Can anyone assist this Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation reader?
We are aware that satellite dishes can be a fraught subject – possibly even an income stream for the freeholder – but don’t have details. All assistance would be gratefully received.
“I live in a block of 34 leasehold retirement apartments. By our own request and with full permission of the Management , we had a satellite system installed approximately one year ago.
Since then, 8 of the 34 apartments are using the Sky/Freesat option, the installation and maintenance cost is down to those 8 flats who use it.
On the 14th may another satellite system was installed alongside the original one, this was done without our prior knowledge, so now we have ‘two’ dishes and related wiring.
The Management say this is to give us a choice and there will be no charge to us for the installation, however, if just one person takes up the option to use this second dish, that person will pay the installation to their own flat, but we will ‘all’ have to pay the ongoing maintenance for this ‘second’ dish on our service charge, this means that those paying the upkeep on the original dish will now be expected to also pay for the upkeep of the second dish.
We were informed quite some time ago that we could have another dish if anybody preferred to deal with another installer but this offer was never accepted.
The Landlord can probably stick things up on the roof if he wants, but surely a second dish is hardly important, considering that we never asked for or wanted it, and especially as this second dish will cause unnecessary costs to the leaseholders.
I hope you are able to help or advise us on this matter please, thank-you,”
Anna.
First you need to read your lease. Fortunately we cannot have individual aerials or dishes.
Why do they need more than 1 dish.
We had ours fitted by DAS in Nottingham. These communal dishes do a large number of flats. Not sure how many but we have 18 flats using one dish. Each resident pays sky direct for whatever package they want. If another resident now wants sky they just come along and wire from the dish to the flat FOC and new resident pays for package they want.
Hi Trevor, thanks for your response,
Our original dish is more than capable of supplying the 34 flats here. ‘Why do we need more than 1 dish’? Good question, it’s the Landlord/Management decision, we are told it’s for choice, I assume this to mean, whichever dish we prefer to use. This scheme is being rolled out across all their developments, whether there’s already a dish or not. We had to wait quite some time to have our original dish installed, it wasn’t allowed until ‘all’ the flats were sold, and then of course, at our own cost. Costs for the upkeep of the second dish? We shall have to see how it pans-out in the future.
Anna.
Sorry for late reply. Been away.
Can’t understand what your MA is doing.
Fitment of a communal dish is totally free providing min of 3 flats take up a Sky subscription. DAS even did ours free for only 2 flats initially. Now 6 mnths later 4 subscribe to Sky. I have stopped at least 2 places in my area from being misled by MAs. You don’t pay for a communal dish as described above
Forgot to say. Can’t see the logic in why they say need more than one dish. One dish is all you need to obtain ALL the channels in normal uk use
That’s the thing Trevor, all logic seems to have gone out the window, we now have two dishes offering exactly the same service. I would like to have said more but this is my fith attempt to post a comment and I am waining. Captcha Code….Non Spammer….all done correctly, just keep getting an error message…`Wrong Captcha Code’, so all is lost.
BTW…what do you mean by `stopped two places from being misled by MA’?
Anna.
Anna, I stopped 2 local retirement complexes/residents from being ripped off by their MAs.
Their MAs had sent them letters offering to supply and fit a communal dish and charge a fee for this. I heard about it by chance and told all the residents there was no need to pay to get a communal dish as long as a certain min number subscribe to Sky.
Both of the sites in question were nor managed by Peverel. (That’s the problem, they, MAs/Landlords, are nearly all as bad to a different degree with many items. Adding commissions etc to Gas/electric/Insurance/exit fees etc etc, the list is endless)
Anna, re CAPTCHA code. I have had probs but it works ok for me now.
First I click on the reply, then put my name and e mail address in, then complete the C code, then do my reply txt, then confirm not a spammer, then post comment
I have now figured out how to stop losing my comments through the Captcha code error message. So I would like to add that our lease makes no mention of satellite systems being a requirement, especially two, only the freeview aerial and it’s upkeep are a part of the lease. I know that other lodges have or will have a dish installed, whether they already have one or not, or even want one. There was no Sky subscription requirement for the installation of the second dish. The whole thing seems odd to me, will I ever know the answer…..?
Hi Trevor, how fantastic that you were able to prevent those residents from being ripped off by their MAs. It’s so important, we shouldn’t just accept everything that’s thrown at us.
Just to add one thing to my previous comment; ‘no Sky subscription needed for the installation of the second dish’ and no charge either, the system is just sitting there wainting to be used. We are told that there will not be any ongoing maintenance costs to us, but I’m not convinced, who else would pay?
Anna.
BTW….pity we can’t edit our posted comments, it would save a lot of……!
May i remind those Peverel managers who think they are being so clever at ripping off residents that :
REVENGE IS A SATELLITE DISH BEST SERVED COLD. You will be held to account for your actions.
Surprisingly, our Management isn’t Peverel, although I would have thought if this idea has some income stream attached, then Peverel will be interested.