Statutory repair firms ‘overcharge by £13.5m’
City Council HQ
HOME-OWNERS and businesses in Edinburgh have been overcharged by £13.5 million for repairs carried out under the city’s statutory notice system, it was claimed today.
And according to one senior councillor, that could be an under-estimate.
Police and independent accountants are carrying out separate investigations into alleged corruption, mismanagement and incompetence at the city council department which runs the statutory repairs scheme.
More than 650 complaints have been received and the number of cases is forecast to top 1000.
The first “working estimate” of the total amount of overcharging is based on a figure of ten per cent of the value of building repairs contracts since 2005.
But former Labour council leader Ewan Aitken suggested the figure could be even higher.
He said: “I have for a long time been very worried about the scale of the problem, particularly as if this is either illegality or incompetence or both, it is a huge sum for the council to have to bear. I’m concerned that this is a conservative estimate. I and my colleagues are getting almost daily complaints from constituents.”
Under Edinburgh’s statutory notice scheme, the council can hire contractors to carry out essential repair work on private property then send the bill to the owners.
But the system has been at the centre of controversy for more than a year amid allegations of fraud and corruption.
Council workers have been accused of cosying up to contractors, accepting bribes and favouring certain building companies for lucrative jobs, while contractors face accusations of hiking up final bills by as much as 20 times the original estimate, charging for fictional or sub-standard work and completing work that did not need to be done.
Over the past year, around 19 council workers across two departments – the property conservation department, which deals with residential property, and the property repair department, which deals with council buildings such as libraries, schools and care homes – were suspended.
Last month it emerged that four members of staff had been sacked from their roles in the department, while others remain suspended.
Council bosses have warned it could take up to two years to complete their investigations after pledging to examine every single complaint.
A city council spokesman said he did not recognise the ten per cent figure for the overcharging estimate and said the inquiries were ongoing.
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The auld lies will nae wash any mair
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 11:38 PMThis scandal started under Labour who set up the unit involved and had been ongoing for years under Labour before the present co-alition Council came into power in 2007, so no amount of ducking a weaving by Labour will let them off the hook on this one.
BRING BACK THE OLD WEBSITE
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 10:30 PMFacebook page : Edinburgh Residents for Statutory Notice Repair. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Help page: http:www.statnotice.info - this web page contains a complaint template------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Extract from affected owners meeting below shows just how out of control costs got --------------------------------------------------------- During the evening 57 people attending the meeting tonight kindly shared details of how much their initial quotes and final bills have been. The total amount for these 57 people’s shares of statutory notice repair bills was £414,237.21 for the initial quote and £1,161,436.29 for the final bill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When these amounts were calculated for the total amounts for all 57 properties (not just one flat’s share), the initial quote amount comes to £4,783,078.01 and the final bill total comes to £13,623,752.41. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BBC and the Scotsman would like to talk to residents with compelling stories about being affected by statutory notices. You can email Lisa Summers, a News Reporter from BBC Scotland at lisa.summers@bbc.co.uk. Fiona Walker is the Investigations Reporter on the BBC 1 programme last week. Her email address is fiona.walker@bbc.co.uk. Victoria Raimes is a Crime Reporter from the Edinburgh Evening News who was also at the meeting tonight. You can contact her on 0131 620 8741 or email her at vraimes@scotsman.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WAS TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE : http:www.statnotice.info
Jaded 1
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 09:49 PMMaybe someone could correct me if I'm wrong here - but isn't it the case that a statutory notice is only issued when the owners who share the responsibility for maintenance fail to agree on private repairs (usually due to a minority failing to comply - often landlords of rented properties). It was always known that if it was left to a statutory repair notice that the bill would be MUCH higher and that this was to 'encourage' owners to reach agreement.....
BRING BACK THE OLD WEBSITE
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 07:21 PMFACEBOOK SITE ------- EDINBURGH RESIDENTS FOR STATUTORY NOTICE REFORM
BRING BACK THE OLD WEBSITE
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 07:18 PM10% - RUBBISH- THIS IS JUST WISHFUL THINKING BY THE COUNCIL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A MEETING OF AFFECTED RESIDENTS SHOWS JUST HOW BAD THE SITUATION IS - PLEASE FIND EXTRACT OF MEETING BELOW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the evening 57 people attending the meeting tonight kindly shared details of how much their initial quotes and final bills have been. The total amount for these 57 people’s shares of statutory notice repair bills was £414,237.21 for the initial quote and £1,161,436.29 for the final bill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When these amounts were calculated for the total amounts for all 57 properties (not just one flat’s share), the initial quote amount comes to £4,783,078.01 and the final bill total comes to £13,623,752.41. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BBC and the Scotsman would like to talk to residents with compelling stories about being affected by statutory notices. You can email Lisa Summers, a News Reporter from BBC Scotland at lisa.summers@bbc.co.uk. Fiona Walker is the Investigations Reporter on the BBC 1 programme last week. Her email address is fiona.walker@bbc.co.uk. Victoria Raimes is a Crime Reporter from the Edinburgh Evening News who was also at the meeting tonight. You can contact her on 0131 620 8741 or email her at vraimes@scotsman.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WAS TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE : http:www.statnotice.info
BRING BACK THE OLD WEBSITE
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 07:17 PM10% - THIS IS JUST WISHFUL THINKING BY THE COUNCIL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A MEETING OF AFFECTED RESIDENTS SHOWS JUST HOW BAD THE SITUATION IS - PLEASE FIND EXTRACT OF MEETING BELOW. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the evening 57 people attending the meeting tonight kindly shared details of how much their initial quotes and final bills have been. The total amount for these 57 people’s shares of statutory notice repair bills was £414,237.21 for the initial quote and £1,161,436.29 for the final bill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When these amounts were calculated for the total amounts for all 57 properties (not just one flat’s share), the initial quote amount comes to £4,783,078.01 and the final bill total comes to £13,623,752.41. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BBC and the Scotsman would like to talk to residents with compelling stories about being affected by statutory notices. You can email Lisa Summers, a News Reporter from BBC Scotland at lisa.summers@bbc.co.uk. Fiona Walker is the Investigations Reporter on the BBC 1 programme last week. Her email address is fiona.walker@bbc.co.uk. Victoria Raimes is a Crime Reporter from the Edinburgh Evening News who was also at the meeting tonight. You can contact her on 0131 620 8741 or email her at vraimes@scotsman.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WAS TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE : http:www.statnotice.info
Beelzebub's amanuensis
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 07:17 PMEdinburgh's is the only Scottish council that can carry out works without the owners' consent. This ruling needs to be abolished, leaving only a sanction on listed buildings.
leithforme
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 07:09 PMit's going to ed up a lot more than 13.5 million, this will bankrupt Edinburgh Council, that's if the trams don't do it first!
judgedredd777
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 06:32 PMWhat a "Comedy of Errors" reported by the Edinburgh Evening News Desparate Dan Reporters. Reporting of "Hear no Evil, See no Evil"
noodle doodle
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 01:52 PM10 per cent? My derriere. If it was just 10 per cent no-one would be moaning, it's the cases of 10 TIMES and the much more common 50% and doubling of initial estimates that have started this off.
Afredo Garcia
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 01:42 PMBurns has got a nerve. Someone please remind us all which party had been controlling Edinburgh for decades, dumped trams without a proper business plan or consultation, which party conducted the sale of playing fields, public land and common good assets at every turn. Which party purchased the the Royal High School for use as the Scottish Parliament and which party frittered £400 million on a leaky, pigeon encrusted vanity building at Holyrood.?
Sally Longlegs
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 01:04 PMI wonder if cardownie is involved here somewhere
SlyFifer
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 01:03 PMOn-going Police inverstigations ?. Really. Just how long does it take to realise that the whole system was a sham and a money making backhanding game which has lasted for years. Just a few token examples is all it would take to zero in on criminality.
judgedredd777
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 12:47 PMComment removed by moderator
Scottish Dross Destroyer
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 12:28 PMWhen is the Evening News going to do some proper INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM about this scandal - instead of sitting back and waiting for some councillor or other to drip feed generic statements about what's going on?
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