Written Statement of Services ISSUE 07 AUGUST 2017
Office Contact Details Edinburgh James Gibb residential factors 4 Atholl Place Edinburgh EH3 8HT Tel: 0131 229 3481 Fax: 0131 229 3771 Email: edinburgh@jamesgibb.co.uk Web: www.jamesgibb.co.uk Glasgow James Gibb residential factors 65 Greendyke Street Glasgow G1 5PX Tel: 0141 552 2230 Fax: 0141 552 2646 Email: glasgow@jamesgibb.co.uk Web: www.jamesgibb.co.uk Aberdeen James Gibb residential factors 2 Thistle Street Aberdeen AB10 1XZ Tel: 01224 650 600 Fax: 01224 650 602 Email: aberdeen@jamesgibb.co.uk Web: www.jamesgibb.co.uk It is the duty of registered Factors to provide each homeowner in managed developments with a written statement of services, setting out, in a simple and transparent way, the terms and service delivery standards of the arrangement in place between the factor and the homeowner. It is important to note that we cannot deal directly with tenants in let / rented properties. This statement is written in accordance with the requirements of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 and its associated Code of Conduct. This document should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Development Schedule. The Development Schedules contain specific information about each individual development managed in our portfolio. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for insurance mediation purposes only. Registered Factor No.PF000103 James Gibb residential factors is a trading name of James Gibb Property Management Ltd, registered as a limited company in Scotland (No. SC 299465). VAT Reg No. 268 6033 43. Registered office: 32 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4ET. 2 statement of services
Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Authority to Act 4 3.0 Services Provided 4 Our Mission To provide our customers with an exemplary service package in order that, together, we can maintain and enhance the communities in which they live. 4.0 Maintenance and Response Arrangements 5 4.1 Routine Maintenance 5 4.2 Routine Repairs 5 4.3 Emergency Repairs 5 4.4 Major Projects 5 4.5 Response Times 7 4.6 Property Inspections 7 5.0 Financial and Charging Arrangements 8 5.1 Management Fees 8 5.2 Apportionment of Costs 8 5.3 Floating Funds 8 5.4 Sinking Funds / Reserve Funds 9 5.5 Invoicing 10 5.6 Sales / Apportionment Fees 10 5.7 Payment of invoices 11 5.8 Client Bank Account 11 5.9 Debt Recovery 11 5.10 Contractors Invoices and Payments 12 6.0 Communication Arrangements 12 6.1 General Communications 12 7.0 Complaints 13 8.0 Block Insurance 14 9.0 Conflicts of Interest 15 10.0 Regulatory Status and Associations 15 11.0 Termination of Agreement 15 12.0 Version History 15 www.jamesgibb.co.uk 3
1.0 Introduction 1.1 This Written Statement of Services describes the service levels and arrangements that exist between James Gibb residential factors and homeowners in its managed developments. 1.2 The Statement has been produced in accordance with the requirements of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 and its associated Code of Conduct. 2.0 Authority to Act 2.1 James Gibb residential factors was appointed to manage the communal areas of your development. Our management is the result of either: appointment by a developer, by a decision of the majority of homeowners, by custom and practice or by formal business acquisition. 2.2 The management appointment date is recorded in Section 01 of your Development Schedule. 2.3 Our authority to act includes the management of: n Routine maintenance contractors n On-going repair works n Emergency repairs n Utilities and utility bills (where applicable) n Project work n Block Insurance (where applicable) 2.4 For non-emergency repairs, the ultimate decision to authorise any work up to the value detailed in Section 02 of your Development Schedule, will be made by James Gibb residential factors. Any works that are likely to exceed this cost will require the approval of the Homeowners Association (or the majority of owners). The value stated may be given in the deed of conditions or by agreement with the Homeowners Association. 2.5 If an emergency repair is required, James Gibb residential factors will authorise repairs, whatever 4 statement of services the value, and advise the Homeowners Association (or the majority of owners) of the costs, when known. 2.6 The decision to treat a repair as an emergency will be made by James Gibb residential factors based on the conditions and hazards present. 2.7 James Gibb residential factors will only use approved and authorised contractors for any repair work and will always endeavour to obtain the best possible value for its customers. Multiple quotations will be arranged, where appropriate, by James Gibb residential factors. 3.0 Services Provided 3.1 James Gibb residential factors provides an extensive range of services for the communal areas in each of its developments. In general, communal includes all parts of the development under shared ownership. 3.2 The services provided cover the maintenance, management and repair of the communal areas detailed in Section 03 of your Development Schedule. 3.3 Private areas are those that belong to the homeowners individual properties and are not included in our services. These include, but may not be limited to: n All areas inside the home. n Entry phone systems inside the home n Private balconies n Main doors into individual properties. n Private windows and surrounds, mastic etc. n Overflows n Private vents and flues n Private water / gas pipes etc. from the point of exit from communal supplies. 3.4 It is the homeowners responsibility to ensure these areas are maintained in good order, particularly those which are visually accessible to the development.
4.0 Maintenance and Response Arrangements 4.1 Routine Maintenance n n n n Gardening services, where applicable, will be provided in accordance with the Gardening Schedule detailed in Section 04 of your Development Schedule. Cleaning services, where applicable, will be provided in accordance with the Cleaning Schedule detailed in Section 05 of your Development Schedule. Roof inspections, gutter cleaning, etc will be provided, where applicable, on an as required basis. Statutory inspections of lifts, emergency lighting, fire-fighting equipment etc. will be arranged, where applicable, by James Gibb residential factors in accordance with the individual requirements. 4.2 Routine repairs 4.2.1 Requests for routine repairs can be made using the following communication methods: n By telephone to the designated property manager on the relevant office number detailed on the cover page of this document. n By letter to your local office address as detailed on the cover page of this document. n By email to your property manager or to the email address of your relevant office detailed on the cover page of this document. n Via our website at Request a Repair at www.jamesgibb.co.uk n By advising your Property Manager during a routine inspection of your building / development. 4.3 Emergency Repairs 4.3.1 Requests for emergency repairs can be made by calling your local office number. If the emergency situation arises during office hours, the homeowner should ask to speak to their property manager. If outwith office hours, calls should, again, be made to the office number where an automated service offering a number of options for emergency response is provided. The emergency out of hours contractors available, and provided in the options given, are, typically: n Gas emergency n Plumber n Electrician n Locksmith n Joiner n Glazier n Drain cleaning / blockage n Roof Repairs. 4.3.2 Please note that, if an emergency repair is required within a private area of the home, the invoice must be settled directly by the homeowner. Communal emergency repairs will be charged at the normal apportionments to all relevant homeowners. 4.4 Major Projects 4.4.1 Major projects (also known as Proposed Works) are defined as significant planned works whose costs exceed our normal authority to act as defined in Section 2.4. Such projects include: n Communal painting scheme n Re-roofing project n Full gutter replacement n New carpeting in communal areas n Garden re-design www.jamesgibb.co.uk 5
4.4.2 Major project discussions can result from: n A requirement of your deed of conditions (eg some deeds stipulate communal painting every 3 or 5 years) n The conclusions of a professional inspection (eg a roof condition report) n A recommendation by your Property Manager n A request from the Homeowners Association / majority of owners. 4.4.3 In most cases, a meeting will be held between James Gibb and the owners to establish the level of interest in a particular project. Given a sufficient level of interest, James Gibb will normally then have a project specification prepared and seek up to three quotes. The committee / homeowners will then decide whether or not they wish to proceed. Without majority approval, or the percentage set out in your deeds, major projects can t proceed unless significant and immediate health and safety issue prevail. 4.4.4. Once a project has been approved, by the homeowners, and a contractor / quotation selected, sufficient funding must be in place prior to the commencement of the project. This ensures the ability to settle the contractor s invoice. (The costs involved in major works are such that the financial resources within the development fund would normally be insufficient to cover the costs under our normal quarterly invoice in arrears process). There are two ways in which funds can be generated: 4.4.4.1 Ingathering of funds - James Gibb will calculate the individual project cost per homeowner and issue a proposed works invoice to each homeowner. Only when sufficient funds have been ingathered will the contractor be given the go-ahead to commence works. James Gibb will determine what percentage of funds will be required to start the process. This will depend on the financial health of the development, problems with income recovery etc. It should be noted, it is possible that agreed works may not go ahead if insufficient funds are ingathered after an agreed period. In such cases, funds received will be returned to the owners. 4.4.4.2 Use of Sinking Fund (See Section 5.4) Ingathering of funds may not be required if: n there is a sinking fund in place for the development n there are sufficient funds available to cover the cost of the project. (A combination of sinking and ingathered funds may be preferred or required) n the majority of owners wish the sinking fund to be used for a particular project. Where a sinking fund is used, individual invoices will not normally be generated. 4.4.5 It s very important that your development is maintained to an acceptable level. Not only does this improve the daily visual benefits of a well maintained, clean environment, it also helps maintain / improve the value and sellability / rentability of your property. For these reasons, on-going maintenance / improvements are essential. 6 statement of services
4.4.6 In some geographic areas, grants and subsidies may be available from local councils and heritage trusts. In such cases, James Gibb will liaise with the relevant organisations to ensure the homeowner benefits from whatever assistance may be available. 4.4.7 In line with its clarity of costs ethos, James Gibb applies no fee for the management of major projects. 4.5 Response Times 4.5.1 Routine repairs An acknowledgement of a request for a routine repair will be made within 2 working days of the request. If the repair cost is considered to be less than the limit of or authority to act (Section 02 of your Development Schedule), James Gibb residential factors will arrange for the works to be instructed within seven days of the request. If, for any reason, instruction cannot be made within this time period, the homeowner or homeowner association will be notified. If the repair cost is considered to be in excess of the agreed limit, James Gibb residential factors will provide quotations, for the repair, to the Homeowners Committee / Association, for their consideration, within fourteen working days of the request. 4.5.2 Emergency Repairs James Gibb residential factors will endeavour to ensure emergency repairs are performed within twenty four hours of notification, sooner if the situation demands a quicker response and if contractors are available. In some cases, it may only be possible to make safe a hazardous situation within this time scale depending on the nature of the emergency. 4.5.3 Alterations / enhancements Any alterations or enhancements to a development or block should have the approval of the Homeowners Association (or the majority of owners) before a request is made to James Gibb residential factors. This would include, but not be limited to: n Tree removal n Lighting sensors n Service bell amendments n No Parking signs etc. Once approved and requested, the response times for normal repairs will apply. 4.5.4 Major projects Timescales will depend on a number of criteria including: homeowner s meetings to gain approval, production and approval of quotes and ingathering of funds. 4.6 Property Inspections 4.6.1 Routine property inspections will be made by the property manager, at a frequency detailed in Section 06 of your Development Schedule. Visits can be more frequent in the event of on-going problems, repairs, major projects etc. 4.6.2 If the Homeowners Association (or majority of owners) requires a formal thorough inspection of the development, for the purposes of preventative maintenance etc, this will be performed by the property manager on an annual basis. Other professional services may be required at such inspections, for example structural surveyors or roofing experts. The costs for such external services would be provided and agreed with the Homeowners Association, prior to any visit. www.jamesgibb.co.uk 7
5.0 Financial and Charging Arrangements 5.1 Management Fees 5.1.1 An annual factoring management fee, detailed in Section 07 of your Development Schedule, will apply to each homeowner in the development. This fee is correct at the date of publication of the development schedule and will be reviewed on an annual basis. 5.1.2 The fee is determined, generally, by the scope of services provided and the size of the development and may change if the scope is altered (e.g. grounds only to full block management). 5.1.3 The management fee will be reviewed in August of each year and advice on notification of any change in the amount of the fee will be communicated, annually, in the Autumn Edition (August) of our newsletter. This will give three months notice of any fee change, which will take effect from 28th November each year. As our invoices are produced quarterly, in arrears, management fee changes will not appear until the February invoice run (i.e. fees for Dec, Jan and Feb). See Section 5.5 for further invoicing details. 5.1.4 Notification of any fee change will be posted to the News Section of your James Gibb+ portal on despatch of your August invoice. This notification will include details of your revised annual fee along with the reasons for the change. Should you require a hard copy of this notification, please contact your local property manager. 5.1.5 The fee review process will take into account such factors as: inflation, on-going operational costs (for example postage, insurances), cost of compliance etc., as well as any changes in scope (see 5.1.2). 5.1.6 Fees for newly acquired developments will remain stable for a period of two years unless the scope of services significantly differs from that originally agreed. This excludes developments acquired by the purchase of another factoring business. 5.2 Apportionment of costs 5.2.1 All costs, incurred in the on-going common works and services provided by James Gibb residential factors in the maintenance of the development, will be shared, as appropriate, between homeowners. These include, where applicable: n Routine maintenance (e.g. gardening and cleaning) n On-going repairs and maintenance costs. n Utility Bills n Block Insurance and Lift Insurance / Inspections n Project work n Caretaker / House Manager costs (where applicable) n Safety checks n Others as required. 5.2.2 The split (or apportionment) of costs is normally determined by the deed of conditions. If there is no provision in the deed of conditions for some costs, the apportionments will be agreed between James Gibb residential factors and the Homeowners Association. Where no definition exists, the Tenements (Scotland) Act will apply, where relevant. 5.3 Floating Funds 5.3.1 On appointment of James Gibb residential factors to manage a 8 statement of services
development, a float payment, as detailed in Section 08 of your Development Schedule, is required from each homeowner within 14 calendar days of receipt of the Welcome Pack. This float is used as a fund to pay contractors invoices and is required because invoices are sent to homeowners quarterly in arrears. 5.3.2 Floats are repaid to each homeowner after departure from their property and will appear as a credit on the final invoice. 5.3.3 The date of the final invoice is determined by the homeowner s sale date. If the sale date falls at least two clear months prior to the next quarter end, the final invoice / return of float will be produced shortly after the forthcoming quarter end. If the sale date falls less than two clear months prior to the next quarter end, the final invoice will be produced one full quarter after the next quarter end. (See 5.5.1 for quarter end / invoice dates). For example: If a sale is processed on 3rd March, the final invoice will be produced within twenty one days of Quarter ending 27th May. If a sale is processed on 3rd April, the final invoice will be produced within twenty one days of Quarter ending 27th August. This allows us time to process costs incurred by contractors but not charged to James Gibb residential factors until after the preparation of the quarterly invoice. 5.3.4 The full amount of the float will be repaid to the homeowner minus any outstanding costs on the account. 5.3.5 The float amount quoted in the development schedule is correct at the date of publication of this Statement of Service, and may be subject to change, by agreement with the Homeowners Association (or the majority of owners), if costs increase significantly. 5.4 Sinking / Reserve / Contingency Funds 5.4.1 In order to financially plan for major projects, such as painting schemes, a sinking or reserve fund can be arranged for the development by James Gibb residential factors. Such funds are held in separate accounts arranged by James Gibb residential factors in the name of the development. 5.4.2 Sinking fund contributions are agreed with the Homeowners Association (or majority of owners) and are charged to the homeowner in the quarterly invoice. 5.4.3 Sinking fund Bank Accounts are separate from the Company s operating account and are securely protected against the financial failure of the business. 5.4.4 Interest accrued in sinking fund accounts is retained directly in the account. 5.4.5 An annual statement of the funds held in the development s sinking fund account can be exhibited at the Annual General Meeting. 5.4.6 If a homeowner sells the property, the amount paid into the sinking fund is not returned. It should, however, be detailed as an asset in the sale of the property. www.jamesgibb.co.uk 9
5.4.7 Details of the agreed sinking funds applicable to your development are given in Section 12 of your Development Schedule. 5.4.8 The use / spending of sinking funds is controlled by the Homeowners Association (or majority of owners). James Gibb may recommend the use of sinking funds for a particular project, but cannot enforce such an action. 5.4.9 Sinking funds can only be used for the common good of all those who have contributed. For example, funds cannot be used to re-carpet the stairs in block 2 if the sinking fund is development wide and there are no plans to similarly re-carpet all other blocks. 5.4.10 Multiple and separate sinking funds can be established within a development e.g. overall development fund, block 2 fund, lift fund etc. 5.5 Invoicing 5.5.1 James Gibb residential factors produces invoices on a quarterly basis. Invoice periods are as follows: 28th February to 27th May 28th May to 27th August 28th August to 27th November 28th November to 27th February 5.5.2 All costs, including management fees, are charged quarterly in arrears. Insurance premiums may vary (see Section 7) 5.5.3 Fully itemised quarterly invoices are produced and despatched to homeowners within seven working days after the quarter end. 5.5.4 Invoices will be sent to the homeowner either by standard postage or by secure email depending on individual preferences. For environmental and cost purposes, the preferred method of delivery is secure email. Please contact factors@jamesgibb.co.uk if you are able to receive email invoices. 5.5.5 Invoices will contain a list of detailed columns as follows: n Date charge incurred n Item description n Total Amount n Homeowner s share of cost (percentage or fraction) n Homeowner s charge n VAT n Individual Total. 5.5.6 The invoice also displays a statement of account and shows previous balance, payments received and an account balance. 5.6 Sales / Apportionment Process and Fees 5.6.1 When a homeowner sells a property in a factored development, James Gibb residential factors admin team liaises with purchasing and selling solicitors to ensure that they are aware of any outstanding debt, presence of sinking funds, pending projects etc. When known, the handover date is supplied to James Gibb residential factors, who then must ensure that all costs are apportioned to the correct owner at the correct date. For example, for a handover date of 1st July, the departing owner is liable for all costs up to that date including: cleaning, gardening, utility bills etc. As some invoices may not be generated until well after the handover date (for example quarterly utility bills) the final invoice, including repayment of float, is produced some time after the date of handover, to ensure all outstanding costs are correctly split. (See 5.3.3 for full details of final invoice / float repayments) 10 statement of services
A charge of 25.00 plus VAT is made to the departing homeowner to cover the significant internal administration requirements involved in sales / handover process. This charge will appear on the final invoice. 5.6.2 If you are selling your property, please download our Selling your home guide, from the Documents tab on our website for our complete information pack. If you do not have internet access, please contact your local office for a copy. 5.7 Payment of Invoices 5.7.1 Payments are due within fourteen days of despatch of the invoice. 5.7.2 A late payment fee of 20.00 plus VAT is applicable to late payments. 5.7.3 The reverse of the hard copy invoice, or the email T&C attachment, details our terms of conditions. 5.7.4 Invoices can be paid by any of the following methods: n On-line using the James Gibb + Portal at www.jamesgibb.co.uk or download the App n Electronic bank transfer See back of invoice for details n Standing order n Direct Debit n Debit or credit card (Credit card payments incur a 2.5% charge) n By telephone using our secure, automated payment line 03300 885591 n Cheque n Cash (only if visiting the office please do not post cash). 5.7.5 If paying by direct debit, James Gibb residential factors will advise the payment amount required based on recent average costs. As on-going costs do fluctuate, homeowners must check their invoice and pay any outstanding balance on their account each quarter. It is the homeowner s responsibility to adjust direct debit amounts if charges vary significantly over time 5.7.6 Any disputed items on an invoice should be raised with James Gibb residential factors accounts department within seven days of receipt of the invoice. Undisputed items on the invoice must still be paid within fourteen days of receipt of invoice. 5.8 Client Bank Account 5.8.1 James Gibb residential factors has a specific Client Bank Account into which all floats and homeowners payments are made and from which all contractors invoices etc. are paid. This account is separate from the Company s operating account and is securely protected against the financial failure of the business. 5.8.2 James Gibb residential factors retains any interest accrued on the Client Bank Account. It also pays all charges incurred on the account such as card machine charges, BACS transfers to contractors accounts etc. For the avoidance of doubt, client account bank charges far exceed the value of interest gained. 5.9 Income Recovery 5.9.1 An income recovery process and related procedure are stringently applied to ensure that all means possible are employed to recover debt from late and defaulting payers. www.jamesgibb.co.uk 11
The procedure, in turn, includes letters from James Gibb residential factors, then notification from an external debt management company and, ultimately, legal action. 5.9.2 Any legal costs incurred in the recovery of debt will be charged directly to the relevant homeowner. 5.9.3 If all available means to recover the debt have been exhausted without success, the outstanding amount may be distributed, as a cost, between the remaining homeowners in the development. This is in line with the majority of deeds of condition. 5.9.4 A copy of James Gibb residential factor s income recovery procedure is available, on request, by contacting the office by the usual means or by emailing factors@jamesgibb.co.uk 5.9.5 Details of the development debt position can be provided at each owners association meeting or AGM. Details provided will include the number of debtors along with the size and status of each debt (ie debt recovery, legal action etc). Names of individual debtors whose debt is at the legal action stage may be passed on if requested. 5.9.6 It is important that each development is in funds in order to allow continuous delivery of services. If significant debt is accrued and the development funds have a resultant debit balance, contractors services may have to be suspended until the financial position is rectified. The level of float may also be revisited. Such statements will be provided, annually, at the owners association AGM, or at other times, if required. No changes will be implemented without first discussing financial concerns with the owners association. 5.10 Contractors Invoices and Payments 5.10.1 James Gibb residential factors settles all contractors invoices within fourteen days of receipt (assuming there are no disputes). 5.10.2 No mark up, commission, or any other form of remuneration is taken by James Gibb residential factors in its dealings with contractors. The price the homeowner pays is the price charged by the contractor. 6.0 Communication Arrangements 6.1 General Communications 6.1.1 Good communications between the factor and homeowner are the key to a successful relationship. For general enquiries, email is the best form of communication. Emails should be sent to either the property manager or to the relevant office email address given on the cover page of this document. It is preferable that communications regarding a particular issue are channelled through a block representative or owners committee member to avoid multiplication of information. Should email not be suitable or available, homeowners can communicate by phone or letter. For general requests, James Gibb residential factors staff will acknowledge receipt of a communication within two working days of receipt. Timescales for resolution of queries, relevant to the prevailing issues, will be agreed with the homeowner on receipt acknowledgement. 12 statement of services
7.0 Complaints 7.1 In most cases, a quick call to the property manager or accounts department, will usually be all that s required to resolve any issues. If this proves unsuccessful, James Gibb residential factors operates a formal complaints handling procedure. 7.2 Should a homeowner wish to make a formal complaint, our Customer Complaints Guide is available on our website at www.jamesgibb. co.uk or by calling your local James Gibb office. 7.3 Our complaints process has up to five stages as identified below 7.4 Stage 1 Initial Receipt of complaint All formal complaints are managed by our Support Services Department to which all initial correspondence should be made. Please refer to our on-linecustomer complaints guide (or call your local office for a copy). 7.5 Stage 2 Registration and acknowledgement Our Support Services team will register the complaint, appoint a unique reference number to it, then pass it to the relevant Operations Manager or Support Services Manager, who will acknowledge receipt of the complaint to the homeowner within 5 working days of initial receipt of the complaint. 7.6 Stage 3 Complaint Investigation Formal complaints will be investigated by a relevant local manager. Homeowners may be contacted or visited as part of the process to ensure all facts have been gathered. Depending on its complexity, the investigation may also include a formal root cause analysis as well as the implementation of corrective and preventative measures. The conclusions of each formal investigation will be reviewed and approved by the local Operations or Support Services Manager. The investigation process should take no longer than 4 weeks. 7.7 Stage 4 Formal Response The homeowner will receive a formal response, either by email or letter, once the investigation has been concluded and signed off by the local Operations Manager or Support Services Manager. As the complaints process is very thorough and fair, it is hoped that this would conclude the investigation to the homeowner s satisfaction and the file closed. 7.8 Stage 5 Rejection of formal response Should the homeowner consider the formal response to be unsatisfactory, a further communication, within 7 days of receipt of findings, should be made to our Support Services team, detailing rejected findings. For full details, please refer to our on-line customer complaints guide (or call your local office for a copy). Once received, the complaint will be reopened and passed to the local Director, who will review the initial complaint and findings. The local Director will aim to formally reply to the homeowner within 2 weeks of receipt. The local Director s response will be final and, at this stage, the internal complaints process will have been exhausted. 7.9 If the homeowner remains dis-satisfied after the local Director s response, the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 allows homeowners to make an application to the Scottish Government s First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) for a determination of whether their factor has failed to carry out their factoring duties, or failed to comply with the Code of Conduct. 7.10 To take a complaint to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), homeowners must first notify their property factor in writing of the reasons why they consider that the factor has failed to carry out their duties, or failed to comply with the Code of Conduct. The property factor must also have refused to resolve the homeowner s concerns, or have unreasonably delayed attempting to resolve them. www.jamesgibb.co.uk 13
7.11 At the request of the homeowner, and if all attempts to resolve the complaint have failed, James Gibb residential factors will provide contact details for the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) to whom the complaint can be passed. 7.12 In dealing with complaints, James Gibb residential factors staff will, at all times, display a polite and professional approach with the homeowner. Similarly, homeowners who have a complaint must also display professional conduct at all times. Verbal (or other forms of) abuse of staff will not be tolerated. 8.0 Block Insurance / Lift Insurance & Inspection 8.1 Block insurance is offered to all developments by James Gibb residential factors. Details of the insurances and claims handling procedures are available on our website or by request at your relevant office. 8.2 A copy of the insurance certificate is available for inspection either via the client portal (available via our website www.jamesgibb. co.uk) or by request to the Property Manager. The certificate contains details of the insurer, the premium, the declared value, the sum insured and the excesses that apply. 8.3 A copy of the full policy document is available, via the client portal. It may also be viewed at James Gibb residential factor s office. 8.4 In order to maintain insurance premiums at the lowest possible level, James Gibb residential factors does not receive any commissions beyond that taken by the broker. Instead, it shares the broker s standard commission. It is able to do this by taking some of the administrative work in-house. 8.5 Our broker s commission for the provision and management of insurance products is detailed in Section 09 of your Development Schedule. James Gibb residential factors does not take any further commission on top of this. Each year, the share of broker s commission awarded to James Gibb is negotiated between the parties. This, of course, has no effect on the premium. 8.6 As our actual commission values vary on an on-going basis, current values can be made available on request. 8.7 No other commissions or mark ups are received on insurance products. 8.8 James Gibb residential factors is happy to demonstrate its annual insurance renewal process on request. 8.9 It is very important that the declared value of a block or development is accurate on all our insurance policies. If a value is underdeclared, the insurers would be unable to fully fund a rebuild in the event of 100% destruction. If a value is over-declared, the owners will be unnecessarily over paying on their insurance. Neither situation is, clearly, favourable. In order to ensure that each insurance policy is set at the correct amount of cover, James Gibb residential factors will arrange a re-valuation survey to be carried out every five years, unless significant swings in market conditions / raw material prices etc., necessitate a more speedy review. In the intervening years, index linked increases will apply to declared values reflecting standard insurers practice. 8.10 The frequency of re-valuations can be amended by James Gibb residential factors as instructed by the Homeowners Association (or the majority of owners) in the development as defined in the deed of conditions. 8.11 The insurance premium payment schedule is detailed in Section 10 of your Development Schedule. 14 statement of services
9.0 Conflicts of Interest 9.1 In the unlikely event that James Gibb residential factors are involved in a relationship, or agreement, that is material or conflicts with any work undertaken for the homeowner, fair treatment will be ensured at all times. 10.0 Regulatory Status and Associations 10.1 James Gibb residential factors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Number 588203) to conduct non-investment insurance business. 10.2 It is also a registered with The Property Ombudsman, residential leasehold management (Registration Number D7066). 10.3 The business operates as a formally registered Factor, registration number PF000103. 10.4 In addition, the company is a registered member of the Property Managers Association Scotland (PMAS). 11.0 Termination of Agreement 11.1 In accordance with the requirements of the deed of conditions for your development, the contract with James Gibb residential factors can be terminated, in writing, to the local Director. The termination notice period is given in Section 11 of your Development Schedule. Any float repayment due will be included as a credit assuming that all individual debts have been cleared. 11.4 Any outstanding development debt will be distributed, as a cost between all homeowners in the development. This cost will appear on the final invoice. 11.5 Cancellation of longer term contracts / premiums may incur charges. 12.0 Version History 12.1 First release January 2013. 12.2 Issue 06 Amended to introduce name change from Homeowner Housing Panel First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. 12.3 Issue 07 Section 5.1 Management fee review notifications to be posted on the JG+ portal. Sections 5.3.3 and 5.6 amended to provide more detail on final invoices / float returns. Section 5.7 New payment methods added. Section 11.5 Inclusion of cancellation charges. 11.2 If termination occurs outwith the requirements of the deed of conditions, financial penalty charges may apply. 11.3 Once all bills pertaining to the development have been received and processed (normally up to 12 weeks), a final invoice will be produced for each homeowner. www.jamesgibb.co.uk 15
The James Gibb+ mobile phone app can be downloaded absolutely free from either the Google Play Store (Android) or from the Apple App Store. For further information, please contact us. Edinburgh t: 0131 229 3481 f: 0131 229 3771 e: edinburgh@jamesgibb.co.uk Registered property factor no: PF000103 Glasgow t: 0141 552 2230 f: 0141 552 2646 e:: glasgow@jamesgibb.co.uk Aberdeen t: 01224 650 600 f: 01224 650 602 e: aberdeen@jamesgibb.co.uk