Do you live in Victoria Halls? Fancy helping with a Steel Press article?

kyzr · 26-01-2005, 14:04

Hi,

I am in the process of writing an article for Steel Press (Sheffield University newspaper) about Victoria Halls. It aims to highlight some of the 'surprises' that await tenants (eg the room/flat inspections, high electricity bills).

I was wondering if anyone had any stories or information they could give me for this piece?

Also, would anyone like to give me a quotation about the topic?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Kzyr

mjlacey21 · 26-01-2005, 15:05

I used to live in victoria halls 3 years ago if that's any use to you?

Twiglet · 26-01-2005, 15:07

The room inspections that have now twice been cancelled this year on the day that they were supposed to be carried out and then we're informed that they will take place the following week. So we literally spend half our weekends cleaning, as if postgraduate students don't have anything better to do.

I also have another good one but it would identify who i am to any of the staff if they read this so I'll PM you!

And yes our electricity bills are currently totalling almost 100 pounds a month and that seems pretty extortionate for a flat of 4 with only 1 television etc.? I have copies of all the bills if they would be useful.

Oh and telephone rates from the landline installed in the flat - these are more expensive than my mobile phone to call other landlines. I can get hold of the exact rates for you as well. Its something like 12p peak to other landlines and 6p off peak.

kyzr · 26-01-2005, 15:36

twiglet,

any details would be great.

We had exactly the same situation with the cleaning last week. I had an exam at 9 o clock that monday morning.

Since this is my 2nd message, I'm not able to user the PM system (need 5 posts). I'll just do them now.

Cheers

Neil

kyzr · 26-01-2005, 15:37

mjlacey21,

What would be interesting would be to find out how much (if any) of your deposit you got back.

What were they like with charging you for broken things/ cleaning?

Cheers

Neil

theflyingfish · 27-01-2005, 11:12

Well, if a flat gets into such a state that it takes 4 people all weekend to clean it, it must be absolutely revolting to begin with!

CJ444 · 27-01-2005, 11:20

I think a wider focus of such an article ought to focus on University wide residences. Albeit not owned by the Uni, Victoria Hall, I believe, is to be used to accommodate more students if the University Residence Strategy goes ahead. If the problems you point out are true, then this is not in student s' interest. Perhaps a wider article about the much opposed Residence Strategy is in order, highlighting the opposition from many many residents in the affected area, and the opposition by students to the decimation of any hall community and the creation of what many have coined as a student "ghetto". Student interests are paramount, and I for one don't feel that these have been properly considered, something that the Steel Press and Union should be very concerned about.

Do we actually know whether these plans have been approved or rejected by the council's planning office as yet?

Twiglet · 27-01-2005, 12:49

Quote:

Originally posted by theflyingfish
Well, if a flat gets into such a state that it takes 4 people all weekend to clean it, it must be absolutely revolting to begin with!

No its not a state at all but the standard they require is pretty stringent. We're actually very clean but we have to do things that we wouldn't normally do several times a week like cleaning the oven and emptying out the fridge and cleaning it. You can't tell me you normally do that twice a week?? We also tend to have a lot of work to do so have books and things out but this all has to be tidied away.

And we don't have 4 people cleaning it, we have one foreign student who doesn't do anything and usually there is one other person away.

Tony · 27-01-2005, 13:48

Mod: kyzr, please just do like everyone else and contribute to threads so that your post count builds up and you can then use the PM system. Until then, any posts that serve only to bump up your count will keep getting removed.

kyzr · 27-01-2005, 13:54

CJ444,

Thats a good point about non-university owned halls - although I haven't had any first hand experience of other places. Victoria Halls is the only private place that really gets into bed with the university - when I received my MA acceptance letter it came with a about the halls. They were also the only private ones on the University website.

And Twiglet is right, there's clean and there's Victoria Hall clean. I bet if I went round the two inspector's kitchens with a clipboard it'd be interesting.

CJB444 · 27-01-2005, 14:14

Actually I was really commenting upon the University Halls of Residence and the new "Residence Strategy"

http://www.shef.ac.uk/newresidences/index.html

and the impact that this may have on students and residents

www.broomhillonline.org.uk (comments by residents)

Ultimately I can't comment upon the Victoria Hall situation, but it would seem to the detriment of students if the university's plans even for a short term were to direct a greater number of students to be accomodated there.

kyzr · 27-01-2005, 16:01

I've had a look at that proposal for privately run student halls, and will ask the paper if they have run anything on it before.

robbie · 27-01-2005, 17:11

£100 a month for electricity bill is daylight robbery. I lived in 2 large 4 bed semis and if we paid £100 a quarter I'd be suprised.

Tony · 27-01-2005, 17:17

Yes, but remember that EVERYTHING is electric, including the heating and hot water.

Also remember the peculier student habit of leaving all the windows open whilst the heating is on at full blast.

Twiglet · 27-01-2005, 18:22

We don't have any windows open because the heaters are so rubbish we have to keep every bit of heat we have in. Our last bill was close to £90 and considering that month we were away 2 weeks of it for chirstmas and there was no heating on, no-one cooking or having showers....... where did all that electricity go????

Tony · 27-01-2005, 18:38

Well you have meters that you can read in VH IIRC.

Perhaps you have a fault on some equipment or the meter is misreading? It would be worth checking. If you have extra fan heaters they gobble power.

VH will be buying electricity from a supplier and they will be paying around 80% of the normal domestic rate as they buy in bulk. The 20% usually goes on heating / lighting the landlords areas.

They are at liberty to charge you whatever they like however. Were you not given any indication of likely charges at the beginning of the year? VH is currently quite cheap on the room rate, but it is made up in other areas.

You pays your money....

Twiglet · 02-02-2005, 19:17

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I'm getting increasingly concerned about our electricity bills. For January we've had another one for almost £100, again half the period we weren't here because it was the christmas period and all of the heating was turned off etc. I mentioned it to the office but they've said the meter must be working and it would be illegal for them to make a profit on electricity so they're not inflating the charges.

Apparently one other flat has average bills of around £13??? If so how can this be right? At this rate we're going to be landed with an additional bill for several hundred pounds each at the end of the contract, when we've already paid £600 for ten months. Anyone know what we can do??? (other than cut down, although obviously this doesn't seem to make any difference). I do wonder if they're siphoning off our electricity for the office and the gate because we're above there!

Tony · 02-02-2005, 19:22

If you have had the meter tested it rather sounds like someone in your flat has got some equipment that is sucking you dry!

I really doubt that it is the management suite. VH has been open a few years now and any problems will be ironed out by now.

It's not 'illegal' to sell you electricity at a higher rate though.

If you can't find anything that jumps out at you try getting the Uni accommodation services office involved.

Twiglet · 02-02-2005, 19:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Tony

If you can't find anything that jumps out at you try getting the Uni accommodation services office involved.

That's a really simple but good idead I hadn't even thought about it. I'll try e-mailing or take a little trip up there next week once I've got all my deadlines out the way, cheers.

(Its definitely not any equipment, as I said we're 4 girls, very quiet, no constant stereos, only the one occasionally used communal TV, we have computers but they wouldb't account for it, I think the high bills when we were away point at something constat, just got to find out what it is.....)

Tony · 02-02-2005, 19:47

It's a long shot, and I'm not wanting to make any especially blokey point... but is anyone leaving on 1 of 4 sets of tongues / straighteners / etc? Just a thought.