My elderly uncle was charged £3184 by the council..

[sat1983]

To clear part of his home. I just cannot get my head around that figure.

5 days 'work'. Nice guys, don't get me wrong. But they only did the living room and kitchen of my uncle's house.
Bit of decluterring- and I mean a bit- the house is still rammed. I even helped them one morning. They cleared a bit of rubbish.

I kid you not that work cannot have been worth more than £1,000-£1500 worth of work tops.

I've phoned them but they are fobbing me off saying my uncle signed the quote (he is 87 years old and would of course trust the council).

How could I possibly get to the bottom of this?

[mgtony]

sat1983 said:

How could I possibly get to the bottom of this?

Clear some more rubbish?

[Truckosaurus]

Ask for a copy of the quote to see if it was for "5 days work" or "to clear 2 rooms".

Edit to add: the costs will escalate quickly, the £1500 you mention would just be the wages for a couple of blokes, then there's all the other nonsense like disposal charges, VAT, profit, insurance, running a van, etc.

[sat1983]

Truckosaurus said:

Ask for a copy of the quote to see if it was for "5 days work" or "to clear 2 rooms".

Edit to add: the costs will escalate quickly, the £1500 you mention would just be the wages for a couple of blokes, then there's all the other nonsense like disposal charges, VAT, profit, insurance, running a van, etc.

But surely the council are there to help the elderly- the above price would have been charged by any other private company!!

[Truckosaurus]

sat1983 said:

But surely the council are there to help the elderly- the above price would have been charged by any other private company!!

The Mayor's posh limo has to be paid for somehow....

[StuTheGrouch]

sat1983 said:

Truckosaurus said:

Ask for a copy of the quote to see if it was for "5 days work" or "to clear 2 rooms".

Edit to add: the costs will escalate quickly, the £1500 you mention would just be the wages for a couple of blokes, then there's all the other nonsense like disposal charges, VAT, profit, insurance, running a van, etc.

But surely the council are there to help the elderly- the above price would have been charged by any other private company!!

It was charged by a private company. The people that did the work would have been contracted in.

[Impasse]

This is the type of story your local paper will love.

[98elise]

Were they there 5 days? and how many people?

From your post it sounds like at least 2, and if they did work 5 days then that's 10 about £300 per person per day. Take away 20% vat and you are down to £250 per day.

They will have to pay for disposal and the running of a vehicle, and the licences needed to carry waste. Also they are unlikely to be a 1 man band if working for the council, so you need to factor in the profit and overhead of a larger company.

It doesn't look too bad based in that.

[nicanary]

StuTheGrouch said:

sat1983 said:

Truckosaurus said:

Ask for a copy of the quote to see if it was for "5 days work" or "to clear 2 rooms".

Edit to add: the costs will escalate quickly, the £1500 you mention would just be the wages for a couple of blokes, then there's all the other nonsense like disposal charges, VAT, profit, insurance, running a van, etc.

But surely the council are there to help the elderly- the above price would have been charged by any other private company!!

It was charged by a private company. The people that did the work would have been contracted in.

Exactly. Which is why it sometimes costs £100 to have a lightbulb changed. Nobody seems to check the invoice, mainly because they don't care.

[Willy Nilly]

If the house is anything like the houses we see on the telly that elderly hoarders live in, the council will have earned every penny of that.

[Vaud]

sat1983 said:

To clear part of his home. I just cannot get my head around that figure.

5 days 'work'. Nice guys, don't get me wrong. But they only did the living room and kitchen of my uncle's house.
Bit of decluterring- and I mean a bit- the house is still rammed. I even helped them one morning. They cleared a bit of rubbish.

I kid you not that work cannot have been worth more than £1,000-£1500 worth of work tops.

I've phoned them but they are fobbing me off saying my uncle signed the quote (he is 87 years old and would of course trust the council).

How could I possibly get to the bottom of this?

Do you have a before and after picture? Just hope much stuff are we talking about? Any of it potentially hazardous?

[xRIEx]

98elise said:

Were they there 5 days? and how many people?

From your post it sounds like at least 2, and if they did work 5 days then that's 10 about £300 per person per day. Take away 20% vat and you are down to £250 per day.

They will have to pay for disposal and the running of a vehicle, and the licences needed to carry waste. Also they are unlikely to be a 1 man band if working for the council, so you need to factor in the profit and overhead of a larger company.

It doesn't look too bad based in that.

That's all fine based on time on site, but the way I read it is they have had minimal effect. I could sit in your house for 5 days and do nothing, you wouldn't be too happy to pay me £3k. If I wallpapered and carpeted all the rooms, plastered and painted all the ceilings you may be happier with the price. It's all relative. As mentioned just above, it would be helpful to have a better understanding of 'before' and 'after'.

[Jasandjules]

Why not get a house clearance firm to quote and see how reasonable the council's fees were.

[Rosscow]

Seems extortionate to me!!

[crankedup]

Request a copy of the full document that he signed.
Not happy.
Letter to the Head of department outline your grievance.
Not happy.
Letter to CEO of Council, copy to your Council Member.
Not happy
Contact your MP
Not happy
Contact the ombudsman
Not happy
Local or National media

I agree with roscoe, seems exorbitant .

[stuartmmcfc]

They spent 5 days doing a bit of tidying up.
Either they were lazy fkers or it was a bit worse than you're making out OP.

[Gareth79]

Willy Nilly said:

If the house is anything like the houses we see on the telly that elderly hoarders live in, the council will have earned every penny of that.

The other issue is that, having seen those shows, it's not continuous work, it's a lot of social work with the person discussing what to clear.

I guess the question is what was requested of them and for how long, were the charges made clear and was he capable of understanding it all?

[Prof Prolapse]

My neighbours are council tenants. The shared guttering collapsed, it's old fashioned so a large cast piece of metal.

I moved my part of it to run the scrappy for a few quid. I ask the council to contact me prior to repair, as the section is shared and they need to do my part to do it properly.

They ignore me and arrive without notice. They fit guttering of the wrong type, of the wrong colour, insecurely, and in a manner that does not even catch the water. They leave the entire front of my house, even though it makes zero sense to do so.

They then go around the back of my house to steal my section of the guttering, which they would then deny.

That is the typical level you deal with of council workers.

[sat1983]

I am writing to confirm our proposed actions at the above site following my site survey on Thursday 7th January 2016.

Front Garden

• The conifer branch that is currently leaning against the property is to be removed.

Car Port

• All items to be removed (excluding the car).

Kitchen/Pantry

• All expired food, food-waste, soiled utensils/equipment and other domestic waste to be removed.
• The oven, two fridge-freezers and old washer machine to be removed.
• All kitchen units/worktops to be removed (excluding the cupboards fixed to the wall at head-height).
• The lino floor tiles to be removed.
• The kitchen tiles to be cleaned and disinfected.
• The sink-unit to be cleaned and disinfected.
• The kitchen window and frame (interior only) to be cleaned and disinfected.
• Any remaining soiled kitchen appliances (exteriors only) to be wiped clean.
• All woodwork, radiators, doors, sills, ledges and switches to be cleaned and disinfected.
• We will attempt to remove any grease or smear marks from the walls. Please note, as the walls are painted, the paint may smear when cleaning agents are applied.
• The floor will be scraped, swept, mopped and disinfected.

Living Room

• All domestic refuse and old medication to be removed.
• Both armchairs and the sofa to be removed.
• The broken dining chair to be removed.
• The carpet and any underlay to be removed.
• Any remaining papers or loose personal items to be bagged and retained. The bags to be stacked adjacent to the large unit.
• The room to be de-cobwebbed.
• The windows and frames (interiors only) to be cleaned and disinfected.
• The floor will be scraped, swept, mopped and disinfected.
• NO ADDITIONAL CLEANING WORKS TO BE UNDERTAKEN.

Hallway/Stairs/Landing

• All items in the hallway to be bagged and retained. The bags to be stored in the current master bedroom. (Adjacent to the smallest bedroom).
• All items on the landing to be bagged and retained. The bags and items to be stored in the small bedroom opposite the bathroom.
• The carpet and any underlay to be removed.
• The areas to be de-cobwebbed.
• All woodwork, fixtures and fittings to have a quick wipe-down.
• The floor will be scraped, swept, mopped and disinfected.
• NO ADDITIONAL CLEANING WORKS TO BE UNDERTAKEN.

Bathroom

• Any domestic refuse to be removed.
• All bathroom facilities to be cleaned and disinfected including the toilet, bath and sink.
• The tiles to be cleaned and disinfected.
• The bathroom window and frame (interior only) to be cleaned and disinfected.
• All woodwork, radiators, doors, sills, ledges and switches to be cleaned and disinfected.
• We will attempt to remove any grease, smear marks and faecal matter from the walls. Please note, as the walls are painted, the paint may smear when cleaning agents are applied.
• The floor will be scraped, swept, mopped and disinfected.

Bedroom 1 (Front Bedroom Adjacent to the Bathroom)

• Any domestic refuse and empty cardboard boxes to be removed.
• The carpet and any underlay to be removed.
• All remaining items to be stacked neatly near the window.
• The room to be tidied and smartened up.
• The areas to be de-cobwebbed.
• All woodwork, fixtures and fittings to have a quick wipe-down.
• The floor will be scraped, swept, mopped and disinfected.
• NO ADDITIONAL CLEANING WORKS TO BE UNDERTAKEN.

Bedroom 2 (Current Master Bedroom)

• The urine bottle to be removed.
• NO ADDITIONAL CLEANING WORKS TO BE UNDERTAKEN.

Bedroom 3 (Small Storage Room)

• No actions to be undertaken other than using this area for storage.

Additional Duties

• On completion of the above we will treat the property for insects/rodents if necessary.

• The property to be fully deodorised.

Our Requests

• As you are acting on behalf of a patient, please ensure you have shown them this proposal document and they are happy with the list of proposals. This document forms the basis of the job specifications and the Clearance Team will use the list above to complete the job. We cannot take any responsibility for items that have been removed etc. once the proposal has been agreed and the job completed.

• The occupant will need to complete the attached disclaimer document. This will need to be returned to me before work can commence.

• As the niece mentioned there had been a gas leak at the property but was unsure as to what action had been taken, we will require a gas engineer to visit prior to our arrival to certify that the gas supply has been disconnected and that the property is safe to work in.

• As we are removing the oven, we will require it to be disconnected by a gas engineer prior to our arrival

• We will require the car to be moved from the side of the property whilst work is being undertaken in order to ensure suitable access to the property.

• It would be helpful to have a member of the occupant’s family on site whilst the team are at work in order to help differentiate between waste and items to be retained.

All items will be disposed of via our registered waste disposal contractor.

The estimate for the work, including labour, tipping and materials is approximately £2653.00 plus VAT if applicable. The estimate is based on Environmental Services completing all tasks as listed above.

I hope this proposal is satisfactory, if so please contact me to arrange payment in order to complete the booking. If you do not agree with any of the actions proposed please contact me as soon as possible to suggest any amendments or to request any further information.

Yours Sincerely

[sat1983]

The above seems such a complete list- the reality is that its a bit of clearing- barely anything has bene cleaned!