About Rage Against Factors
Rage Against Factors was created from direct personal experience of the problems that many homeowners face when dealing with property factors in Scotland. This is not a campaign built from theory. It comes from lived experience, years of frustration, and a determination to help homeowners stand together.
I bought my flat in 2002. It was perfect for me. I bought it off plan and deliberately chose a detached block with no lift, so there would be no risk of excessive lift repair bills, and with only seven other homeowners in the block. At the time, it felt like a sensible and manageable place to live.
From 2002 to 2006, the factors managing the estate, which consists of 16 blocks and 125 flats, were not particularly good, and many of us believed we could do better. In 2006, James Gibb Property Management Ltd took over the estate. From 2006 until around 2020 there were certainly problems, but on the whole the situation remained bearable. From 2020 onwards, however, it became a nightmare.
I found myself being billed for repairs across 139 properties I do not own. Under Scot Law 'Liabilities are tied to ownership', simply put, I do not own a single one of the 139 porperties, as such I have no legal obligation to pay for any bills related to them. I was charged for work that was never carried out on my own block, for machinery required for work on other buildings, and for roof repairs to buildings in which I have no ownership in, yet this did and still does not stop the factor for billing me for repairs across those 139 properties. I was also told that my title deeds were silent on insurance and that the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 could therefore be used to compel payment for block insurance. I later discovered that the insurance in question was in fact estate-wide, and that the Act could not lawfully be used in the way claimed for an estate made up of 16 separate blocks, because it applies to individual tenement blocks rather than an entire estate of separate buildings.
In 2023, the factor took me to court over non-payment of sums they had invoiced me for. These included roof repairs to buildings I do not own, vague invoice entries described only as “miscellaneous”, and repeated charges for exactly the same roof repair, not four different repairs, but the same repair charged four times on a building I do not own. At the same time, I was being charged for roof repairs to my own block, which included repairs that never took place. James Gibb Factor took me to court, I fully suported this since it meant a sheriff could exampmine all the charges they said I owne but didn't. Just days before the hearing, the factor informed the court that I had settled the sum sued for and asked for the case to be dismissed. The very next day, their solicitor emailed me asking me to settle the very same sum so that the balance would be brought to zero. I informed the court that I had not settled the claim and had no intention of doing so and that in fact, I wanted the case to proceed. Despite that, the sheriff court dismissed the action.
From that point onwards, I refused to pay bills that I knew I did not owe, bills described only as “miscellaneous”, and invoices based on contractor charges that were sometimes up to two years old. On a number of occasions, I emailed the factor asking them to take me back to court so that a Sheriff could make a proper determination. Yet since 2023, despite continuing to bill me for sums relating to property and work I do not own or owe, they have not taken me to court again, its at this time 2026.
Since 2023, I have instead taken civil coourt action against them myself on two occassions, and on both occasions they have sought to have my cases rejected rather than proceed to a full hearing. That raises a question I believe many homeowners should ask: if they are so confident that these sums are truly owed, why have they not taken me to court again since 2023, and why do they fight so hard to keep me out of civil court, since it has now been three years and I haven't paid a peny of the charges they bill me for, which I know they have no right to charge? Just one example, among many, of the abuse of trust homeowners suffer: James Gibb Factor put in writing, ‘As factors we are not bound by title deeds, only homeowners are.’ That statement is misleading and inconsistent with the legal framework governing property factors in Scotland. Yet they email this to me as if it were a legally sound position, and as if my rights could be overridden by them. Title deeds are what is known as the primary legal document, and no factor can simply override them because they decide to do so.
This website has been launched because I know I am not the only homeowner facing these kinds of issues. Too many people feel isolated, pressured, and overwhelmed when dealing with factors. My aim is to help bring homeowners together, share knowledge and experience, and build a stronger collective voice. If we stand alone, we can be ignored. If we stand together, we can fight as one.
If my experience sounds familiar, you are not alone. This website was created so homeowners across Scotland can come together, share information, and fight as one.
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