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PENDLETON TOGETHER PFI PAYS RESIDENTS JUST £1 FOR LOSS OF BATH IN SALFORD
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Star date: 12th September 2014 FOLLOWING PENDLETON RESIDENTS COMPLAINTS, KEEPMOAT OFFERS £1 FOR LOSS OF BATH Pendleton residents at Whitebeam Court have been offered just £1 per day for being left without washing facilities and £2 per day for being left without cooking facilities during the major PFI refurbishment of their homes. Residents of both Whitebeam Court and Spruce Court have been living for months in what is essentially a building site, with the Salford Star reporting recently that one 73 year old was left for weeks living on sandwiches after his cooker had been disconnected. Full details here...
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After residents of Whitebeam Court complained about the conditions they have been living in for months during the PFI refurbishment of their homes, builders Keepmoat issued a newsletter which offers just £1 per day for those left without washing facilities, and £2 per day for those who have no cooking facilities. Keepmoat are `modernising' 1,250 homes as part of the £650million Pendleton Together scheme which also has Salford City Council as a partner. And residents in the first two tower blocks the company has begun refurbishing have complained of disruption, delays and shoddy workmanship which has left many disgusted and annoyed. As reported in the Salford Star, one 73 year old resident from Whitebeam Court was left eating sandwiches for weeks while his cooker was disconnected (see previous Salford Star article click here), while yesterday another resident from Spruce Court complained of a lack of daylight and excessive vibrations from generators that was making him ill (see previous Salford Star article click here). Since the original Star article appeared, Keepmoat has issued a newsletter with a `Compensation Scheme' `helping you through the changes to your home'... The scheme, firstly, offers help with cooking, washing and heating but where provision of temporary facilities cannot be met, the company offers just £1 per day for those `left without provision of temporary washing facilities' and £2 per day for those `left without provision of temporary cooking facilities' with a big asterisk adding `the above is only payable where you have confirmed you require the temporary services in place'. The offer was branded by one resident as a joke... "If they leave you and your family with no way to cook for 24hours you get £2. And if they leave you and your family with no way to bath for 24hours you also get £1 it's greed, stupidity and ignorance, all in one" he said. Meanwhile, Keepmoat is offering one-off payments of £50 towards firing up its NIBE heating system which `can take a few weeks to begin running at optimum levels'. One resident from Spruce Court told the Salford Star that the system had cost him £100 for just two weeks power, and now keeps it switched off, preferring to use a kettle to shower (see here). The compensation system also covers damage by workmen to belongings where, Keepmoat will look to either repair or replace damaged items, if the claim is reported within 24 hours and is validated by the company. In response to what they call `the seemingly unmanaged Keepmoat demolition squads', residents have formed the Whitebeam Community Action Group. Its first newsletter doesn't hold back its punches... Under the headline, Keepmoat Damage Your Goods and Furniture and You Pay For It?, it states "seems like the old `your cheque is in the post' promise in still being played by Keepmoat. All you have to do is buy new furniture and anything else they have destroyed, then, if you have acceptable (to KM) full receipts KM might pay you. It is strongly recommended that all work in your home is stopped until full payment is made or guaranteed by letter..." The newsletter also advises that "Those who are elderly, disabled, or at high risk of injury or mentally disabled, are entitled to a decant, by law. It does not matter if your Landlord states they cannot afford to decant you; or if they say they do not have enough places to move you into, it is your civil and legal right to be decanted if the ongoing works is likely to affect your health, either mentally or physically..." For many in the blocks complaining of the refurbishment affecting their physical and mental health over the past months of the Keepmoat `demolition squads' this might be too late...but then there's always that £1 bath compensation to look forward to.
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Paul Kane wrote
at 13:29:00 on 29 November 2014 |
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| I live on Spruce. A small question: Has anyone else had the experience of Keepmoat workers cutting a perfectly working BT phone line while doing the rewiring part of the refurbishment? I ask because the BT engineer who came to fix my line yesterday said he'd seen it before, a few times. According to Keepmoat, they will reimburse the £129.99 that BT will now charge me for getting it fixed - well, we'll see. Meanwhile, I have been without a working phone for over a month. |
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Tahir Chakotai wrote
at 07:12:43 on 13 September 2014 |
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| P.s. Just a quickie to inform all tenants, who are subject to the refurbishment works, "That the maximum time period a Landlord can leave you without hot water, or washing facilities is 10 working days". If the refurbishment/building company exceeds this time frame, they must, regardless of age, disability, creed, color, or background pay either a sum of compensation, which is usually "1 months rent", or an offer for alternative accommodation until such works to your bathroom are completed. This is not a service the Salford Council can negotiate or deny, as it forms part of Mandatory Housing Legislation which is set by Government, not Local Housing Bodies. If your are denied such services, then I strongly recommend that you use the services of Stephensons Solicitors, as they specialise in such cases. As always, good luck, from an Independent Tenants Advocate, Tahir Chakotai. |
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Tahir Chakotai wrote
at 07:12:28 on 13 September 2014 |
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| I am delighted that someone listened and read my statement concerning who are eligible for Decanting. Most Salford Council owned properties are filled with up 67% of services users. Most of these people, for whatever reason, are deemed by society as vulnerable. This could be because of their age, mental or physical disabilities, behavioural, or mental health concerns. All of those who are deemed "Vulnerable" should be decanted, as major disturbances in their services or routine could be damaging to their health. I am willing to bet that the PFI or building company in charge have not decanted all of these people, thus breaching the Equality Act of 2010, which is a direct breach in Civil Law. It was only towards the end of the refurbishment to Canon Hussey Court, that I was made aware that I could have been Decanted. I am a mentally and physically disabled person, and broke my hip and legs on two occasions, because there was no lift service. This has left me with permanent physical disabilities. Salford Council also refused to Decant me to a property that met my disabled needs, so what they offered was an open gesture. I received a letter from a Mr. R. Wilson, whom worked for the Salford Council Joint Legal Team, in May 2011 which clearly states that all vulnerable adults have to be Decanted if a major refurbishment takes place within their tower block. It also stated that the offer is made to the tenants automatically, and there should be no reason for refusing such a service to vulnerable adults. Therefore either a City Council Solicitor lied to the Local Ombudsman and a Magistrates Judge, or the Salford Council is disregarding Housing , Equality, and Civil Law, by not supplying such services to vulnerable adults. Now we come to washing facilities. When I had my disability adaptations fitted in my bathroom, I was left with two options. The first was to use a commode and wash myself down in the kitchen sink, or I could be Decanted for 10 days to the Ibis Hotel on Trafford Road, Salford Quays, which has a Disability Suite. I chose to be out up in the Ibis Hotel. Therefore I created a President, as the Laws surrounding Equality states that every vulnerable adult has access to the same services. Therefore the Salford Council has to provide this service for anyone who is vulnerable or disabled, who is having their bathroom either remodelled, or refitted. I have been transferred to the Ibis Hotel, which was fabulous, because of such disturbances, as a disabled/vulnerable adult, therefore The Equality Act 2010 clearly states "what is done for one disabled person, must be done for all". To disregard this service to others, is an Equality breach, and those involved can either be fined, or in some rare cases, be imprisoned. So why have I mentioned all of this? Well I am willing to bet that putting 30 or 40 vulnerable adults in a hotel, will cost a lot more than £2 a day. So if the companies/organisations involved don't increase there offer of compensation to something more reasonable, then you can request that they put you in a hotel until such time your bathrooms/wash facilities can be resumed/reinstated. That should effectively resolve the problems experienced by Vulnerable Adults whom are living in a tower block that is currently being refurbished. Lots of luck from an Independent Tenants Advocate, Mr. Tahir Chakotai |
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Bah Humbug wrote
at 07:08:21 on 13 September 2014 |
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| I wish I could have free refurbished kitchen and bathroom so I could moan about it.... |
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