Latest:
'12-year wait for £700 retention'
15:36 17 Jul 2002
|
Abuses of the retentions system are "verging on the fraudulent,"
according to Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist
Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group.
Klein said this week: "We are seeking information on the damaging effects of the abuse of the system in its worst form. For example, there is one instance of a firm waiting 12 years for repayment of a £700 retention.
"Recent evidence from the University of Reading is that 25% of retentions are never repaid. And 75% of repayments are late."
He added: "We aim to persuade the select committee that retentions have more to do with cashflow than protection against defects. It is a system which aids the cashflow of the payer and not the payee. Some local authorities, which are meant to be best practice clients, admit this. It is verging on the fraudulent."
Klein said the SEC Group's political lobby against retentions had won the support of a third of all MPs.
l The recently relaunched SEC Group has now set up its own website at www.secgroup.org.uk.
Klein said this week: "We are seeking information on the damaging effects of the abuse of the system in its worst form. For example, there is one instance of a firm waiting 12 years for repayment of a £700 retention.
"Recent evidence from the University of Reading is that 25% of retentions are never repaid. And 75% of repayments are late."
He added: "We aim to persuade the select committee that retentions have more to do with cashflow than protection against defects. It is a system which aids the cashflow of the payer and not the payee. Some local authorities, which are meant to be best practice clients, admit this. It is verging on the fraudulent."
Klein said the SEC Group's political lobby against retentions had won the support of a third of all MPs.
l The recently relaunched SEC Group has now set up its own website at www.secgroup.org.uk.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Viewed Articles
ADVERTISEMENT