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BUILDERS’ ROAD TAX
Firm working for council is cashing in on C-charge
BUILDERS are charging residents and the Town Hall almost £50,000 in Congestion Charge fees to get to work.
An invoice leaked to the Tribune shows that J Murphy & Sons are not just charging a daily rate but are also turning a £10,000 profit from the Mayor of London’s traffic levy.
Leaseholders on the St Luke’s Estate in Bath Street, Finsbury, say they were shocked to discover how much Murphy is charging them
during a 61-week programme of works to their estate.
The firm is contracted by Homes for Islington (HfI) to bring the estate up to the government’s Decent Homes Standard.
An invoice shows that J Murphy & Sons is charging a total of £19,520 for eight staff cars to be used every working day.
They are also invoicing HfI £17,690 for two vans and £12, 505 for daily use of a three-tonne truck.
To compound matters, J Murphy & Sons is not just charging a flat £8 per vehicle per day rate – but invoicing £11.45.
Murphy are able to do this by levying a 19.99 per cent “tendered rates” charge on the £8 and then a 7.5 per cent “overheads and profit” fee.
Leaseholders say this is then subject to an 11 per cent “professional fee” on top – meaning a pure profit for the company of £3.45 per vehicle per day,
This works out at a total profit for Murphy of £9,660 for the 61 weeks of the project.
Richard Tulip, 43, who is a leaseholder on St Luke’s, said: “The staff are not going to be using every vehicle every day, but nevertheless we have been charged accordingly. Even if they were doing this, workers should be doubling up to save costs.
“I don’t think the Congestion Charge should even be on our bill. As far as I’m concerned it should be taken out of their overheads and profit.
“Like most people, I don’t get my travel to and from work paid for every day so why should they?”
The charges on St Luke’s have lead to concerns that other HFI contractors are using similar practices on estates across Islington.
Brian Potter, chairman of the Islington Leaseholders’ Forum, advised council homeowners to carefully examine their bills to check for any indiscrepancies or overcharging.
He said: “People really need to pull apart their contracts. I’ve not doubt this is happening everywhere and I’ve asked a number of estates to raise the issue.
“It’s unbelievable that these firms are raking in profit from the Congestion Charge.
“They should not be using a car to come in to work and then charging leaseholders for it.”
A spokeswoman for J Murphy & Sons, said: “The calculations alleged by the St Luke’s leaseholders are misleading because the congestion charge figure has been added to the plant and transport costs which are separate items. Furthermore the add-on percentages are agreed add-ons under the contract we hold with Homes for Islington.
“The congestion charge cost outlined covers staff company cars and vehicles owned by the Murphy Group. This cost was agreed by Homes for Islington and we are entitled to charge it as it is directly associated with our works on the St Luke’s estate.”
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