Part-payment promised Monday
Following on from last night's surprise statement from Quidos, threatening to issue a Winding-Up order on HES for non-payment of invoices, HES have today issued one of their own.
In short, they are promising to pay Quidos a cheque for £41,301.25 on Monday (19th November 2007), using next day guaranteed delivery (let's hope there isn't a wildcat postal strike then, eh!).
it had always been Home Energy Surveys Ltd intention to discharge its debt to QUIDOS and to this end a cheque for £41,301.25 will be dispatched on Monday 19th November (guaranteed next day delivery)
Does this settle the dispute?
Not entirely. HES are disputing - and thus withholding - some of the invoices until Quidos issue credit notes for them:
All the remaining unpaid invoices are in dispute as advised on 3 previous occasions and will be paid to terms when you issue the necessary credit notes and re-invoice correctly.
HES contends that Quidos "wrongly invoiced on several occasions" and cites this as the reason for non-payment.
The statement also asserts that HES candidates "will be trained and receive their accreditation in the near future", although no explanation is given of how, should Quidos refuse to play ball, this might happen.
In a somewhat curious paragraph, they also say:
You may also be interested to know that on Thursday 15th November HES Ltd received correspondence from the Solicitors of ECMK offering a mutually aggreable way forward, HES Ltd have accepted this offer, hopefully now drawing the matter to a close.
No elaboration is given as to whether this refers to their previous dispute with ECMK, or Quidos.
Anyway, HES are clearly -and understandably - embarrassed and annoyed at having this whole sorry episode aired in public. But if doing so means the matter can at least unblock the S-bend for those affected, then at least for them, there is still hope for an impoverished Christmas as a fully-fledged DEA.
Below is the full statement.
HES Response (in full)
Below is a statement from Gordon Bell of Home Energy Surveys Ltd regarding the on going situation with QUIDOS.
Our sincerest apologies to anyone caught up in this mess, but we believe the following statement sent out to our candidates should clarify the matter.
Also enclosed in is the actual letter sent through to QUIDOS today, this is not rumour, supposition or hear say, just the facts.
You may also be interested to know that on Thursday 15th November HES Ltd received correspondence from the Solicitors of ECMK offering a mutually aggreable way forward, HES Ltd have accepted this offer, hopefully now drawing the matter to a close.
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Dear Candidate
Home Energy Surveys Limited (HES) have been made aware of a scaremongering email/message that has been sent to it’s DEA candidates from Quidos in an attempt to force HES to agree to invoices which are incorrect.
PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED
Without wishing to get involved in silly bantering I can confirm that following a recent meeting with Quidos, HES were unable to agree Quidos invoices, with Quidos themselves admitting that they had made mistakes and wrongly invoiced on several occasions.
HES have agreed to send an immediate payment for invoices which are correct and due, however Quidos have requested a personal guarantee for all invoices including those that are incorrect. Naturally HES have taken Legal advice and been advised to agree the correct amount due before making payment, this is all that is holding up payment to Quidos.
Quidos now have the option of re invoicing HES for the correct amount and being paid within the terms of our agreement or continuing to take whatever action they deem necessary.
HES have difficulty understanding why Quidos have adopted this attitude and can only conclude that they are upset at HES having become an approved training organisation ourselves, and therefore no longer requiring their training services. Apart from this reducing their monthly income significantly they may feel aggrieved that their trainer has left them to come and work for HES.
Quidos will be paid in accordance with the terms of our agreement and you have our personal assurance that everyone will be trained and receive their accreditation in the near future.
Whilst at HES we are extremely disappointed at the current state of the housing market and the lack of EPC work available to offer our candidates, we believe that we are close to realising opportunities for energy assessments outside of the resale housing market. This will create employment opportunities for HES trained DEAs.
Pilot schemes are already underway with another to start within the next few weeks which we feel will provide full time employment for up to 20 DEAs in the North London area.
We have little confidence in the resale housing market providing real employment opportunities in the near future and therefore at HES we are not only committed to completing any outstanding DEA training but are in the process of developing further modules (at no extra cost to yourselves) to increase individuals skill sets to work in the energy assessment market place which we feel will provide the real future for EPC’s.
Please also find attached a copy of the letter I am sending to Quidos.
I felt it was important that you understand the situation first hand and before I respond directly to Quidos.
I feel so strongly about what has been said and the way in which you have been contacted and welcome you to come to our offices to speak directly with me or contact me through the normal channels.
With regards
Gordon Bell
Home Energy Surveys Ltd
Exmoor House, Exmoor Ave, Scunthorpe, North Lincs, DN15 8NJ
T: 0800 4048080 E: gordon.bell@hes.gb.com W: http://www.homeenergysurveyslimited.com
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Dear Philip Salaman
I am also disappointed that you felt you had to resort to the action you took on Friday evening, hopefully we can repair some of the damage that has been caused and give DEA’s some confidence going forward.
I reiterate, it had always been Home Energy Surveys Ltd intention to discharge its debt to QUIDOS and to this end a cheque for £41,301.25 will be dispatched on Monday 19th November (guaranteed next day delivery) as payment for the following invoices:
Invoice Amount in £’s
- 5031 27,906.25
- 5040 1,057.50
- 5041 11,750.00
- 5061 587.50
All the remaining unpaid invoices are in dispute as advised on 3 previous occasions and will be paid to terms when you issue the necessary credit notes and re-invoice correctly. I would also point out that invoices 5009, 5010 and 5025 which have been paid in full and to terms, were charged incorrectly as previously advised and we would ask that you issue the necessary credit notes.
If wish to contact me you have my contact details.
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I guess it's Quidos's move next then.
Tags: quidos, hes, dea-training, business-news
