Building firm 'won't pay up'
Date: 29-08-2006
Source: Irish Independent
Company accused of failing to pay debtsto sub-contractors A CONSTRUCTION company in receipt of public contracts worth millions of euro is accused of refusing to pay small sub-contractors. The Glenman Corporation, owned by Glenamaddy brothers Michael (40) and Albert (46) Conneally, delayed payment to at least three businesses which worked on public housing and schools contracts. One bill amounting to ?250,000, owed to hauliers Kearney Seale, was settled in full last January - almost a year after the company walked off site in protest at non-payment, and just a week before the High Court was due to hear an application seeking payment. Kearney Seale worked on a ?17m public housing contract in Tallaght, Co Dublin, being built by Glenman on behalf of South Dublin County Council. A security firm, Horizon Security, says it is still owed ?14,500 from work on the Tallaght site and has engaged a debt collector in an attempt to secure payment, while a small Co Wicklow contractor spent almost six months chasing payment from the company. Peter Lawlor, whose company Formworks worked on the Rathmore Community School project in Naas, Co Kildare, claims he was owed ?10,000 but was paid ?8,000 in a final settlement last May. He also claims he was forced to sign a hand-written note in the car park of Rathmore school stating that the account was settled before the money was paid over. He said he had tried to contact the Glenman office for payment and eventually went to the site foreman. "The foreman said to ring the office and the roundabout started," he said. "Every time I rang the office he [the person responsible for payment] was out of the office, on holidays or in a meeting. I called twice weekly for months." In the middle of 2005 he finally made contact with the company and was told that payment would be arranged. But the following day Glenman refused to return his calls. Eventually he made contact. "I arranged to meet in the car park of Rathmore school and I got ?8,000. He [the Glenman representative] wrote out a letter there and then which I signed in full settlement." Brendan Curtis from Horizon Security said yesterday that the company had offered to settle his ?14,500 bill for just ?1,000. "We wrote to them, sent them solicitors' letters and I've paid ?3,500 to a debt collector to try and recover it. They ignored us completely, they offered us nothing. "Then they offered us ?1,000 and wanted us to sign a letter saying that was full and final settlement." Mr Curtis refused. Glenman has previously been accused in the Dail by Green Party leader Trevor Sargent of not paying sub-contractors and of operating a "clever scam". The company said yesterday it had only been involved in one dispute over payment which went to arbitration and that in that case the company was "very satisfied" with the result. It said it did not owe money to two of the three companies named. "Glenman Corporation Ltd strongly refutes any suggestions that it does not pay sub-contractors." Yesterday it emerged that Glenman eventually settled the full claim from Kearney Seale, but had offered ?130,000 as a final amount. "They dragged it out all the way, and settled it on the steps of the courthouse," a source said. Glenman recently won the contract to build the new Oranmore garda station in Galway. It has also worked on projects on behalf of the Department of Education, local authorities, VECs and Irish Rail.
Trade Credit Brokers
Registered in the Republic of Ireland No.199439
Office: 36 Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 678 9930 | Fax: +353 1 678 9941
Email: mail@tcbrokers.com
A member of IFG Group Plc
Trade Credit Brokers Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Regulator