Page 4 - 44_PBC to Begg_21-6-16 OCR (8pp)

Attached (the Actual WADE quote she sourced - ref (1)). Cannot believe you are incapable of simply downloading one or having Mrs Hillgarth email you a copy pdf - it’s 44pp so is adding considerably to her costs which she will be robustly pursued for.
Having collected in the supplement of £2,000 per flat you had total reserves available to you of £116,262.75 (£98,262.75 plus £18,000). This was more than enough to complete the budgeted works, including a reasonable 10% contingency reserve. However you pleaded lack of money to Mr White to justify a reduction in his specification. After making "savings" against the original budget totalling £32,496, achieved primarily by reducing this agreed specification, (a 'Saving of £3,185 against the anticipated surveyor's bill, plus a saving of £29,311 against the anticipated AR Lawrence bill) your actual expenditure on items within the reduced Schedule of Works totalled only £72,523 (comprising £62,010 paid to AR Lawrence and £10,513 paid to the surveyor).
You will note from the content of email correspondence between lessees and MHML in September 2014, to which you repeatedly refer, a serious lack of funding because of Mrs Hillgarth’s canvassing of other lessees to refuse to oblige/pay the previously agreed £2000, and the voluntary agreed contributions for the Water Tank and SkyTV installs. As such, MHML made clear that due to a lack of funding as agreed by lessees [and Mrs Hillgarth as evidenced in the 23 May 2014 minutes of the meeting she attended with her fellow directors] would result in a reduction of works to be accomplished - all as stated in 48pt large typogra- phy on our website [and still in evidence] as well as made abundantly clear in replies and requests to lessees well into mid October 2014. Works were progressing but underfunded!
Because those lessees who did not pay, in fact refused to pay in some cases, their agreed £2000 contributions when requested to, on schedule, MHML did not have adequate Reserves for emergencies, contingencies etc. This non payment was also the reason the TVSky install was required to be paid by voluntary contributions as opposed to possibly coming from Reserves as previously indicated as a good possibility/probability.
Collateral damage again caused by Mrs Hillgarth’s intransigence, misinformation etc.
I must remind you that once a specification/schedule of work has been approved by the leasehold- ers under the Section 20 process, and contractors approved to carry it out, it is not open to you, except with the consent of the leaseholders (which you did not have), to deviate unilaterally from the approved scheme of work or from the contractors engaged to carry it out. The consequence of that, as you probably know, is to make any charge to the leaseholders in excess of £250 irrecover- able from them.
MHML is the client. We initiated it, briefed it, approved it and we can certainly adapt it with- out reference to lessees having had the s.20 budget approved, a budget which we did not abuse, but used to great economic success, to the distinct advantage of Mrs Hillgarth, all other lessees including myself and my co-directors, as we are also lessees.
MHML will rely on the common sense of the First-tier Tribunal given our reasons.
Common sense, maximum economies accomplished, a far extended schedule of workings encompassing far more than expected for almost (£858 overspend) agreed s.20 budget.
We shall be pursuing that remedy in our application to the court under Sections 22-24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, of which you will shortly receive formal notice.
I’m sure they’ll take into consideration all points made to date and consider our covering letters with Quarterly Demands to be a perfect record of all events discussed to date (see full copies attached) let alone our superb record to date with good housekeeping and economies made wherever possible, including annual expenditures and the recent works.
You would appear to be relying on complaining about giving your dog a bone and he comes back home with the same bone as well as a nice leg of lamb for your supper.