Building work carried out by council.

[rpjjuk2]

Lostinfens - getting mad and ranting and raving will get me nowhere with the council. The council have a policy that says they can refuse to deal with someone that they say has made too many complaints, has made unreasonable complaints or has been in anyway that they consider to be abusive. I have made other complaints about other departments in this council and have proved my case. In some cases I have been given compensation.
Example:
Recently the council were giving women over sixty and men over sixty five, a rebate on council tax of £60. I challenged this on the grounds of discrimination. The council were told that they had to pay men over sixty as well. I phoned the number they printed in the local paper and asked for a claim form. Two weeks later, and very close to the deadline for claims, I again phoned and asked for a claim form. A week later I phoned my local councillor and asked him if he could help. He had a word with the department concerned, phoned me back, and said that a form was on its way.
When I got home the next day there was a form from Royal Mail in my letter box. The form said that they had an item for me that had been sent with no postage paid and I had to collect it from my local sorting office. The form also said there was 44p postage and a surcharge of £1 to pay. I had no idea what this could be so went and collected the item. I paid the £1:44p and when I opened the letter it contained the form from the council.
The council do not like being proved wrong and would expect that my name is probably on some sort of blacklist by now.
This is why I am always courteous and never raise my voice. Some council employees have even tried hard to get me to react but I just smile.
One day some of these council people will realise that it would be easier if they just did their job correctly.

 

[rpjjuk2]

Just had a phone call from the boss of the councils building dept. He and his deputy would like to visit me next Tuesday and discuss the problems with the building work.
Any advice on what to say etc would be appreciated.

 

[gregers]

yeah,get someone with building/legal knowledge there with you,then hit them with if this is not sorted by yesterday then your going to court.

 

[^woody^]

Just had a phone call from the boss of the councils building dept. He and his deputy would like to visit me next Tuesday and discuss the problems with the building work.
Any advice on what to say etc would be appreciated.

Make a list before hand of all your concerns, however minor. But avoid being picky or concentrating on minutiae.

Devise a form if possible with a space for notes, action, date and a tick box

Then go around with the guy and go through every item. Give him a copy for him to make notes on. Tick everything off as you have covered it, make your notes (ie his comments) and put a date in when things will be resolved or not as the case may be

I don't think its worth you trying to argue about standards and specifications if you are not conversant with them. But what you can do is ask the guy what standard each item of work should conform to and if it does. He probably wont know there and then, but it puts the onus on him to at least check and measure the work against an applicable standard.

If you can't agree certain things, then request that a report is carried out by an independent expert - of your choosing and at the councils cost.

Also ask for some compensation for your inconvenience

Above all, don't rant, but be firm and explain that "the service" has not been acceptable. Concentrate not just on the work, but the effect it has had on you as "a customer". Use those words I've highlighted frequently

These meetings are for agreement and negotiation not argument. Agree what you can, get what you can, and then take it further if not happy.

Bear in mind that senior managers do not like complaints going above them, but [should] like to deal with them

 

[rpjjuk2]

Update
The council turned up and basically tried to give me a load of B*******t. They tried to say that considering the age of the house the new brickwork was ok. No mention or apology for the fact that their builder used an illegal gas fitter.

I had noticed something before the council came, the builder had only rebuilt the wall above the damp proof course. There are two courses of bricks under the DPC which were laid by the first builder using the 19 to 1 mortar mix. This means that the wall is resting on two courses of brick held together by 19 to 1 mortar and below the DPC which means it would probably never dry out.

The council argued about this and said they needed to go back to the office and look at some plans. They said they would get back to me. The next day I had a phone call from one of the council people that had inspected the wall. She said that she was not convinced that the bottom two courses of bricks had been laid using the 19 to 1 mortar mix.
I asked her if she, and the other person that inspected the wall with her, were qualified in any way. She replied that they were not chartered suveyors but had a lot of experience in the housing service.
I then suggested that the council get a chartered surveyor to inspect and report on the work carried out on my house. She said she could get someone who was qualified from another department within the council and ask them to do a report. I suggested that perhaps the person might be a bit biased as they work for the council. She was taken aback at this suggestion and said that the person would make a fair and unbiased report ( and pigs might fly lol ).

I said that she was welcome to get a qualified person to inspect the work but that I would reserve the right to get my own chartered surveyor if needed.
It has been two weeks since we spoke on the phone and I have heard nothing from the council. I have just emailed the council and asked for an update.

Some more pics showing the bricks under the DPC:

http://www.fototime.com/users/[email protected]/Builders

 

[^woody^]

Your link does not work

 

[rpjjuk2]

Link fixed (I hope)

 

[^woody^]

Shocking

Nr 3 with the props is particularly concerning - not just the inner wall, but the damp at the bottom, no cavity tray above the door and the way it was done

You've got one clueless council there, and if that is indicative of their management of public money then something is wrong

It really does need pursuing, and I can't see any way that the council can defend themselves

BTW, would it be better to remove the address from the album

 

[wedginald]

That work is shocking, I dont think Ive ever seen as badly laid brickwork by someone claiming to be a professional. Its a shame when I know of loads of top notch site brickies that are stuck for work and you get stuck with these muppets!

 

[rpjjuk2]

Email from council. One of their chartered suveyors is coming to look at the problems on Wednesday.

Anyone know how I can check his name to see if he is a qualified chartered surveyor?

 

[^woody^]

www2.rics.org/MemberSearch/FindColleague.aspx

Is he chartered though? It does not make much difference if he is not, its all about what experience he has

I often meet stuck up "chartered" surveyors, and then when you get to the nitty gritty, they are actually chartered quantity surveyors or something and have not got a clue about actual building

 

[stuart45]

Or RICS Valuation surveyors.