one step forward....two steps back

It's mid November and we've been thwarted in our efforts to get the 9m roundhouse kit erected before 'fall breaks and back to winter' as the bard had it. Too risky once we had missed the summer window we had available.
It's all stored under cover now till Easter.

We've been equally thwarted in our efforts to get the sewage plant in the ground, concreted and backfilled.  Sadly the water table rose after a weekend of heavy rain in late summer and won't lower enough till Spring for us to pump out the hole, install the plant and backfill it before filling with water again.

We can't move forward until we can save enough to get the 9m kit up and the work situation has been a total farce this autumn. After two months teaching Maths, and I really  do enjoy working at CGS,  I made a change in direction to forestry management (as it was a permanent contract),  only for the Scottish government canceliing all the environment/management schemes I was going to work on, two days after I started.  Job over. It is actually a fair  more complicated than that,  but the full story is for another day.

This was the job that was going to allow us to get our mortgage and build back on track, so we really are two steps backwards. We can't decide whether its Jayne or I who did something really bad in a past life to deserve the terrible run of luck we are still having.
.
Still getting a few new people contacting me about Tim Allan, other people who have been ripped off by him, either trades or clients. He has left an awful  lot of people much worse off as a result of his dodgy business 'methods'. I've been told he moved house soon after the TV feature, and there are certainly a good few people trying to catch up with him.  He has certainly destroyed our project , irreparably for the time being.  He is still  working in the SIPS business,  for another company in Glasgow. His employers, SIP PMC, know of his track record. Strange world the construction industry. It certainly  seems to attract a very high proportion of cowboys.

RIP OFF BRITAIN

The RIP OFF Britain episode with our story is due to be aired 
on BBC one on MONDAY 10th SEPTEMBER at 0915 am

It will be available to play on i-player for one week.

Update

Please go to our new post   "Better Late Than Never"  dated 12/4/13.

http://ardaillyecoroundhouses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-power-of-publicity.html

Update

Please check post "Better Late Than Never"

http://ardaillyecoroundhouses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-power-of-publicity.html

sheep

We've got three ewes, three gimmers (year old females) and six lambs on the croft. One of our gimmers was 'got at' by the tup last autumn so we have just have our sixth lamb. Hebrideans are all black, very hardy, don't need winter hay and are excellent mothers. 
Our sheep have escaped into the plot a couple of times but have only eaten one of the new trees, Strangely they polished off the mint patch which gives us an interesting choice of supplementary feed before they got for the freezer. Hebridean lambs don't go for slaughter until their second year, unlike most types which are only 6 months old when sold on.

It's good to see stock on the croft and the lovely traditional hay pastures getting grazed properly.

The next stage of running the croft is a planning a coppice planting scheme which will provide for all our fuel needs for both the Mill and our house. We'll plant mostly ash, but strangely there is sweet chestnut on the croft in a small copse planted about twenty years ago as an experiment.

Timeshare on a croft overlooking the Hebrides

We have decided to look for eco-partners to help us complete our build. We are offering a deal whereby folk will get an annual booking during the holiday season in our small roundhouse for a number of years - we think five years is probably about right. You'll overlook the Sounds of Islay and Jura, be able to swim or fish from the rocks by the Mill, help us manage the croft, walk the fantastic west coast of Gigha, watch wildlife, explore the archaeology nearby and just be able to relax in a truly fantastic setting. In return you'll put your rental upfront so we can refinance our kit after the disaster of being defrauded by our kit manufacturer, leaving us crippled in terms of being able to finish our life's dream project. The satisfaction of helping us pioneer a new type of building, uniquely engineered and designed to nestle into the landscape yet be warm and bright and ecologically sound is just another benefit of joining us.
We'll make sure everything is done properly.
If you want to follow us on our journey so far, then check out our website  at http://www.ecoroundhouse.co.uk/ and catch up on our story on this blog - there are 143 posts before this one...so give yourself a bit of time...
We'll need about a dozen like minded people to allow us to move forward, though we do expect to be able to buld the 9m roundhouse in the next couple of months
Email me on flit@gigha.org.uk or text me on 0788 758 3988

Smile

We have just welcomed a BBC film crew to Gigha for a two day shoot. 

Izzie was the star in the setting shots, racing along the Queen's beach, chasing the waves. It took an hour or so to get maybe 10 seconds of eventual screen time.

We filmed at the plot on the first carnivorous evening of the year - the midgies taking an early spring outing in the calm warm evening, biting us all without fear or favour.

The view to Jura was superb and the sun set over the Sound of Islay as we finished shooting, to the delight of the crew.  Not quite as many gorgeous sunsets over Salford docks as from Gigha.

We cooked Chinese style and ate late. Thankfully stir frying is quick. A few bottles of Chinese beer followed and we planned the next day's shoot.

Friday was detailed interview day. The rule of thumb is one minute of broadcast time per hour.  It took all day. We did several takes of each segment to allow for close ups, wide shots and cock ups.

The whole process brought back the difficult and unhappy sequence of events of last Autumn and Winter.

 

All the issues were outlined and will be aired. 

We'll post when transmission is due - we expect to be featured in early Autumn.

I'm not going to spell out any more detail now.

You'll just have to wait and see.

TIM ALLAN - FAMILY MAN

This afternoon, Tim Allan walked into Milngavie Police Station.
Did he confess his sins, admit to defrauding us and come clean to the Police ?
Did he tell all about how he did business, lying to his clients to get them to part with their money knowing he couldn't deliver ?
Had he had a sudden flash of conscience about how he did business ?
Did the desk officer hear those Scouse tones: "All righty, I've come to admit to some seriously bad business dealings. I've done a lot of bad things and a lot of people have suffered"

No sadly not.

Tim Allan , ex-Managing Director SIP Construction Company, now with SIP PMC and all round Family Man went to the Police to make a complaint that I had threatened his family. Specifically his wife and daughters. Now why would he do this ? The letter - extract included below - was written on 29th January, almost three months ago, asking him to refund our kit costs or supply the the kit. Some threat - if it took that length of time for him to make his complaint.
I explained to the policeman who rang me up that they would be better arresting him for fraud and deception or at the very least for wasting police time.

The relevant extracts of the letter are copied below. Blog followers, if you read it carefully you will realise we will stop at nothing. We will even threaten him with his own lack of morality.

" I’m not going to appeal to your honesty or integrity, or comment on the breach of basic trust. Nor am I going to issue threats. We will not get involved in any kind of revenge campaign. We are simply asking you to refund our losses."

"I pointed out to Ken Tait that your primary legal duty as Director is to your creditors. Well you have a moral duty as well. This must be to Catriona and your daughters as well as your creditors. There is a very high risk that you will face criminal charges and a custodial sentence while we remain creditors. This can be avoided. If we are paid back or the kit is supplied then clearly, no offences will have taken place."

Ken Tait is/was Mr Allan's accountant and the only official route to communicate with Tim Allan as he has gone to ground.

Now, for the avoidance of doubt let me make it absolutely clear. We have not threatened Tim's family. Nor will we. We are just not like that. We know he has had debt collectors round knocking on his door all hours - but that is the result of his actions. There is a fair chance he might be doorstepped by any number of creditors or their agents.

We are deeply offended you should judge us by your own standards Tim. Yes, we know where you live, and yes, we do know an awful lot about you, much more than you are comfortable with for sure. Your Facebook picture isn't even funny.
But to tell you the truth, the biggest threat to your family is your own conduct, Tim.
You could have answered our letter, you could have tried to make sure we got our house kit but no - you just ignored it and hoped we'd go away. Pay us back Tim. Then we'll go away.

TIM ALLAN - Tax

All round cowboy builder Tim Allan has been a very naughty boy. SIPit Scotland was put into liquidation by HMRC and evidently unpaid tax was the key factor. We have been informed that he has been doing a Craig Whyte recently - that is deducting PAYE and NI from his employees over the last few years but not passing it on to the taxman. He had quite a few employees so it'll be a tidy sum defrauded from HMRC. For those of you who have not heard of Craig Whyte he is the man who bought and broke Rangers FC - another thoroughly dodgy character.

Be interesting to see HMRC vs TIM ALLAN /SIP Construction Company as a parallel prosecution to the Rangers case. The main difference is that Rangers have assets. Mr Allan made sure he had none so his creditors get nothing. Mind you the satisfaction of his wife Catriona and daughters having to visit him in Barlinnie would only be a pyrrhic victory. We're still wondering why he didn't get disqualified as a Director years ago.

Development isn't necessarily progress

In this post modern era, one of the biggest mistakes we get suckered on is the idea that 'modernisation', 'change' or 'development' represent progress. There is very little correlation between development and progress. However we can announce that progress has been made, in a very simple way, as we have planted over 100 trees on the plot, some as hedging, some as coppice and some fruit trees. Jayne's grandson Rowan is eight weeks old and has had a tree planted for every week of his age.

In the next two weeks, we'll have a lot of the missing components for our house kit and have commissioned some missing SIP panels too. That too is progress.

TIM ALLAN - SIP builder

We keep hearing more horror stories about folk who have had very negative business dealings with this smooth tongued scouser. Unsurprisingly he has still not contacted us as his role as director would have required, and in our experience, is an entirely unfit person to be permitted to have been the director of any company.

I've even had the director of SIP PMC - his current outfit- on the phone asking me to remove all mention of SIP PMC from this blog as they are 'entirely unconnected' with Tim Allan.

Sorry, but you have decided to employ him knowing his track record and, as I was informed, are a creditor of his last failed company. Well SIP PMC, you will be judged on the character of the people you choose to employ. If you want to risk your business by being associated with TIm Allan then it is a business risk you have chosen, and not one chosen for you - unlike the fraud he perpetrated on us.

Anyappliance.co.uk reprise

Anyone reading the various review sites will have come to the same conclusions as us about this outfit.
They are very dodgy in their trading practices and came within 24hrs of having civil proceedings instigated by us - as we only got our refund at the very last moment. We had to cancel our debit card as they had the details.
If you want to contact us then go to Tony Philpin on Facebook (the UK one) and leave a message there as the blogging software on this site is not allowing us to reply to comments directly...

Update

Please check post of 12.4.13  "Better Late Than Never"

http://ardaillyecoroundhouses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-power-of-publicity.html

The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY

During this project we have been incredibly lucky in most of our dealings with suppliers and professional services. The critical kit supplier, the SIP Construction Company has just failed us so completely we can only put up the small 9m diameter roundhouse until and if we can get the funds sorted out. Our consequential losses alone look like being over £25,000.

We really have had great service from a number of suppliers..Annie Washbrook and Mrs Stone Store come highly recommended. As do Rooflight Architectural who took real pride in the quality of their workmanship. These are GOOD people to do business with.

Then we have had the very dodgy business methods of  Anyappliance.co.uk. Our reviews of our experience with this trader has been very interesting. It looks like Trading Standards have been involved. BAD for them and they deserve it.

Now we have the UGLY - the businessman who has ripped us off, and gone bust taking a big chunk of our life savings with him but who is still working in the same trade. You would have thought he was untouchable but the SIP panels industry has some very odd business relationships. The panel supplier SBS had three 'partner' businesses. All are still sitting there on their website, including Tim Allan's previous company SIPit Scotland, now compulsorily liquidated by HMRC and which ceased trading in 2008. (Except it didn't - up to 2010, two years later all our dealings with TIm Allan were through this business - SIPit Scotland. Business premises, email addresses, everything still badged with a company name that was in liquidation - you can still Google the name and pick up the website.) The SBS finance director told me all three of their 'partner' companies had ceased trading. So what does that make the panel supply company SBS ? What are the business ethics of a business which still promotes three folded companies on its website ?

And Mr Allan himself should be avoided at all costs. He has lied to us, he has abused our trust, he has cheated us. He is the truly UGLY face of the building industry in general and SIPs in particular.

Please don't be deterred from using SIPS as a building system. They are the future. They are the only way to comply with upcoming amendments to the Buidling Regs. for airtightness and insulation. But whatever you do ask some very serious questions of your intended supplier and contractor. It would be tragic if the cowboy SIP kit builder ruined the entire industry.

And our blog comments on Mr Allan's business methods are beginning to pick up the level of web traffic that will certainly cost him and his associates very considerably indeed.....

We're on the way

We are well on the way to getting the missing bits from our house kit made up. Quite a few of the fillets supplied are well out in terms of kit fabrication drawing dimensions - especially the critical ones which hold the roof up. These are not even identical. The drawings ask for 1mm accuracy - we have something nearer 10mm variation. All these have to be checked for fit. It looks as if the wrong specification has been used for this most important fillet. The rebate in the roof panels is also substantially out from the fillet dimensions. There are some serious quality control problems with Mr Allan's kit fabrication - we just have to have everything that looks a bit dodgy checked by the structural engineer for fitness for purpose. Future potential customers of SIP PMC take note....Don't let Mr Allan make up your kit.

TIM ALLAN - SIP Construction Company Part 2

Why do the business regulatory authorities allow someone to go bust and then start up a new company the next day, having written off all their losses ?
Why does Companies House not disqualify directors automatically for trading recklessly or whilst insolvent.
Legally, they are not liable personally and can just walk away. In practice there are ways of suing the incompetent or corrupt director and getting access to their own properties to cover losses, though it takes time and money.

Tim Allan certainly has a few properties in his name. On paper he's probably worth over £800,000.

Tim Allan folded SIPit Scotland and set up SIP Construction Company leaving massive debts. He was put into compulsory liquidation by HMRC (wonder why) and was advised that he had been trading whilst insolvent for a considerable time by accountants. Why was he not investigated and disqualified by the regulators ?

He is now trying to fold SIP Construction leaving massive debts again. He is walking away again from his responsibilities and his creditors. Who gets hurt ? Who takes his losses ?
Surprise, surprise, less than four weeks later he is back in the business of SIP kit manufacture working with SIP PMC.

TIM ALLAN - SIP Construction Company

The latest entry in the list of "DO NOT DEAL WITH UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES" is MR TIM ALLAN.

Under no circumstances should you do business with him directly or indirectly.
He is currently with SIP PMC whose credibility must plummet with his involvement.

I cannot outline his business practices in detail as these are currently subject to police investigation.

If any debt collectors read this - leave a message and I will provide details of his current address, car registration numbers etc. to help you track him down.

curiouser and curiouser

Every day we find out more and more of the nefarious business dealings of Mr Tim Allan. Two companies folded, a stack of outstanding County Court Judgements and Sheriff's warrants. No company accounts filed for years yet still allowed to trade. The protection offered to victims of company collapses is worse than poor. It's lamentable. In the UK the businessman is worshipped to the point of not even being held responsible let alone liable for the consequences of his or her actions and mismanagement - or even corruption. The Serious Fraud Unit also has the justifiable epithet 'Serious Farce Unit'. Companies House Investigation Unit works straight out of the Franz Kafka book of bureaucracy. They will take your complaint but won't tell you whether they will investigate let alone the results of any investigation. There are huge incentives for dodgy businessmen - divert a load of funds into your own personal account as 'drawings' as you're on your way down and then go bust. Creditors never get a chance. Trade whilst insolvent and then cease trading, apply to have your company struck from the register and abracadabra ! No liabilities and no comebacks. Set up a new company and off we go again. Watch this space as we have a number of tricks up our sleeves and are nothing if not tenacious.