15 Apr 2008 - Letter sent to CMBC

We have today taken legal advice re the contracts offered for group  
 

repairs, the advice received confirms our concerns.
 

since Mark Thompson has had to cancel today’s meet with us I am  
 

writing to you to express our concerns because time is so short.
 

OWNER OCCUPATION CERTIFICATE
 

1) The full scheme buy in papers do not contain the list of works, we  
 

were promised. I would sign no contract that failed to specify what  
 

goods or services I would expect to receive.
 

2)Clause 2b mentions 'grant conditions’, this is not a grant.
 

3) clause 3 mentions 'conditions', these are not specified.
 

CONSENT FORM
 

Clause 1.4 implies a 6 month snagging period. In our last meeting on  
 

29th January, minutes of which have been sighed off by all CMBC  
 

Officer’s present a 12 year warrantee was offered and extensively discussed.
 

Last clause after 2.8 'Date of completion of group repair works' its  
 

not specified whether this is 5 years from completion of whole scheme or the street or the house, or the "certified date".
 

This clause allows for repayment of the councils contribution toward  
 

cost of the works,
 

  1)no sliding scale is included
 

  2) we were told in a list of written answers to questions that the  
 

maximum repayment would be 25% of cost.
 

  3) There is no clause for the implications of turning an owner  
 

occupied house into a rented one.
 

TYING IN WORKS
 

The list of works is vague. It does not for example specify if a roof  
 

window exists if it will be replaced.
 

SIGN UP
 

I have several serious concerns re the way Chris Green has been  
 

reported as behaving over getting these forms signed.
 

1) He has not been offering 3 options.
 

2) He has not been leaving householders with copies of the forms  
 

They’ve signed.
 

3) He is reported as telling one resident that it doesn’t matter if  
 

they sign because its there house and they don’t have to let the  
 

builder in. However the forms give consent for access.
 

4) He is reported as saying that if residents do not have funds to  
 

pay there contribution the council will make an arrangement to  
 

accept a lesser amount at a later date.
 

5) At the drop in meeting last Thursday John Wright was present  
 

having already told Chris that he was not willing to sign the forms  
 

yet, Chris left the town hall at around 4.30 pm only returning at  
 

6pm at which point john had a call from his wife who said Chris had  
 

been at the door asking her to sign there were only a small hand full of residents at the drop in, there is no way Chris can not have seen John.
 

6) Many of the residents of Harley Bank are vulnerable or have mental  
 

health problems it seems extremely unfair to try to rush people into  
 

this huge decision. The fact that there is an imminent deadline of  
 

builders being on site should not be material. There has been a 5  
 

year lead up to this and on September 29th 2007 we asked CMBC in  
 

writing for copies of these contracts so that we could seek legal  
 

advice, this request was not met.
 

To summarise these contracts are sloppy and inadequate, the behaviour  
 

of CMBCS Chris Green warrants an official complaint. HBCA is advising  
 

residents in the strongest possible terms to not sign.