March out charges

[StickyFingers]

I shall be stood there on march out day with a sharp stanley knife, gerber and a great big grin on my face and everything I'm going to get charged for is coming with me and going straight in the bin. Its the only way

 

[Crabbity Ann]

...everything I'm going to get charged for is coming with me and going straight in the bin. Its the only way

Outstanding idea! Can't believe I never thought of it. When they charged me for that dent in the door I should've shown them what a real dent is with the help of a hammer. Would know for sure that my money was being used to replace it then. Though knowing them, they'd probably just stick it back together with parcel tape DT_Xtremez_25:

 

[ChrisBrit81]

In Cyprus it's all different, there's no Defence Estates looking after the quarters, it's good old fashioned Warrant Officers (in civvies mind you) giving the place a proper thorough inspection with white gloves.

On march out from our disgustingly crappy built in the 50s pre-fab quarter in Episkopi we decided to clean the house ourselves. Wifey took the kitchen (her choice honest) and I took the rest of the house.... literally. Out there they're very old fashioned and request that the only person present at the march out is the "serving person" and shoo the missus to a neighbours house. I took him around the house where he proceeded to white glove all the door frames, wardrobe shelves, toilet seat etc etc... spotless!! I was so chuffed, we then went to the kitchen and he found 2 faults... 1, the missus had forgotten to dust the back of the service issue fridge. 2, the missus had completely forgotten to clean the hob plates.

None of this "there's something wrong, so we have to bill you" bollox, the WO took his jacket off, rolled his sleeves up and said "I'll do the fridge, you do the hob plates" we were there for 30 minutes cleaning, then he signed off on the house... TOP BLOKE!!

 

[Craig855s]

With reference to people saying they'll take items away that need replacing (dented doors etc) unfortunately u cant..as it says in the contract you sign, in different wording obviously "If something is damaged and you are billed for a replacement you must leave the old item in situ"

Think this came about because someone tore a carpet out of a room in front of the DE rep who said "that carpet is beyond cleaning/repair and will need replacing"

Not sure what they'd do if u didnt leave it,if u take a door of the hinges and leave with it what are they going to do? kick you out of the house for breaching the contract? or charge you for a new.......erm...

 

[Tashy_Man]

Think this came about because someone tore a carpet out of a room in front of the DE rep who said "that carpet is beyond cleaning/repair and will need replacing"

When we left Marham (2000) we moved to waddo and I went back day before march out to clean up......spent all day and night cleaning including carpets deep cleaned as we have pets (even though on march-in they had said they were due to be replaced !). They still picked up a few stains on the carpet but said it would not be a lot and would send the bill through.

About a month later got the bill totalling over £300 for carpets....not happy I was in contact and they would not budge. I then said OK I will pay the charge when you deliver the removed carpets to my current address....they said they could not do this as the carpets had already been removed and skipped.......I stuck to my guns they reduced charge to something like £25........Marham a hellhole from start to finish !

Crack on.......................DT_Xtremez_09:

 

[StickyFingers]

With reference to people saying they'll take items away that need replacing (dented doors etc) unfortunately u cant..as it says in the contract you sign, in different wording obviously "If something is damaged and you are billed for a replacement you must leave the old item in situ"

Think this came about because someone tore a carpet out of a room in front of the DE rep who said "that carpet is beyond cleaning/repair and will need replacing"

Not sure what they'd do if u didnt leave it,if u take a door of the hinges and leave with it what are they going to do? kick you out of the house for breaching the contract? or charge you for a new.......erm...

I shall get my contract out and see if thats the case. So, if you go back to the house, in say a years time like some people have stated before in the thread, your bill said "Carpet replacement" and they didn't actually change the carpet that must be a breach of contract? It can't be legal.

 

[Crabbity Ann]

I shall get my contract out and see if thats the case. So, if you go back to the house, in say a years time like some people have stated before in the thread, your bill said "Carpet replacement" and they didn't actually change the carpet that must be a breach of contract? It can't be legal.

Hmmm.....interesting. Who would really go so far as to fight it through the legal system though? If we all fought en mass, like everyone in MQs signed a petition for fairer/legal marchouts and following through with repairs...maybe...,nah, who am I kiddin, nothing will change DT_Xtremez_21:

It sucks, we pay a fraction of the cost of civvie housing which is great but the real price is sub-standard accommodation and sub-standard treatment.

 

[Saint Domingo]

have had countless fights with the *******s that are Defence Estates since moving in and out of quarters.

I have found however, that if you think you are in the right, stick to your guns. When I moved out of my quarter at Wycombe they said that I left the grass too long and would have to pay for a gardener. It was ****ing December so how was I supposed to cut the grass when it was constantly ****ing down. I first complained to the local office, then when I got nowhere with them, I asked to speak to the boss their. I emailed him regularly, keeping all corrspondence and read reports, and also informed him I would be going to see the Welfare Officer on camp. Eventually they relented about the grass and a load of other **** they brought up. You need to stand up to them, stay civil, keep a record of anything and see if you can speak to your Welfare Officer.

Good luck.

PS: They also said, as there was a chip out of the TOP of one our cupbaord doors, that our dog had chewed it. Our dog is a Chihuahua, says it all really.

 

[mememe]

Whilst I think we are all in agreement that DE are a bunch of ***** when it comes to march out,allocation and fixing something, threatening them with, "i'll speak to my boss/welfare officer/CO will have limited appeal. We are dealing with a bunch of civi's who have no real idea of our business, coupled with the fact we don't own the estate. So what if your boss/welfare officer phones Liverpool to ask what is happening with a broken door...they will get the same reply....a load of shti. This is bourne through experience when my house was broken into whilst I was OOA, wife and kids inside, broke down front door = IT TOOK THEM 38 DAYS TO FIX AND SECURE THE DOOR.
It was only after the threat of legal action and an official looking letter from a solicitor friend encouraged them to get it fixed. I realise MHS do the fixing, however, I engaged with DE to get them to move their arze, they didn't want to know........
My thoughts are, go straight for the jugs and threaten legal action from the start, take names of individuals who march you out, get them to spell it and advice them you don't want to get it wrong on the solicitors letter or court papers- I don't believe they understand any other langauge.

 

[Craig855s]

Had a response to my first email to them and they have dropped the oven charge,so they now want £130 from me. They have also itemised what a "level 3 sparkle" is. (They said the only problem other than the oven was "sticky/greasy walls") but a level 3 sparkle involves..


cleaning all windows inside and out
carpet hoover
hard floors clean
light fittings dusting (ill be honest i never done those so the kitchen light may have flies in,and other rooms may have dust on)
sink,bath,toilet clean
path sweep
The above costs 29.66..none of which i deem is nesecary,

The oven is a FULL chage not a half charge,but that has been dropped (so 59.32 has been taken off)
And a deep clean of the carpets needs doing at £90 (despite the fact we ran a carpet shampooer round the house as the very last thing we done...)

Im gonna have a field day with him.

So the DE rep only said walls and cooker to my proxy...but somehow a level 3 sparkle needs doing? This is going to be fun!!

 

[Rack Shelf Bin]

IWhen I moved out of my quarter at Wycombe they said that I left the grass too long and would have to pay for a gardener. QUOTE]

I had the same when i moved out of Halton.

Sat in the car telling Mrs RSB that march out was fine when the MHS bloke taps on the car window and said that the garden was not to move out standard. Had great pleasure in telling him to direct his observation to the DHE lady as she said it was ok and I had signed the house over to her.


Oh how I giggled

DT_Xtremez_30:

 

[airframe doctor]

**** em, when I move out of my MQ next March if they bill me for anything that needs replacing I'll arrange a time for me to be there when the items are getting replaced, as I will only be moving down the road the my own gaff.
Some of the DHE employees are no better than little Hitlers who think the houses are their own. ******

 

[Crabbity Ann]

When I moved out of my quarter at Wycombe they said that I left the grass too long and would have to pay for a gardener. It was ****ing December so how was I supposed to cut the grass when it was constantly ****ing down.

I had the same when i moved out of Halton.

Me too, seems to be a recurring theme. I moved out in January, It was fcuking snowing! They said we either do it or get billed. Managed to find a day when the weather wasn't horrendously sh!t to get it cut. We then got billed because the grass was apparently dead and would need to be re-seeded. Why the did we have to cut it then?

Listening to you lot I think next time I might make more of a stand when they get anal about stuff.

 

[Craig855s]

Heard back from my proxy and he said he never signed for the carpet needing cleaning (which DE are claiming needs doing at a cost of 90 quid) so im getting it in writing from my proxy then sending that to DE telling them to ram it. If they dont drop the charge straight away i will take it a lot higher

 

[killerball]

This seems to be the right place to ask this question:

Where does a non military individual stand with regard to "march out charge"

They can't be marched out can they?
For example a separated couple and the ex finally moves out, and was never the licensee, therefore an illiegal occupant
Are they billed for cleaning or do they try and lump the costs back to the serviceperson?

Ta for any response

BTW I'm not in this position, I'm very happily married, just in case the better half is reading this.

 

[dkh51250]

The charge would normally be levied against the licensee.

 

[killerball]

The charge would normally be levied against the licensee.

You miss my point, once the entitlement to occupy has expired, there is no licensee.

 

[dkh51250]

Have one of those on the go at the moment. Spouse is licensee, estranged partner becomes irregular occupant.

Spouse (licensee) remains liable for charges against property, including utilities in one recent instance.

Local authorities will not as a rule provide a roof over the head of anyone who is classed as irregular occupant. MOD are loath to evict any partner of a "hero" who has served his/her country overseas. The adverse publicity would be horrendous.

 

[KingGuin]

Have one of those on the go at the moment. Spouse is licensee, estranged partner becomes irregular occupant.

Spouse (licensee) remains liable for charges against property, including utilities in one recent instance.

Local authorities will not as a rule provide a roof over the head of anyone who is classed as irregular occupant. MOD are loath to evict any partner of a "hero" who has served his/her country overseas. The adverse publicity would be horrendous.

Speak to JHSAO; they'll provide guidance on the any local councils points and allocation procedure. As soon as an eviction notice is served (invarably on irregular occupancy) there is an entitlement for consideration.

 

[Notred13]

I've experienced all levels of march-out nightmares over the years, but as I finally decided to do it for the last time I was treated to one of my happiest moment ever. I moved out of my 1/4 somewhere up the A15 and had the finest display of just deserts served up in front of me;

After my wife and I cleaned the house, cooker, garden, etc., to within an inch of it's life a certain ex Green job WO turned up from the local DHE office and proceeded to go over the place with a fine tooth comb, he spent an hour searching for something to complain about, completely without success until he went to the upstairs bog. As he looked at the fully sealed light unit he spotted the faint silhouette of a nice fat fly trapped within...
"What's that?" he asks.
"A light." I reply.
"Obviously, but what the h3ll is that inside it?" Starting to get wound up.
"Oh, I suppose there could be something in there, but that light's sealed so I didn't try to open it for fear of damaging it."
"It's not sealed, you just pop the corner open using a coin and you can clean it, here I'll show you."

With that he produces a coin and climbs on to the bog seat. As he's struggling with the light fitting the whole thing comes off the ceiling, he falls, ripping the curtains off the wall at the same time as his foot goes through the nice new bog seat lid and smashes the porcelain, he then struggles to his feet knocking the bog roll holder off the wall to stand amidst the water running from the pipe that used to feed the cistern, that's now lying amongst the bits of the bog!

He bends down and picks up the light fitting and pops the cover off;
"Here," he says "go and give this a quick wipe and we'll call it a day."

Not sure if I kept a straight face, but to give him credit he didn't crinkle as he calmly turned to the MHS bloke and asked for a repair ticket.

Needless to say I didn't incur any charges, but I took some calming down so I could tell my missus what had happened.

I found out later that a certain Squabbling Bleeder, who marched out later that day, got knobbled for several new carpets and a deep clean. I suppose he had to take it out on someone!
DT_Xtremez_42: