekends or Bank Holidays. |
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. All the work was to the structure of the building such as making good damaged brickwork on floors 4, 6 and 10. Blocking up redundant flue holes on floors 8, 9 and 11. Replace missing window vents on floors 7 & 12 and replace broken clip for lighting conductor on floor 10. This was the ideal opportunity for these works to be carried out without the additional expense of us having to have scaffolding erected. |
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 Is this not the same a question 2 above?
The monthly emergency lighting check was initially carried out by County Fire Services but now our building maintenance operatives do this job. County Fire Services carry out the quarterly fire alarm testing.
| Question | Order Ref | Raised | Comp | Description | Inv |
| Monthly test – May | 569305/1 | 11/05/2009 | 12/05/2009 | emergency light testing and repair | £50.00 |
| Quarterly test | 575069/1 | 15/06/2009 | 19/06/2009 | carry out full fire alarm test and inspect log book | £150.00 |
| Monthly test – June | 575324/1 | 16/06/2009 | 25/06/2009 | emergency light testing and repair | £50.00 |
| What do we get for this?
This is the annual lightning conductor test. It ensures that if The Towers is struck by lightning, the charge goes straight to earth instead of knocking out individuals electrical equipment. |
575639/1 | 17/06/2009 | 29/09/2009 | lighting protection & report | £106.00 |
| Monthly test – July | 577298/1 | 29/06/2009 | 20/07/2009 | emergency light testing and repair | £50.00 |
| Monthly test – August | 583140/1 | 05/08/2009 | 24/08/2009 | emergency light testing and repair | £50.00 |
| Quarterly test | 569226/1 | 15/09/2009 | 29/09/2009 | full fire alarm test 31 /5/09 | £150.00 |
| Monthly test – September | 589227/1 | 15/09/2009 | 23/09/2009 | EMERGENCY LIGHT TESTING & REPAIR | £50.00 |
| £170 to replace an optical detector?
£120 of this charge is for the call out and £49.80 for the detector. As stated above the call out charge for evenings / weekends / bank holidays is £120 |
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?
Yes they did but we now do this ourselves. This was the final bill from CFS which was for Octobers test |
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?
SH started carrying out this monthly test – November |
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?
This call out took place during the day so was at the lesser call out rate of £60; the cost of the sensor replacement was £49.80. |
600038/1 | 19/11/2009 | 03/12/2009 | REPLACED DAMAGED SMOKE SENSOR ON 9TH FLOOR | £109.80 |
| Monthly test – December | 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? Yes – see scanned invoice attached. | 603948/1 | 11/12/2009 | 21/12/2009 | To attend emergency call out for fire alarm – replace smoke sensor, bases and batteries. |
£238.84 |
| Quarterly test | 604017/1 | 11/12/2009 | 17/12/2009 | full fire alarm test | £150.00 |
| Renewed 2 x bulkhead light fittings and overhauled 2 x fluorescent lights | 604777/1 | 16/12/2009 | 05/01/2010 | to carry out emergency lighting repairs extra work (reported by inspector) | £143.74 |
| See scanned invoice attached | 607538/1 | 06/01/2010 | 07/01/2010 | To attend emergency call out -9th floor test key broken | £109.80 |
| Required to check battery back up pack | 607657/1 | 06/01/2009 | 19/01/2009 | TESTING: THREE MONTHLY TEST EMERGENCY LIGHTING Discharge |
£52.68 |
| As stated | 608109/1 | 08/01/2010 | 26/02/2009 | CARRY OUT FULL FIRE ALARM TEST – NEXT DUE MARCH 2010 | £150.00 |
| Already queried in (2) above – copy inv attached as previously stated | 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? Call out fee + charge for optical detector. Night time call out rate. | 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 |
| Monthly test – February | 613634/1 | 08/02/2010 | 19/02/2009 | TESTING: MONTHLY TEST EMERGENCY LIGHTING | £52.68 |
| Call out + sensor | 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 |
| Call out + sensor – see attached scanned invoice | 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? See attached scanned invoice | 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 |
At the last Leaseholders’ Forum I asked question in writing. I wanted to know:
If an item is successfully queried by a leaseholder in a block, do all leaseholder receive the refund?
I asked this because I had never been credited with any refunds apart form ones due to queries I had asked for myself. Ann Hensley emailed me back with the following:
I am emailing to confirm that if an item of repair is removed from the listing as a result of anyone querying the matter with Stevenage Homes, all leaseholders in the block receive the reduction in their charge and an accompanying letter explaining the decision, the amount of the reduction and its effect on their service charge account balance.
So there is no need for the same queries to be made by everyone in a block. It might be worth spreading the load.
Lucy Johnson has copied me her email correspondence with Ann Hensley. She thought it might be useful for other leaseholders to read the exchange.
From Ann Hensley:
I am now able to respond to your further queries regarding the charges applied to flat block for 2009/10.
I will start with the repairs.
1. Underground leak. I received more detailed information on what had to be done to resolve the underground leak. Two men had to excavate to a depth of three feet through solid concrete to locate the leak. They also found that the stopcock to the block was leaking as well. Both leaks were repaired, the drain was reinstated as well as a new gully and the stopcock box and chamber were reinstated as was the manhole cover and paving. The surrounding area was backfilled and all excavations were made good. All resulting debris was removed.
This work took 3.25 days for two operatives; also included in the cost were the materials.
Once I received this information I telephoned React Fast who had given you the quote of £549 + VAT, asking them to quote on the above. They advised me that they do not ever carry out work on flat blocks as the pipes are shared by all residents. She stated that the quote given to you was on the understanding that it was a house and this was their basic quote and that the quote only included work to locate and resolve one leak; additional leaks would incur additional charges. And that once the leak was repaired they would not carry out any work to fill in the hole left behind. This would be the responsibility of the home owner.
In view of this I feel that the charge levied for this work by our contractors was reasonable.
2. Blocked guttering. This work took 2 men as ladders were required and took 2 hours to resolve. The gutters were cleaned out and then flushed through to ensure that the blockage was gone. The charges are from a nationally used schedule of rates.
3. Bin room light. The light switch was renewed on 12.11.09 following a report that the light could not be turned off. A further report was received by either you or your husband on 25.11.09 again stating that the light was on all the time so our electrician returned to the block to check the situation. He found the switch in working order so no further work was required. The charge levied was for the inspection to the block.
4, caretaking / cleaning charge You also requested more detail on the caretaking / cleaning charge. I can advise that the block was blitz cleaned in April, July and September 2009 and again in January and March 2010. Fly tipping was removed in August 2009. A total of 12 hours and 24 minutes was spent at this flat block. Also an allowance is made to each flat block to cover the caretakers undertaking the following duties throughout the year:
- Regular vehicle checks
- Attending meetings
- Collecting stores
- Removing graffiti
- Caretakers BICSc training
- Estate walkabouts
- Paper work
- Putting up posters
- Unloading rubbish and putting Diesel in vans
- Clean ups/walkabouts
- Collecting water to do the cleans
The total for this is then divided between all blocks. Each block therefore has the same time apportioned to them.
I hope all this additional information has resolved your queries and once again invite you to become a key leaseholder for your flat block to help us to ensure that repairs and services carried out at the block are to a high standard.
Regards
Anne Hensley
Now Lucy’s reply on 03/11/2010
Anne,
I don’t feel that I received satisfactory response from Stevenage Homes regarding my enquiries.1. Underground leak
Stopcock -I have spoken with Veolia Water about the work done. They informed me that Stevenage Homes asked them to repair the stopcock so that they could repair the leaking pipe. Veolia Water have confirmed that the work was done and that because it was a mains stopcock and therefore their responsibility to repair, they did not charge Stevenage Homes for this repair. So how does Stevenge Homes count this as “1 leak” and charge me for it?As for the lengths of time taken, 2 men came and dug a hole, covered it with a board then disappeared for the day. They ame back the next day, spent a couple of hours working then disappeared again. On the third day they returned and filled the hole. Does this constitute 3.25 days of labour? In reality it was actually less than 1 day but spread out for 3.25 days to maximise the bill.
Michael says £1378 is reasonable. Let’s assumes that they used the most expensive concrete and pipe and it cost £378 that means the 2 workmen must be charging £153 each per day. Seems I wasted my time going to university! I could have just bought a spade and earned double.
React Fast – A quota is about how much they will charge on similar job, not that I would actually ask them to carry out the work. The fact is a random company I found from Yellow Page is half of what Stevenage Homes charged me for.
Please give me the exact breakdown of the cost, how much is spent on material and how much for the labour.
2. Blocked guttering
2 men 2 hours – so £52.07 an hour. How on earth do you think that a gutter cleaner gets £52.07 per hour is reasonable. Please explain.3. Bin room light
You apparently came to repair the light switch on 12/11/09, really don’t understand how would I reported a fault on 25/11/2009 even after you “repaired” it? Obviously the repair has not been done on 12/11/09.4. Caretaking
Fly tipping – have you tried to identify where the fly tipping come from? What is/are the item(s) that you removed?5.
It’s mentioned in the repair section on your website, “Once the work has been completed the worksperson will attempt to get one of the tenants in the block to agree that the work has been completed. They may not go back to the original tenant that reported the repair”. Please give me the details of whom in my block signed these work off(underground leak, blocked guttering, Bin room light & fly tipping), and I would like to see the scans of their signatures.6. Repair work for year 2010/11 so farDo you have any records of repairs carried out so far for year 2010/11? Please give me the details, especially the cost. I don’t want another nasty shock when I receive another bill.
7. Key leaseholder
“To receive and review periodic repairs reports” – Will you send to me the reports automatically if I am the key leaseholder? What do you mean of “periodic”? Every month? Every quarter?I do not feel Stevenage Homes offers any help to leaseholders or try to solve any problems that leaseholders have. Every enquiry is only about you defending Stevenage Homes rather than finding solutions.
I await your prompt response.
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