GHA Hidden Charges Uncovered

Like peeling an onion, each time the LOCAL NEWS carries a story about Glasgow Housing Association, another layer of concern is revealed.

Last month we told how MSPs have written to the Scottish Housing Regulator to ask for an investigation into the finances of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA)

This month, house owners who are obliged to have GHA as their factor are discovering they have been charged a 6% management fee for overcladding, re-roofing and other external works done in the past two years and a 3% contingency fee.

‘I am appalled,’ said Alison Gallacher whose four in a block has been completed. ‘I am in dispute with GHA about the £7600 they have charged me for this work which was not necessary, but purely cosmetic.’

For two years I have been trying to get them to answer questions about the bill and provide me with warranties for the work done. I worked 50 hours a week to try to pay this off at more than £600 a month. Initially they wanted the whole amount to be paid within 14 days! But after eight months I ground to a halt and couldn’t do it any more,’ said the administrator. She has now put the issue into dispute and has held back a large portion of the bill on her Sandyhills home, until she has acceptable answers.

‘Because I’m trying to find answers to the questions myself – I’ve discovered my bill includes a management fee of 6% I knew nothing about and a 3% charge for ‘contingencies’ which I knew nothing about. Both with 17.5% VAT on top. A lot of people have been bullied into paying these enormous bills but a lot of working people – like me – are questioning the bills and asking for a breakdown of the costs.’

One letter Alison sent to GHA in December 2007 was only responded to in October 2008 and enclosed a copy of a letter GHA claimed had been sent to her in May 2008, apologising for the ‘long delay in responding.’

Said Alison: ‘I never received a letter from GHA in May. They are claiming a management fee but all they are managing to do is put people into debt.’

An East End home owner who is also upset following work on her four-in-a-block home, told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘The work has been grossly overpriced and does not represent good value for money. Charging a percentage management fee on every property is wrong. We will never see the contingency money again and my bill of £12,000 is fully 50% more than the average they quoted on literature they sent out last year.’ She added: ‘GHA are not being open with me. The lack of information is upsetting and the whole experience is very, very stressful.’

To ease the stress, Glasgow Save Our Homes Campaign meets on the first and third Thursday of each month at 7pm in the Quality Hotel (formerly the Central Hotel) Gordon Street at Glasgow Central Station.

‘We believe it is illegal not to put a management fee on an invoice,’ said Sean Clerkin who leads the Campaign. ‘Using GHA’s own figures of £14,000 as the average bill for overcladding/re-roofing, we estimate GHA is taking in £21 million on the management fee alone. We think it is tantamount to fraud that the management and contingency fees have been deliberately hidden from home owners till now.’

The Campaign invited members to start a non-payment campaign in December last year. Now they are targeting MSPs with complaints about the GHA bills.

Glasgow MSP Robert Brown, has taken up the issue. A senior civil partner in a prominent law firm before he was elected to the Scottish Parliament, he is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Justice and serves on the Justice Committee and the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

‘When I was in legal practice, Any agent acting for a principal was obliged to put that management fee on their accounts. The idea, therefore, of a hidden management charge on GHA accounts is not satisfactory. A contingency fee is normal but there is an argument that it could be seen as an ‘add on’. He told the LOCAL NEWS that he has ‘ongoing correspondence with the Scottish Housing Regulator and GHA.’ He said: ‘I welcome GHA’s attempts to be more transparent and to provide more comprehensive and comprehensible bills. But on the current situation GHA has pretty poor customer relations.’

In response to questions from the LOCAL NEWS on the management and contingency fees on the overcladding bills, GHA issued the following statement:

‘We’re fully committed to improving transparency in all our communications including those with home owners. Last month, for the first time, we issued itemised bills to owners, which give the detail behind the costs of investment works. We charge a modest project management fee because we do not believe that tenants should underwrite costs for homeowners. Our charge of 6% is significantly lower than that of many factors – 10-12% is more common. We are improving homeowner feedback on the quality of work and we intend to provide much more information on repairs and maintenance when a new contract comes into force next year.’

 

* Do you have an issue with GHA, especially on bills for overcladding? If so, contact the LOCAL NEWS on : localnews@btconnect.com or send a brief outline of your situation to The Editor, The LOCAL NEWS, Yam Publications Ltd, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8QD.

Citizens Advice Staff Are All Ears

The team at the Citizens Advice Direct office on Bell Street is now fully trained to deal with calls from people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The office deals with between 600 and 900 calls a week and the team of 13 staff and 55 volunteers are now proficient in the use of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, RNID, Typetalk telephone system. Typetalk connects people who cannot speak or hear by phone with other people through a text-to-voice and voice-to-text relay service. Joe Forrest, who has been operations manager at the office since it opened in November 2004 told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘Out team are far more confident in dealing with Typetalk calls from deaf or speech impaired people. Talking more slowly and asking more succinct questions are among the things we have had to look at.’ Trainers from RNID visited the Glasgow branch to provide on the spot training. The Citizens Advice Direct service differs from a traditional Citizens Advice Bureau as it deals with both telephone and face to face appointments with customers. To access the Typetalk service call the office on 0844 848 9600 with the prefix 18001. The office is open Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm.

Factors to be investigated

The office of fair trading (OFT) has announced a major investment into property factoring in Scotland.

This follows evidence gathered by the Scottish consumer council during a survey of 134 homeowners in Dennistoun.

The study will consider issues such as how much choice and information is available to home owners, how property managers are selected, the quality and costs of the services and redress when things go wrong.

Heather Clayton, OFT Senior Director of infrastructure said:’ This study will take a detailed look at Scottish property management services, consider how well they are working for home owners, and take a view on any recommendation which might bring positive outcomes for consumers in Scotland.’

Sean Clerkin from the Save our Home Campaign said:’ We welcome this investigation and hope that they will take a close look at Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) too. If GHA’s property factoring division has nothing to hide then it will have nothing to fear from this investigation. We will contribute evidence to the study.’

The Campaign alleges the GHA uses bullying tactics, including the threat of court action against homeowners with whom they are in dispute. There are around 100,000 homes in Glasgow which receive services from factors for communal insurance, repairs and maintenance.

Campaign launched against budget cuts and loss of 28 jobs

Westminster MP Mohammad Sarwar has launched a campaign to save Glasgow Science Centre.

Around 28 jobs will be lost at the Southside complex because the Centre’s £1.754 million budget has been cut to £1.415m this year with more reductions planned.

Claiming the cuts amounted to 40%,  Mr Sarwar said: ‘This is a quarter of the 120 staff. The centre is a prestigious facility and very important in promoting science. We shall be challenging the Scottish Government to reconsider its plans. These cuts are contrary to the SNP’s commitment to tackling poor interest in science in our schools.’

Outside the iconic riverside building, he and a cohort of Labour MSPs, Councillors, Lib Dem supporters and Unite trade union representatives released news of their online campaign. In the following 48 hours, 22 people had signed the petition. Almost half the names were of those at the launch.

Mark Hughes, a Community Liaison Officer at the Glasgow Science Centre since 2001 and their Unite Trade Union representative said; ‘We are devastated that so many people will lose their jobs. Staff morale is very low. The Government’s review only looked at visitor numbers and has ignored the invaluable outreach work which benefits 70,000 people Scotland-wide, including some of the most remote and deprived areas.’

Glasgow Lib Dem, MNSP Robert Brown added: ‘This is a short sighted action on behalf of the Scottish Government. Publicly they claim they support the science centres and have increased funding for the four in Scotland. But they have actually decreased support from £1.7m to £1.08m, which shows their hypocrisy.’

Vital

Govan Councillor Stephen Dornan said: ‘The Science Centre is the jewel in the crown of Govan. We are really unhappy that this important and vital service could be lost.’

Kirk Ramsay, Glasgow Science Centre’s Chief Executive announced the job cuts as the Centre reached its seventh birthday. He said: ‘We will be forced to streamline our operations to safeguard our core mission of education.’ But as funding is set to dip even further over a three-year period, it is likely further changes will have to be made. ‘This is a very sad day for Glasgow and for the talented staff who have worked tirelessly to promote science and who now face an uncertain future,’ he said.

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