Toryglen Residents …Stand and Deliver as Financially Wrecked Thistle Housing tries yet another Con Trick

3 YEARS + 12 DAYS
since Thistle’s mismanaged Major Works Programme started on 7th January 2016
2 YEARS + 51 DAYS
since 30th November 2016 when “all of the works to all of the houses in Toryglen will be complete“. Today, 19th January 2019, still incomplete and still no completion date

Oh my! ….grabthethistle’s email inbox has filled up with comments from Toryglen residents over the past few days.

Let’s have a look with a bit of history and information attached.

Threatening letters …
Gies the money …
Just begging …
…or plain upfront Daylight Robbery?
In this circumstance, this post is more applicable to Toryglen property owners within the current Major Works Programme rather than Thistle’s tenants. Unlike the last phase nine years ago, the majority of residents in this phase are owners. However, yet again, the debased attitude of those who pay themselves exorbitant wages in Thistle Fort but seldom come up with the goods, is highlighted. That would be lies, stories, fiddles and fibs aside. They are past masters at that game.

To continue, after two and a half years of ignoring residents and producing a Major Works Programme of unmatched ineptitude and riven with substandard work and so many outstanding complaints and faults, they now have the utter gall to dispatch letters desperately begging for money.

“Our records show that your application (for a loan)
is incomplete and requires your signature“.

Residents now claim that they have no paperwork to substantiate any loan, are unaware who the loan is from, how it’s paid back and, when it comes to it, will they actually get it.

Thistle, above, states, “Our records“. Right, ask to see them.

In any case, “incomplete” means what it says, as in no agreed contract and hence, unenforceable.

One resident commented via email that she won’t get a loan as she’s never had any finance agreements, credit cards, mobile phone contracts and that after checking with Experian, a credit checking company, she has naturally no credit record.

Did you ask for a loan or was one offered?
So many residents have commented, over the past, now more than two years, that Thistle staff told them that no loans were available. It is understood that the disreputable Operations Manager told Thistle staff to tell residents that there were no loans available.

Why were some people offered loans (assuming they actually were) and others were oblivious to the possibility of a loan?

Thistle, despite a multitude of letters and emails to them, has ignored this question.

Wonder why?

Thistle’s Idiot Management
But then again, it’s back to the old rub with Thistle’s grindingly pathetic management – the result of the Major Works Programme on residents’ homes is, well, basically, crap work and is certainly nowhere near complete. Not bad as it is, as of today, three years and twelve days since Thistle’s “non technical” management signed a contract which they plainly didn’t understand, of which residents, to this day, still know nothing. They signed that contract on 7 January 2016 and simply hadn’t bothered to involve, discuss with or advise residents. At all.

One million, one hundred thousand pounds vanished!
Thistle refuses to explain to shareholders
Thistle Housing’s wrecked finances
Desperate for money? YOUR money?
It was seen at the delayed AGM in September 2018 in the annual accounts, which hadn’t been previously allowed to shareholders unlike all other housing associations and limited companies, that Thistle had ‘disappeared‘ £1.1 million since the previous year. All without explanation.

1949 – Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner. Much like the constantly failed Thistle Housing mob

If you’re interested, you might want to try an audio stream of the utter crap spouted by Thistle’s management at the delayed AGM in September here or the report of said AGM fiasco here. It’s a UDP stream, not a stop/start/rewind thing, so can’t be selective.

It’s like Wile E. Coyote and the RoadRunner. The Roadrunner always wins. As will Toryglen residents. If not, there’s no point in an so called mutual association. No matter what’s done, the Roadrunner, just like Thistle, is never, ever going to do anything right. The good guy has to win eventually.

Just for a bit of distraction, have a bash here to see how constant losers, well, just constantly lose.

Thistle Housing Association’s current financial year ends in a couple of months’ time. They are undoubtedly screaming to drag and grab as much cash as they desperately can in an attempt to ameliorate what might, again, be disastrous financial results, hence the letters to residents who they still hope are stupid and have learned nothing. Yet more Thistle arrogance. Mind you, the eternal and very expensive failure, the HEATING ENGINEER, master of all Thistle, is still trolling around the estate.

The fool bragged to a number of Toryglen residents, just over two years ago, that he had a USB stick with all he needed, just in case it all went wrong.

At that time, residents still had faith in Thistle Housing. Had they known then what they know now, it would have been so different.

Is that why he’s still generously employed by the “non technical” half wits who pretend to run Toryglen’s housing association? He knows where the bodies are buried? It certain can’t be for his ability.

To note, however and only by means of a rash thought, that conversation with the fake heating engineer cum equally fake Clerk of Works, was recorded. That’ll be a savoury piece when required in the future, maybe demonstrated in Court.

As for the USB stick, the idiot claimed he had, well, who knows …lies, stories, pictures he has ripped from various sources and manipulation were and are his stock in trade and well fitted with the corruption oozing from the gross ineptitude in Thistle Fort. Does this complete wanker think he knows where the bodies are buried or has he conned Thistle’s feeble and wanting management to think he has a hold over them?

If that is the case, yet another example of Toryglen residents being gubbed by fools.

Mind you, this blog site has some tasty piccies of some Thistle management individuals and their tribal pals cavorting in what some might term, rather deviant masked noir situations. Alas, they think fiddling about with Facebook settings makes ’em hidden.

Ehm, naw. Yet another example of having no clue.

Jumped a bit off topic there so, jump back in…. The fact that the work done is shoddy and incomplete, with all blocks to be shrouded in scaffolding again after they ignored, for two years, residents’ complaints of faulty work, means nothing to Thistle’s drastically poor management. They just want cash and will bully and threaten until they think they win. Like that’ll work!

Oh, there’s more to come
That doesn’t even include the crap window cills (which are not window cills, just bits of bent plastic fascia board), the pathetically low quality rendering and roughcasting and, of course, the gutters many of which are incorrectly positioned thus allowing rainwater to spew down the building elevations. These are issues which have to be addressed and will be, not by the self interested knuckle draggers in Thistle but by residents. Pay Thistle money for a job so poorly undertaken? No.

Loans, Ignorance, Arrogance and just Stupid
As a result of the Scottish Housing Regulator’s actions when it was forced to intervene in Thistle’s terminal failures, Thistle’s incapable management broke the association’s financial covenants with their bankers. The outstanding loans agreement of around £9.4 million was henceforth in jeopardy. As a consequence, Thistle’s external accountants could not give a fully acquiescent agreement to their annual accounts for 2017 to 2018, noting that there could be a situation whereby Thistle Housing Association Limited was financially moribund and unable to trade.

The Bankers. Oops!
It is understood that the discussions with Thistle’s bankers have been ‘difficult’. In other words, not what Thistle would like or, when it comes to it, have the remotest understanding. No one in Thistle has any suitable education or experience to undertake such negotiations.

Santander, St Vincent Street, Glasgow

It would be understandable that Thistle’s financiers are having difficulty in connecting some semblance of faith in Thistle’s uneducated management. They wouldn’t be first in that queue.

Not looking too good for Thistle Housing Association’s shareholders and residents. Most importantly, their constantly ignored tenants.

Residents’ acceptance (or not) of the work done
Is that laughing in the background? You will recall Thistle and the self styled heating engineer, expert in all things, pretendy, made up and as all things Thistle, fake Clerk of Works stating unequivocally, that none of the works would be signed off until he and residents were happy that the contract had been properly fulfilled and accepted the quality of work.

A snippet from Thistle’s addendum to the original agreement with residents. Not that any of this happened. More fake from Thistle and so par for their failed course.

“Arrange for sign off from residents“. Mmm, where did that one go?

Oh, ‘the full survey repeated on completion of the works‘. Well, that’s easy. Thistle did bugger all except to serve themselves and as the works are far from complete, after three years and more, it would be difficult to repeat a survey, especially as it wasn’t done in the first place. Just shit from a malignant, self serving, vastly overpaid tribal horde in Thistle Fort.

Pay for something to which you haven’t even been asked to agree? Don’t think so.

Compensation
If you have any arrangement with a supplier and it’s not what was agreed, not done within the timescale, is shoddy and remains incomplete, would you pay the so called outstanding amount? Of course you wouldn’t. Once any alleged outstanding was paid, you would have absolutely no hold over them.

Where’s the compensation from Thistle? Remember, the agreement was between home owners and Thistle (an agreement suspect and now probably time barred), nothing at all to do with E.ON or any other company.

The wee cheque that some people got from E.ON (with the residents’ names and addresses supplied and, unsurprisingly, screwed up by Thistle) was a consideration from E.ON and certainly NOT any form of compensation for the huge inconvenience all residents experienced during the failed and still incomplete Major Works Disaster.

If you consider that the work done to your home is acceptable, that’s fine.

Alternatively, why give in to a bunch of phyletic, ignorant, incapable, palpably corrupt failures? In case you missed that shit, that’s referring to Thistle’s drongo management.

In any agreement, compensation can be sought if one of the parties reneges on the understanding. In the case of Thistle’s utterly failed (and yet to be completed) Major Works Programme, the delay, AT BEST, is from 30 November 2016, now two years and fifty one days later.

The general amount flat owners had to pay was £2,000. The remainder was fees to Glasgow City Council for the arrangement of grants, grants of which residents knew nothing and had no input.

But …the cost per home was much larger, approximately £12,000. The source of the funds is immaterial, it was still £12,000. 

Compensation should and will be based on that figure.

By all means, if residents are happy, pay Thistle whatever they claim but, at the same time, residents should be, after this time, be demanding substantial compensation as the agreement with Thistle is well broken (on their part).

Compensation of £2,000 per home would be a good start. That, of course, is for every home, owned or rented as all were forced into the failed Major Works Fracas. That is a mere 17% of the cost of the work and given the huge delay in getting this programme actually completed, pretty reasonable by any measure.

The failed Director and Chairperson
Where’s the director of Thistle Housing Association Limited? In other words, where’s Grace?  Thistle won’t say, won’t tell. She’s buggered off somewhere. On the sick AGAIN or on forced garden leave? Given that she costs approximately £7,500 to the association each month, in other words, you pay, why?

Patricia Jamieson, the toffee nosed erstwhile Chairperson (remember that stuttering failure who attempted to introduce the AGM), of whom Thistle refused to explain her existence (but she’s, shockingly, Grace’s pal) has now not only been bumped from her heady role but it is understood, booted from the failed Management Committee. If so, nae bad and well about time.

Pay cash for a job not yet done? Here’s a wee hypothetical example…

• You want a new kitchen. Joiner comes, looks around and quotes you a specification, a price, a start date and a completion date.
• He demands the whole price, £2,200, in cash, up front. No credit, no cheques, just straight forward loot. All of it in folding twenties. You feel a bit intimidated but you tell him that there’s no way you’re going to pay for work that’s neither started nor is it completed to your satisfaction. He threatens you that if you don’t stump up the whole lot in a couple of days time, you’ll get no grants. However, you agree to pay him £650 up front as a deposit in good faith and will settle the remainder on successful completion and acceptance.
• So far, so good. Only the joiner (who you gave the deposit to)  doesn’t start when he agreed. He makes promise after promise but not one of them is kept. You phone him only to be told, incessantly, that he’s “in a  meeting” or “not available‘.
•  You discover that the plumber he’s employed, has fake Gas Safe credentials and doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. The rest of the joiner’s workforce can’t speak a word of English  and they know nothing about kitchen installations.
• You get really worried when it dawns on you, where are they going to the toilet? That question is soon answered when you discover bottles of pee and bags of shit slung behind a hedge.
• The kitchen units are what HE picked, not the ones you expected and rather than the time he said it would take to install, two years later, the job is still not finished, the cooker’s broken, pipes are leaking, there’s no sink, you had told him about the kitchen ceiling that hadn’t been installed correctly and then it cracked and fell down overnight and could have killed someone. At this point, all the foreigners, who were just bottom dollar untrained labourers, have buggered off back from whence they came.
• There’s no warranty, despite all his claims and when you eventually get it two years later, you discover that as the work was done by untrained labourers, the warranty is worth damn all.
• Throughout all this time, you complained to the Kitchen Installers Regulator. They didn’t believe you, at first, as surely no one could be as bad as you say. Ho!
• Two and a half years later, he demands the loot. The quality of the job is substandard, bits have broken off and a blind man could see it won’t last.
• Then, the threatening letters start to arrive. The contract you had signed with him has time expired, the terms are suspect and you start to get worried. Not that you’ve done anything wrong but you’re being bullied and are afraid. You don’t want to pay for shoddy and incomplete work to which you’ve never accepted.
• The original agreement was that you would sign an acceptance certificate when you were happy with the work (and that was after a maximum period of fourteen weeks, not two years and more) but you discover that he signed the acceptance certificate himself.
• You then decide, nope, I’m not paying. Fill yer boots and take me to court. Let’s see how that pans out. As if a Court Sheriff, after hearing all of this, would find in favour of the inept and self admitted “non technical” joiner.  

See any similarities?

This Blog Site’s Web Presence
Given the hits on this teeny wee blog site, and that’s throughout the entire planet (including Thistle Housing management and its malignant cash grabbing allies, fake companies and tribal friends) are globally known. Actually, this site’s hit numbers have been comparatively astronomical and certainly unexpected by a huge factor.

Not that Thistle Housing has any presence on the net, unlike every other housing association. In their manipulated handouts, which few read, they arrogantly state that 100% of residents polled would not use a website and that the incidence of broadband is low in Toryglen.

That’s a bit strange given the traffic and comments on the likes of Facebook and similar hosts of which Thistle is so afraid. as well as, of course, the hated blog site. Tough shit.

What is Thistle’s ignorant and minuscule minded management afraid of? Only the truth?

Oh, as you might have seen on their infrequent propaganda handouts, a website is coming. Why when, as they have said, few in Toryglen have broadband and everyone would never use a Thistle website?

Truth hurts. Something which is so alien to Thistle Housing Association.

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