Thistle’s Completion Now 350 Days Late as End Game Approaches for Failed Management

Day 678
Now 350 days after Thistle’s E.ON contract failed on 30/11/16
Now 015 days after Thistle’s E.ON contract failed on 31/10/17

As of today, 15 November 2017, 350 days since Thistle’s contract with E.ON failed on 30 November 2016 and still no confirmed completion date.

Thistle management have told the First Minister that everything will be complete by the end of “this month“.

Thistle management have told the Leader of Glasgow City Council that everything will be complete by the end of “this month“.

Last month, eleven months after “all of the works to all of the houses in Toryglen will be complete” was also the end of “this month“. As with all the other dates, the end of October came and the end of October went. Same old story. Same old excuses. Same old desperation. Same old lies.

You will recall that Thistle promised residents, in a letter dated 6 October 2017, that work would recommence on Monday 9 October 2017. Four weeks and three days later, still no sign of any appropriate workforce. Of course, throughout the length of the frequently extended Major Works Programme, how many times have residents had such promises, how many times have there been weeks and months of no work activity? Why should Thistle management be believed? How many chances does Thistle management think they deserve? That speaks for itself and the answer is ‘no more’.

“The work will take 12 weeks but definitely no more than 14 weeks“. That worked well. Eighteen months later, major building defects Thistle has been aware of since August 2016 not attended to. Yup, it’s certainly all going to plan. The Thistle Major Works Calendar for 2018 will soon be available.

With Thistle management, it’s always jam tomorrow, next week, next month and with this failed Major Works Programme, it’s next year …or the year after. This utter mismanaged fracas now, unbelievably, approaches its THIRD YEAR, 2016, 2017, 2018??

The Leader of Glasgow City Council who, like Nicola Sturgeon MSP,  has stated that Thistle management have said nothing to make her believe them.

Take Over of Outstanding Work
As it is, Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, the local Councillor, has had enough. She is now making plans to have the Council take over the long outstanding work and take appropriate action against Thistle management.

E.ON’s decimated compound. No workers, portakabins removed, no materials. Image taken two days ago, Monday 13 November 2017

It is not expected that Thistle will hold to any made up and vague completion date, especially bearing in mind that none of the previous tasty selections of dates has ever come to fruition, together with the added factor that their ex-pals in E.ON have recently laid off their few workers (now desperately trying to rehire a few)  and started the shutdown of their compound in Cathcart Road, Rutherglen. E.ON simply has no workforce. Those in the trade will no longer deal with them. Their reputation is in tatters.

Glasgow City Council officers will be onsite on the afternoon of Friday 1 December 2017 to examine the outstanding work with a view to having it completed correctly by other contractors. This will, of course, be at a cost to the Council but as Thistle management holds all the funds in its bank accounts earning interest for them, including the money sneakily and mendaciously extracted from residents, that will be another target for Glasgow City Council.

The Blame Game
In the interim, as has been since Thistle’s abortive contract started on 7 January 2016, Thistle’s grossly paid, “non technical” management and E.ON fight like ferrets in a sack, blaming each other but at all times, conveniently forgetting residents who actually stay in Toryglen (unlike them), are caught between them and their frequent infantile skirmishes.

Even last week, at a meeting with a well frustrated resident, Daniella Sprott, Operations Manager, as in the person responsible for, ehm, operations, gushed that it wasn’t Thistle’s fault but all the blame rested at E.ON’s doorstep. Sorry dear, that won’t wash. Thistle management forced the agreement on residents aided and abetted by a long string of promises, lies and stories, never came up with the goods and consequently, it’s Thistle management who are responsible to residents and therefore culpable for their inept decisions, not E.ON. Residents have no contract with E.ON and no immediate contact with E.ON which is, in any case, barred by Ms McColgan’s dictat that residents will not deal with third party contractor, only Thistle.

The Investigation
The scope of the investigation into Thistle management’s mishandling of this affair is now all but complete and will include all aspects from the very outset of the discussions prior to residents being aware of the Major Works Programme to the present time, there will be residents’ input, the huge amount of correspondence, images and video will be included as will the very latest developments whereby individuals have been the subject of totally unfounded accusations by Patricia Jamieson, the unknown chairperson of Thistle Housing, Grace McColgan, the Director of Thistle and Daniella Sprott, the Operations Manager of Thistle.

Thistle management and its committee’s days are numbered. Their performance has been nothing short of drastic, their excuses nothing short of a tissue of lies made up on the hoof all to keep them in their well paid jobs.

Their bullying and grossly manipulative tactics against residents and others will shortly come home to roost. There will be more on this later as circumstances unfold, none of which will be welcomed by Grace McColgan, the unknown Patricia Jamieson and Daniella Sprott. These people have questions to answer and not only to residents who, thus far, they have crassly ignored.

The Regulator
The Scottish Housing Regulator is keeping a close eye on Thistle and, shortly, due to the more than evident and gross failure of Thistle management, will be keeping an even closer eye on them. The Regulator has now initiated a Regulation Plan for Thistle Housing to follow (but that, of course, assumes that Thistle have told them everything).

To download the plan, click > Thistle HA – Regulation Plan – 7 July 2017

For more, see below.

“Thistle has been engaging openly and constructively with us” …but how much of it is mere management survival tactics, diversion, spin and just basic lies? After all, there has been little honest constructive engagement with residents, the people who actually stay in Toryglen and have been forced to suffer Thistle management’s constant failures.

Meanwhile, Thistle stays silent.

Let Caroline Know
If you have any complaints regarding the Major Works Programme, you should, in the first instance, contact Thistle Housing. Any verbal discussions should always be confirmed by either an email or by letter as there seem to be too many instances whereby conversations have been ‘forgotten’.
If all else fails and no satisfaction is obtained from Thistle, your local MSP is Nicola Sturgeon whose Constituency Manager, Caroline Scott, has a large and growing list of complaints and images from residents throughout Toryglen. There is no point in moaning about the faults in your house, no point in phoning Thistle as they have simply lost the plot and are panicking.
Have a quick blether with Caroline to discuss the detail of your case already in the hands of Thistle. She’s on the ball on behalf of constituents who feel that they are getting no satisfaction from Thistle Housing.

Her telephone number is 0141 424 1174

More contact information is available here

Remember, you must deal only with Thistle Housing as Thistle has forbidden you to discuss problems with third party contractors.
First and second parties are you and Thistle Housing, the two parties who made the Agreement.
Every other party is third and not bound by the agreement you made with Thistle. Third parties are therefore, E.ON and any subcontractors.
Thistle Housing employs and pays, at Association expense, Jeff Poulter’s small company of convenience who, in turn, employs and pays him. His company is therefore third party. Similarly, anyone employed by, for example, City Building, is also third party.