Voices Newspaper Altinkum Didim Turkey - Complex hit by new power strike

THE scandal over the beleagured Golden Beach Complex hit a new low after it emerged bailiffs arrived shortly before christmas to reclaim the power transformer to the site.

The controversy between the contractor company and the land owner has left the British residents at a new low with them now having to shell out for individual eletricial generators to power their homes.

Businessman from Ankara, Ahmet Akyel made an agreement with Didim Design Group to build houses on his land of 5000 square meters by the sea in Monastir Bay.

The contractor company would pay Akyel £2,365,000. The construction of Golden Beach Complex started in 2006 and finished last year.

Out of the 170 flats and 10 detached villas, almost 120 were sold at prices between £50,000 and £100,000

The partners of DDG Hasan Tahsin Abalı, Mehmet Toklaç and İbrahim Soylu then had a dispute over the accounts; for which Soylu and Toklaç sued Abalı, who was in charge of the bookkeeping.

Landowner Ahmet Akyel, claiming not to be paid his share from the house sales, sued the DDG.

The British, who could not get their title deeds, then opened court cases against the contractor company and the landowner.

But things got worse for the British residents when the power was cut to the site recently due to the debt of the contractor company.

When the water pumps failed to work as well, the site residents were left without both electric and water.

The residents were forced to live in darkness and could not take a shower in their homes.

Resident 72 year old Molly Harrison said that she had no strength to persevere: “We were preparing for the Christmas and New Year but we had a bad surprise.

“The officers of the contractor company came with the police forces and carried away the substation, cutting our power. The water pumps could not work without electricity.

“We have been living without water or electricity for a week now. I am 72 years old and I live on the top floor.
With no electricity and water, we cannot meet our most basic needs.”

Harrison said that she had sold out everything in England in order to move here: “All we have is here now. We have been here for two years. Nobody has warned us.

“If we knew we would encounter so many legal problems, we would never buy here. All we want is to get our title deeds. The procedures are very slow here.

“In England, as soon as you pay you get the deed. If you buy off-plan, your money would be blocked in the bank and the contractor can get it the day you get the title deed and the house. It is all the opposite here.

“The contractor built with our money but he won’t give the title deeds. This system is wrong. I beg the Turkish authorities to help us. This is the time of the year when we rejoice but we cannot even go to the toilet. We sit in darkness and shiver in the cold.”

Another resident in the site, Tony Scott said: “We don’t understand why the system is such in Turkey. We live in our houses but we don’t have our title deeds. We might lose our homes any minute, in which case we would have no chance to take them back.

“We have been to the contractor company to solve the electricity problem here. Two of the three partners show good-will though they cannot help but the third partner almost casts us out.

“They told us that there was a problem with the substation and when we asked if there was anything we could do, they said that they needed 30,000 Euros. We even agreed to pay the amount.

“They came last Tuesday and cut the construction power off. We need title deeds to subscribe personally but they do not give our deeds. The bitter thing is nobody feels the necessity to explain anything to us. I paid 100 thousand pounds for this house. We have not deserved all these.”

Head Official: “Speak to AYDEM if you have a problem with the electricity”
The British resorted to Head Official Ali Katırcı to ask for help but Katırcı did not see the British, instead advised them to solve their electricity problem with AYDEM and title deeds problem with the Title Deeds Office.

The aggrieved British were disappointed with the Head Official’s reaction.

Ms Harrison said: “We do not know who to turn to for help. The representative of the state does not listen to us. This is unbelievable.”