ESTATE MAINTENANCE SERVICE CHARGE UPDATE 14TH JULY 2010

You may remember that we carried out a year long consultation with representatives of the private residents affected as we feel they should contribute to the grass cutting and maintenance in their area, as stated in their house deeds, through a "service charge". After the consultation we sent out 2,200 letters with details of how much they had to pay as the service charge amount varies from estate to estate. Some private residents have paid but a number haven't which is why we have made the decision to take a relatively small sample to court as "test cases".

A test case is where a representative legal action is taken and the outcome becomes a precedent or guide for similar future cases. Solicitors acting on our behalf have therefore sent letters to a random sample of residents, telling them that they have been chosen as one of the "test cases" and that unless they pay we will take legal action through the courts.  Although these letters have gone out, we do not yet know any of the court date(s).

Please remember that we are doing this to make sure that we collect monies owed for services we provide within our local communities so that we can invest rent money in home improvements and community projects rather than the maintenance of communal areas.

We have been advised that door to door collections are happening in some areas in order to help those private residents who have been chosen as "test cases".  Two Rivers obviously has had nothing to do with this collection. We'd like to remind our tenants to not feel pressured or obliged to donate – it is completely your choice. Remember, you are already paying for grass cutting as part of your service charge contributions.

All queries regarding service charges can be made to our Customer Service Team on 0800 316 0897 or emailed to customerservices@2rh.org.uk.

ESTATE MAINTENANCE SERVICE CHARGE UPDATE

Despite all of our efforts to resolve the service charge issue with residents, we are disappointed and saddened to advise you that this remains unsettled.  As a result, final reminder invoices have been issued to all residents whose service charge invoices remain outstanding.  This will be followed by the start of legal proceedings which will involve taking a series of cases to Court, after a 14 day period.  A representative sample of all residents will be affected. 

Two Rivers has repeatedly offered our support to all residents who have difficulty in paying their invoice in full.  We have encouraged them to contact our Customer Service Advisors on our freephone number 0800 316 0897 (please note that calls from mobiles may be charged), to enable them to arrange an affordable payment plan.  We have also reminded residents that all calls are confidential.  Some residents have taken advantage of this service and we very much hope that more residents will contact us also, as whilst we stand firm, we would prefer to work with residents and resolve the service charge issue amicably.

Any residents reading this notice whose service charge remains outstanding and would like to discuss an affordable payment plan, should contact our Customer Service Team on 0800 316 0897.