Lack of accountability

In my previous post Eldeco threatens, I had stated that we got a letter from Eldeco demanding payment of maintenance charges. I was curious to know about the accounts of last year, and inquired about it to the sender of the letter. The following email chain demonstrates how tough it is to get any response from the officials, it is a never ending loop:

Vishal,

Mr Mukesh redirected me to to yet another person - Mr Deepu, Estate Manager. He doesnt possess the accounts of the money paid by us and utilised by Eldeco for site maintenance. Can I please see the accounts of last year and know how my money has been used?

Sonal

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On 5/2/07, Vishal <vishal@eldecoproperties.com> wrote:

Respected Ma'am ,

The maintenance deposit for the past year and other maintenance related queries are handled by maintenance department.

You may contact Mr. Mukesh Srivastave in the head office at the below mentioned number or 0 98186 82012. Also the estate manager at the site can be contacted for the said query.

With best regards,
Vishal Sehgal
Eldeco Infrastructure & Properties Ltd.
New Delhi
Phone: 011 4165 9001

----- Original Message -----

From: Sonal Goyal

To: vishal@eldecoproperties.com

Cc: Hemant Kumar ; pankaj@eldecoproperties.com ;

Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 3:15 PM

Subject: Maintenence deposit

Hi Vishal,

This is in respect to the letter we received yesterday from you regarding the maintenence deposit. Can you please provide us the accounts of last year's deposits? Also, we need to know how maintenence can be clubbed with electicity and water charges?

Thanks and Regards,
Sonal

Another endless struggle with Eldeco

I got a couple of inquiries from IIT Alumni network about Eldeco and how things stand now. Well friends, here is the email chain which I have been relentlessly pursuing. If there is an update, I will let you know.

Hemant,

Yet another effort to get some answers Hemant. Even governement offices can now boast of RTI. Eldeco officials seem to be completely customer decentric. Or should I say this is a planned move?

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On 5/21/07, Sonal Goyal <sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hemant,

Can we get the response in writing from you? Or can we assume from your silence that your company agrees that there is no bloating and there is no other flat which has the same issue.

Thanks.
Sonal

On 5/21/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hemant, kindly let me know.

Thanks.

On 5/19/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hemant,

We had a visit by Mr Dubey and Mr Sharma just now and they do not agree that the wooden flooring in the guest bedroom has any issue. We differ on this, as we can see distinct spots where bloating is happening. We are also told that we are the only flat who is complaining of issues with the wooden flooring. If so, kindly give it to us in writing that your company sees no issues with the wooden flooring in the guest bedroom and there are no other complaints of the same nature in other flats. We can then follow it up at our end individually in a manner suited to us.

Thanks very much,
Sonal

On 5/18/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hemant, any updates?

On 5/17/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Hemant,

Can you please answer.

Sonal

On 5/15/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Hemant,

While the flooring in the kids room is getting replaced, I am not sure what is happening to the guest bedroom bloating and the master bedroom profile. Also, other items on my list, including the EWC, remain unattended. Kindly let me know your take on these.

Regards,
Sonal

IIT and Dilbert

I was amused to see some references to my alma mater on Scott Adam's blog.
IIT surely has become a much bigger name than when I joined it in 1994, thanks to the Silicon Valley revolution and IIT immigrants to the US making it big. However, it seems there is also some contempt in the minds of people about IITians and their quality, as reflected by the comments posted. One big reason for this can be that IIT has become a famous brand, and people assume their loss of employment to be linked with IITians. Nothing could be further from the truth. The IITs together produce about 2200 bachelors in technology every year. Normally, 40% of the class goes abroad for further studies or for employment. Employment for IITians is mostly in areas of advanced technical research, consulting, finance or management. All of which generate more jobs and earn more revenues for the US government. We are not into snatching BPO jobs from people. As for the quality, the success rates of IITians is not a mystery, it is widely known and publicised. Yes, getting through the JEE is tough, probably the toughest exam to crack in the world. Yet, it doesnt mean that people who do not qualify are morons. However, if one doesnt qualify and instead spends one's life in cribbing about the quality of IITians, well, we know for sure where you are headed!

Eldeco threatens

We got a letter today from Eldeco asking us to pay the monthly maintenance deposit. If we fail to do so, our power and water will be cut off. We took possession of the flat last year August(2006) and paid an year's advance deposit. So, our deposit finishes only in August. However, Eldeco has always been very prompt in collecting their money, and so they have 'cared' enough to remind us 3-4 months in advance. Needless to say, any letters we write to Eldeco never ever elicit any response, leave aside a fast response!

Now comes the funny part. Eldeco has not furnished the accounts for last year. We really do not know where the almost 3k per house we are paying per month is going. I have some guesses, and I am sure you all will have the same guesses, but other than that, the company is silent on the accounts. Maybe Eldec officials need some urgent cash for their Merc maintenance.

The company has installed a single prepaid electricity system for the entire building for which we have to buy coupons in advance. This is when we had paid about 25k for a proper electricity connection from the electricity board. 25k*72 houses was eaten up by Eldeco, and instead they have taken one single connection from which they have submeters to each house. Now the best part, this prepaid system will be clubbed with the annual maintenance, and if you have some issues with the maintenance and want some answers, you have no coice but to pay up, else your water and electricity will be cut off.

Smart move, are they sadists or what?