'We won thousands off our council bill - and told not to tell our neighbours'
Residents who won thousands of pounds from a council after challenging bills for works to their homes say they ere ordered not to tell their neighbours.
Lambeth Council asked leaseholders to sign a document committing them to silence about the reductions they were awarded for works on properties between 2017 and 2018. One resident, who refused to sign the agreement, was threatened with having their discount withdrawn by a council officer.
The leaseholders in south London stood their ground and eventually received the reduction without having to sign the documents. But others reluctantly signed for fear they would lose out on thousands of pounds they were owed.
One resident, who received more than £8,000 off their original £20,000 bill, told MyLondon: “They [Lambeth] are bullies, particularly threatening to withdraw the offer. It’s only people who have the strength, the time and the financial resources and the confidence to push for it that get anywhere.
“We know there are leaseholders who have paid up in full and moved. Some of them were never going to win this.They [the council] just randomly put all these charges on without being able to justify them. Just to try and bring in some money.”
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Residents claimed fresh painting on some properties bubbled up within a few months of it being completed, while workers sent by the council contractors appeared unsure of what they were doing. On one occasion, a person claimed to have painted an undercoat on a back window, but the leaseholder said they did it themselves the previous year.
Another resident, who got over 40% from their original bill of over £20,000, said they signed the council’s confidentiality agreement because they were tired of fighting them.
They added: “By the time it came to that I was extremely angry. We were determined to sign it.
“I would rather have the money. I feel like many people felt like me. They just wanted the money and when you want the money you will sign anything at that point. We were told it would take 13 weeks [the work] but it took two years. I think people were just exhausted.”
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said settlement agreements were used in “very specific cases” to “help the council maintain good relationships with leaseholders, reduce the burden on the court system, and avoid unnecessary costs while ensuring that we can collect any money owed.”
They added: “We are committed to providing good quality services to our leaseholders and are committed to improvement. Under service charge laws leaseholders have the right to challenge their bill. Like all other reasonable landlords up and down the country the council will engage with its leaseholder if concerns are raised.
“Every case is different and so comparisons between individual scenarios are not necessarily valid. Where there is a dispute and legal action is likely, the council will consider mediation discussions.”
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