Service Charge Campaign

The Association is currently campaigning for more involvement in setting the service charge and having a say in the way that services on the estate are run.

May update:

RA reps met GT on 21 April and here is a summary of what was discussed...

Service Charge Reduction

Following the Association's motion at its last Estates meeting, the GT have agreed to write off £21,289 deficit from 2008/9 which we are currently paying this year. This is a very positive move by GT and is worth £2.40 of the residents' service charge. They are currently looking at how to apply the write off and we hope to have news for the next estates meeting on 1 June.

Communications

Agreed that we find a local solution to service charge communications as it may be too difficult to influence national and regional GT standards.
Koddus will work up revised local service charge comms documents and agree with RA reps in time to offer drafts (one or more versions) for approval at the estates meeting following that scheduled for 1 June. Documents to be ready at least one week prior to the meeting.

Resident engagement in service provision

Agreed that both parties want the following outcome – a clearly understood and workable process that allows residents to shape and oversee service provision on the estate.
RA reps to draft process and forward to GT for your review. Once agreed the proposed service will be be taken to estates meeting for RA endorsement. We hope this would also be for the estates meeting following that scheduled for 1 June.

Scrutiny of budgets

Koddus to work up quarterly budget update format for residents which will be circulated to all flats two weeks prior to an estates meeting at which it will be an agenda item. Draft report to be agreed with RA reps and then submitted to RA meeting for endorsement.

See below our previous correspondence with the Guinness Trust on this topic, most recent on top

Excellent, the community hall is booked and we look forward to meeting with you soon.

Kind regards

Nahide Cook

From: Andrew Coombes
Sent: 31 March 2010 22:34
To: NAHIDE.COOK
Cc: singlepoint
Subject: RE: Stage1ResponseLetter

Hi Nahide

Roger and I can make 21 April at 6.30pm so suggest we provisionally fix that and confirm with Karen later. Can we leave it to you and Koddus to book the Iveagh Court room for this?

Regards

Andrew

Dear Andrew

Thank you for your email. Please note that Ebonie is on maternity leave and I report to Phil Maybey.

Further to our previous communication and the inaugural meeting of Aldgate Estate Residents Association, Koddus and I are happy to meet with you and other Volunteers. You have previously informed me that you, Roger Jones and Karen Walker will be available on Wednesdays from 5pm. If this is still the case, I propose to meet next Wednesday 7th April at 5pm at Aldgate Community Hall. Alternatively, please let me have further dates.

I have forwarded your suggestions on the format of the service charge letter to our Finance Team and I can inform you that we are quite positive to adopting them. If I hear of any more developments on this, I will bring it to our meeting next Wednesday.

I have also attached the recent letter and leaflet that was sent to all the residents explaining the changes in the service charges. I look forward to meeting with you and other Volunteers soon.

Kind regards

Nahide Cook

From: Andrew Coombes
Sent: 26 March 2010 01:07
To: ebonie.marrett (guinness)
Cc: singlepoint; nahide.cook (guinness); phil.maybey (guinness); michael.bear; henry.jones; delis.regis; ian.burleigh; nick.cressey
Subject: RE: Stage1ResponseLetter

Dear Ebonie


I am afraid things have not progressed as we had hoped when we received your letter of 20 January. A quick review of the time line may help you understand our frustration. On 9 November last year we wrote to John Slade in response to his service charge notice to all tennants. We sought to be involved in consultation on the setting of the service charge. We received no response for over a month and only after pursuing the matter through your compliants procedure did we finally get any response at all. In fact, we had to wait until late January to recieve what we considered at the time to be a satisfactory response - a promise to deliver on our right to consultation over the service charge "as soon as possible". So far nearly three months had elapsed.

Since then, however, whilst Nahide Cook was in touch with us to seek dates for a meeting on 11 February and we did responded with our suggestions on 14 February, we have heard absolutely nothing since. That is well over a month now and in the meantime we have received notice that our service charge is to be increased by 160% with no consultation at all. We are now nearly 5 months on since we first wrote.

We maintain that we are entitled to be consulted on the services provided and charged for on this estate and that this is particularly so when the charge is increased by such a significant amount. Could you please now advise whether the Guinness Trust will recognise and act on this entitlement in a timely fashion.

Regards

Andrew Coombes
on behalf of the Aldagte Estate Residents' Association

From: Andrew Coombes
Sent: 15 February 2010 21:35
To: nahide.cook
Cc: koddus.miah; singlepoint; Karen Walker
Subject: RE: Service Charge Meeting

Dear Nahide

Our preference for a meeting is either early evening, say 5pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday or early morning, say 8-10am on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday. A week's notice of your preferred time would help us to make arrangements around our jobs.

Karen Walker and Roger Jones are interested in attending as well as me.

I would expect the agenda to cover the items at issue in our correspondence with Ebonie:

1. The format of the service charge letter/notification.
2. Agreeing and documenting a consultation process that allows residents to shape and agree to the services provided and charged for by GT

If there is anything in particular you would like to bring to these discussions or materials you would like to review with us, it would be good to have those in advance of the meeting.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Regards

Andrew

From: NAHIDE.COOK
Sent: 11 February 2010 17:42
To: Andrew Coombes; SinglePoint@AldgateTA.com
Cc: KODDUS.MIAH
Subject: Service Charge Meeting

Dear Andrew

I am writing further to Ebonie Marrett’s letter dated 20th January 2010 to arrange a meeting that is mutually convenient to go through the items as listed in Ebonie’s letter. Would you please let me have your and other members’ availability as well as any agenda items in advance? If this is possible, I will be able to ask a member of our Service Charge team to come along to our meeting. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

Nahide Cook
Housing Manager – Guinness Trust and Guinness Midsummer

(links to PDF files:)

GT Reply sent 20 January

Our Reply to GT sent 1 January

GT Reply sent 17 December

Our Letter sent 10 November