Roofer Stages Public Protest Over Unpaid Bill

A WORKINGTON roofing firm is making a public protest against a large engineering company also based in the town, saying they haven’t been paid for work they carried out over the past five months.

Kevin Norman, who runs K Norman Ltd, a roofing and cladding firm, has parked his works van outside TSP Engineering in Workington with a poster attached reading: “TSP Engineering don’t pay their bills. Management don’t answer their phones.”

The roofer says he has worked on an 18-month contract for the firm – but has now been waiting 5 months for payment.

Fragile Roofs

Kevin says he was contracted to clear gutters only on the buildings of the former Moss Bay steelworks site. Because the 40 year old metal roofs are in a deteriorated and fragile condition with old, concealed rooflights, they were advised not to access them.

Working from a cherry picker, Kevin says his workers cleared the gutters according to the method statement provided by TSP.

“Now what the [TSP] CEO saying is that we didn’t clean down the roofs. Well, we never were contracted to clean down the roofs. We told them from day one the roofs were leaking and I’ve got documentation from them saying don’t go on the roofs, which we didn’t do.

“Now they are saying the work wasn’t satisfactory, but why would they continue giving us purchase orders? They are saying someone from TSP phoned us, but I’ve got no record of that.

“The best of it is we were also employed to do the roof on his own property, which he has paid for.”

TSP Chief Executive John Coughlan refuted that the roofing work on his own property was an endorsement of Kevin Norman’s work and said, in fact, he’d had to call the firm back to rectify substandard work on that job too. He added, “He tendered separately for the work and it was nothing to do with TSP.”

John Coughlan explained that, following heavy rain flooding into the former British Steel, Moss Bay buildings, it became clear to him that the gutter cleaning work hadn’t been done to the agreed standard. He said another contractor had been employed which found uncleared debris on the roof continuing to block the gutters, which they cleared away.

Public Protest

Responding to Kevin Norman’s signs publicly protesting the unpaid roofing bills, John Coughlan said, “If it was a case that we didn’t have the money to pay, I’d be worried.

“He is telling the public incorrect information. He’s just brought attention to himself when he could have talked to us.”

Kevin says he has attempted to contacted TSP on numerous occasions but had no reply. The lack of response has forced him to begin a court process to recover the undisclosed sum of the debt, he says.

Now, John Coughlin is inviting Kevin Norman to contact the TSP maintenance manager, Tony Donohan to arrange a meeting with all parties, either before Christmas, if everyone is available, or in the first week of January.

John Coughlin said, “I’ve said all along I’m willing to resolve this. The invoice is in dispute, it’s not 100 per cent right, but court isn’t always the best place to resolve things.”

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