Residents slam delay in refund payments
A Rutherglen gran has slammed delays in securing a refund from her former factor as a “disgrace”.
Scores of residents at Blairbeth Mews in the town were left waiting for a £250 deposit to be paid back by James Gibb residential factors, who had managed the property until last June.
However pensioner Catherine Patterson, who suffers from COPD and asthma, was left fed up with the amount of time it took for her and other residents to get their money back.
Residents decided to switch factors last summer but were owed around £250 of the £350 deposit they had previously paid.
Catherine said: “They had that deposit for years and I had all the tenants phoning me asking what’s happening.
“We changed the electricity company so we had owed them a wee bit more, so they were taking that off the £350 which was fair enough and everybody was fine with that.
“Whenever I phoned them they said they were dealing with it. It takes two minutes to transfer from their account to mine, they were just playing games with us.
“People were getting disheartened because they were getting told different things. It’s a disgrace.
“There’s a lot of people here who are pensioners and were relying on that money for Christmas. My friend took me on holiday in December and I was relying on that money too, it was very important.
“We were expecting to get it back in three months, but we didn’t and everybody was up in arms and had enough, I didn’t know what to do.”
It’s believed most residents were finally paid back their deposits shortly before Christmas.
A spokesperson for James Gibb residential factor said: “Clients from this development have now received their float refund.
“They all received written confirmation when we received the cease to factor notification that there was a three month notice period and they would receive their final invoice within the billing period that followed the termination date which would be December. After they were also notified that the float would be credited within this invoice which it has been.
“Clients were then fully refunded the credit balance.”