A FRESH bid is being made to crack down on rogue factors who rip off householders.
A FRESH bid is being made to crack down on rogue factors who rip off householders.
Maryhill MSP Patricia Ferguson has introduced a Bill at Holyrood that forces property management firms to register before they can operate.
It would also set up a system of dispute resolution between homeowners and factors to avoid costly court cases.
Ms Ferguson said she was surprised at the lack of regulation governing factors and added: "For some unscrupulous ones, this is a licence to print money."
She was supported by Mike Dailly, senior solicitor at Govan Law Centre.
He said: "What you have is a situation where these guys are totally unregulated and can do what they like."
More than a third of all homes in Scotland are in shared buildings - multi-storey flats, four in a block' or tenements.
In Glasgow, the figure rises to over 96%, with factors to look after common repairs, such as roofs, close lighting, general cleaning and maintenance.
Mr Dailly said he was dealing with an increasing number of cases with people regularly being sued for thousands of pounds. One had reached £7000.
He said much of the debt accrued because factors were "scamming" people by charging them for reminders sent at a cost of more than £17 every five days.
The average monthly management' cost charged by factors was around £10, he said.
When a dispute arose and a bill was not paid within a couple of weeks, the reminders were sent.
He said: "Clients have been sent them every five days. Over a year that amounts to £1286.
"They also charge compound interest on the charges, which works out at 34% over 12 months, coming to a total of £1723 a year just in charges.
"Irresponsible factors have been ripping off people for too long. Because they are totally unregulated they've turned themselves into debt collectors."
Ms Ferguson's Property Factors (Scotland) Bill was originally introduced by ex-Govan MSP Gordon Jackson, but it fell when he was not re-elected.
The consultation runs until January 20.
Govan Law Centre has a website (www.factorcharges.info) for people with factor problems.
