Denyer House major works

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    jordan1980
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      Hi there
      We’ve recently been told there is to be roofing and heating works at Denyer House on Highgate Road and our bill is set to be over £13K. This is shocking enough in itself but when looking at the invoice I can’t quite figure out what some of the costs actually mean and wondered if anyone on her could be more help than the rather confused bloke i spoke to on the phone… I’d love to hear from other residents and see if there’s any point in taking my inquiries further?

      Firstly I’m intrigued by the difference between Overhead Fees (Block costs £81k), Contractor Central Overheads and Profit (Block costs £9K), Major Works Supervision fee (Block costs £13k) and the Indirect Costs (Block costs £31k).

      Now i know what overheads are, but surely we should be able to get a detailed look at what they actually are? I work as a freelanceer so know there are many contractors who think quoting large overheads is just a nameless way to add to a juicer profit. Do you know if we can attain this infomation?

      Most confusing though was the description Camden gave me about the ‘Indirect Costs’ which are apparently the costs to cover the Camden Council department responsible for sourcing major works. The bloke Stefan at the council stated to me that it was to cover the costs of the team (of which there are 18 of them)and the new office in Kings Cross, but surely our Council and annual service charges should cover this already? If they need to make money off of major works to cover these costs then surely that’s a conflict of interests as a council?

      He then back tracked and said it was for ‘computers and posting letters and stuff’ which seems absurdly steep? He also says its divided between all the projects from all the major works commissioned in Camden which doesn’t really make sense either? Can anyone shed any light on it and the other ‘overheads’?

      Lastly, the scaffolding costs are over £140k which seems very expensive when compared to other quotes available. is there a way of challenging the council about how they agreed such a quote with the contractors?

      Many thanks
      Jordan

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