El Trampled On

As a resident on the above urbanisation I thought it might make interesting reading to outsiders of what is actually happening here.

We are a cosmopolitan mix of residents including English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Dutch, Spanish, German and various others  and the Urbanisation is made up of approximately 150 villas, 28 apartments & 19 Commercial units.

We were all led to believe that this was a legal development with teething troubles but only after parting with our hard earned Cash did we find otherwise. Finally, after up to 5 years for some residents,  the Escrituras are coming through but not without having to cough up more hard earned Cash first (but that is another story).

One year ago the builder needed to pay to Murcia Town Hall a substantial amount of money as contribution to a new road coming through our development. This has been on the plans from the beginning and should not have come as any surprise, until the residents received a demand from the Company to pay them 3000 euros per household . Obviously this did not go down very well with the majority but the Company had an ace up their sleeve. If you did not pay then they came along and disconnected both your Electricity and Water supplies. Of course this resulted in most residents paying although some tried to stick it out but in the end had to relent and pay. The only plus side to this situation was that anyone who had not yet got their Escritura and not paid for their property in full was able to deduct this amount from their final payment.

In November, last year, the builder advised residents that he had had enough of paying for Electricity and Water for the development, which he has a legal obligation to do, and threatened not pay Iberdrola and Aqua Murcia. Residents then found papers thrown into their gardens demanding a payment of 200 euros per household. Of course this demand was taken lightly by the majority until you suddenly found you were without Electricity and Water unless you paid. The residents called a meeting and agreed to move towards forming a legal Community to take matters into our own hands and stop these bully boy tactics from the Company. A legal Administrator was appointed , a temporary Committee formed and things started to move forward. There was a verbal  agreement  made between the Administrator and the Company that he would advise ALL residents to pay this one off charge of 200 euros to ensure continuation of supplies of Electricity and Water.

Typically, in Spain, the forming of a legal Community is still going through the process and so the builder has jumped on the bandwagon and appointed himself President of an illegal Community and is continuing to demand 200 euros per month from each household under the guise of payment towards common areas eg: street lighting; Waste collection; security etc. Notwithstanding the fact that we only have about 25% street lighting, he removes the waste bins at regular intervals for up to a week and the security is for a guard parked outside of his villa. Payment can only be made either in Cash or by Cheque payable to the bearer and the builder has openly admitted that this money is treated as black money, disappears and is not used to pay utility companies. He is now trying new tactics by stating that the Electricity supply to your house is dangerous so it will need to be disconnected BUT if you produce 200 euros the supply miraculously mends itself.  Not surprisingly given the amounts involved, a potential monthly income of in excess of 20,000 euros.

In February, the builder made a point of disconnecting Electricity supplies to all of the members of the temporary Committee, presumably as an example of what happens if you stand against him and to me this stinks of victimization. Since then he has continued to disconnect residents for non-payment of this illegal monthly charge and I estimate there to be 1/3^rd of the Urbanisation without Electricity or Water. There is no notice of disconnection so it is not just 200 euros but possibly a freezer full of food as well.

Interestingly, not all residents have had their supplies disconnected even though they have not paid 1 cent, others have paid under threat, others are happy to pay and others have dug their heels in and said they will not pay another penny and are struggling along, presumably with the support of other paying residents. So it appears that  the disconnections are selective and only aimed at certain individuals. One of my neighbours yesterday received in the UK a demand ,by e-mail from the Company for 1000 euros. Their house is a holiday home and is only used occasionally, they are not even here.

I accept that when we do get our Certificates of Habitation and are dealing directly with Iberdrola, Aqua Murcia and are running our own Community there will be money to pay but this is legal payment and not blackmail and for me the sooner the better.

The legal profession in Spain agree that what the Company is doing is wrong but suggest paying now and claiming back afterwards. The Tax office is interested but require proof so they can instigate an investigation ( so ALL residents, keep your receipts). The Town Hall has admitted that it has received numerous complaints about the Company and its tactics.

Allegedly, Grupo Trampolin are on the verge of receiving planning permission for a large development in Campos Del Rio and I would advise prospective buyers to be aware that you are dealing with a non-reputable Company who have forgotten that it is their existing clients who have put them where they are. The Directors of the Company are not adverse to flaunting their extravagant lifestyles in front of the residents on El Trampolin whilst at the same time complaining they are short of funds.

I appreciate that our situation is not as bad as others that I have both heard of and read about but the time has come to highlight the plight of people who came to Spain for a better stessfree lifestyle and to name and shame the Companies that threaten this dream.

Ironically the El Trampolin Company logo is “ Living the Dream” -   Nightmare more like!!