southwark council service charge

[VixSta]

Do you have details of the leaseholders association please? Either a website or contact details? I tried to get in contact with the Leaseholders Council but never got a reply to my email.

[sunshine sky]

Am asking a query on behalf of a friend. She received a letter at the end of September informing her that a very small (maybe 3/4 space) car park was going to be re tarmaced in 7 days. This 'car park' is permit only and serves a couple of hundred properties. No one especially uses it as all the local streets, including right outside her house, are free parking. Then she got a letter dated 3 days earlier informing her that there will be 'a moderate increase to your service charge to reflect this work' but 'I am unable to confirm what the increase to your bill will be at this time'. Is this allowed???? Is there any way to challenge it realistically or does she just have to pay whatever they demand without having any opportunity to challenge the works??

[farfisamania]

sunshine sky Wrote:

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> Is this allowed????

Up to a point. In general a landlord would be allowed to make an estimate at the start of the year and then adjust afterwards. However, if the value of the job was over ?250 per resident charged, they would be required to carry out separate consultation. As this doesn't always happen then in practice, as not all repairs are planned that far in advance, the repair recharge for that particular job would be capped at ?250 per resident.

> Is there any way to

> challenge it realistically or does she just have

> to pay whatever they demand without having any

> opportunity to challenge the works??

If the works haven't started yet she can demand to see surveys, quotes, estimates etc. It's where the works have already begun that you get problems!

Its also a good idea to get the name of the person in charge of the actual work ASAP and contact them. In my experience the person dealing with the actual bill will be helpful and possibly sympathetic but they have no say in what gets spent. Better to speak to the works manager and if she is very concerned about the projected cost then it can do no harm to copy a ward councillor in.

[fredbear]

This is the thread Leaseholder

[buddug]

So, Southwark Council's comedy cowboy builders are still active and creating havoc. Recently one morning, a scaffolder turned up at my flat, which unfortunately has Southwark as a freeholder, to my despair. It was only luck that I was in, so was able to turf him off, otherwise I'd have come back from work to find scaffolding put up - for no reason. I was not due for major works, and this was confirmed by the council, despite the scaffolder insisting he had the right address. No doubt I will be charged by these scaffolders for the 'work' in my next bill, as I always am for bogus jobs, which I will fight and win, yet again.

And not only that, several of my poor neighbours who were scheduled for major works are now complaining that their windows have been painted shut! They're unable to open them - just as previous posters have mentioned in other areas in East Dulwich. You could not make this up! What kind of painter paints windows shut?! Is Mears recruiting people off the streets? And where are Southwark's managers of works overseeing all this? Southwark Council housing department is not fit for purpose and a major investigation needs to be instigated.

[poppy-bees]

fredbear Wrote:

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> This is worth a listen "You and Yours" Radio 4

> Friday 6th nov about Southwark and the problem of

> Major works of two people

thanks for the tip, fredbear, I just rang You & yours, spoke to a producer who has sent me the links tot he programme and another similar story about leaseholder issues. If anyone wants me to share this with them I can

[Lenka.Z]

exactly the same happened to us, we told them that they must have the wrong house so they said that they will return later on once we have spoken to a council but 2-3 weeks no response form council, the person who is dealing with it is not even responding to any of our calls or voicemails and no sign of scaffolders either. It is a joke as the works are estimated to cost over 3k which is not cheap!!!

Anywhere else when you spend 3k or over would provide you with at least some sort of a good customer service but no... Southwark council do not, they just expect you to pay and pay quickly and if you question it or just make general enquiries they charge you extra for delays and are unresponsive and just ignore you! They are an absolute joke!!

[fredbear]

just managed to get back the cost of scaffolding that was supposed to have been used for a minor repair.Because we could prove that the contractors did not use scaffolding we got our money back.If there had been tenants in both flats no one would have known and southwark would have just paid the bill because they do not check what has been done

[Lenka.Z]

yes that is correct... in my last property on Ivanhoe Road council had a scaffolding on the house next door for almost a year, it was just sitting there and nothing was done... us as a leaseholders were most likely paying for this in and in our service charges it most likely noted as " street repair" or " block repairs" ....they only took it down because we were complaining and James had to get involved!!

[edhistory]

fredbear Wrote:

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> just managed to get back the cost of scaffolding

> that was supposed to have been used for a minor

> repair.Because we could prove that the contractors

> did not use scaffolding we got our money back.If

> there had been tenants in both flats no one would

> have known and southwark would have just paid the

> bill because they do not check what has been done

Is this fraud that needs to be reported to the police?

John K

[richard tudor]

By the scaffolders or Southwark for not being up to the job and accepting what they are told.

Seems like lack of experience to me. Kids doing a mans job