by Linda Lyons » Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:55 pm
Hi all,
Just thought i'd post my experience in July re maintebance charges,according to my prem.contract these charges were to be €6.90 + 20% vat,total amount being €8.28 per gross sqm,however,i was charged €9 per sqm and in my case a hike of €46 which the "nice" accountant told me was not worth talking about!
When i asked her why there was a difference in price she told me that everyone knows that there is a bulgarian inflation percentage added every two years and that i had agreed to that when i signed my maintenance contract,i informed her that number1 i wasn't Bulgarian and number2 that i bought my apt on the basis of my prem contract ,where there is no mention of this inflation and that it was a bit late in the day after paying all your instalments to find out that this clause "somehow"only appears on the maintenance contract!!
I have two problems with this situation,firstly the fact that one was conned from the start and secondly and more importantly is if this behaviour is allowed to continue and our charges goes through the roof,we'll end up being better off without an apt and spend the money on a pacage holiday,also i have been told by a well informed source that the €30 "service charge" should be included in the maintenance fee and not be an extra charge.
I hope any "rose tinted thinkers" out there don't take this as petty moaning,because at the end of the day its a problem for all owners as those that paid
in advance will be near ending their contracts.
I have also been informed that new legislation has been introduced in Bulgaria whereby apt.owners can form a committee much like an employee's union where apt owners in this case can air their views or dissatisfaction about how the complex is managed and in turn vote on whether or not we want new managemnet therefore giving new powers and a voice to us owners who prior to this had to "put up and shut up".This law was implemented for the purpose of ensuring that owners got fair play,which i for one don't think we have,but this law may prove to be very useful down the road.
So the accountant's or should i say broken vending machine (insert money and get nothing in return) days of dictateing could be shortened if there isn't a little more give and less take.
Finally on an nicer note i really enjoyed my stay,Nicky and most of the office staff couldn't be more helpful and all minor problems in the apt were dealt with as soon as they were reported and of course Camelot put the final touches on a fantastic holiday,