Monday, November 28, 2011

Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd - CTTT Hearing 28 November 2011

Hi,

CTTT Hearing 28 November 2011

As expected Stefan Mayer did not attend the CTTT this morning. His representative asked for a further three weeks. This was granted with the warning that no further excuses will be tolerated. Stefan Mayer must provide the information upon which he bases his case at the end of three weeks. We stated that this was just another delaying tactic and that Stefan Mayer just goes around taking deposits and then doing nothing. We showed the Member (the CTTT officer) the list of ten people complaining about Scullery & Holz at:
http://www.companynamesucks.com/scullery-&-holz-interiors-pty-ltd--anc--102-846-284-sucks-9250.html
Next hearing will be next year. Will keep you updated here.

If everybody took their complaints to the CTTT now, justice will be done to these unscrupulous people.

(Note: This post also appears on
http://sculleryholzinteriorsplabn91102846284.blogspot.com)

Monday, November 21, 2011

Free Download: PDF file converter

Convert files to PDF format

Having received a file attachment which could not be opened by the software on my computer, a request was made for it to be resent in PDF format. Not knowing whether the sender was able to convert files to PDF format it was decided to suggest how this could be done.

While there are numerous file converters available this one at the following link so simple to use ( even the most inexperienced user will have no trouble using it).

Free PDF Printer Software - Print Documents Directly to PDF


"Bolt PDF Printer Software

Print Documents to PDF Files Lightning Fast

Bolt PDF makes creating PDF files as easy as printing. Select Bolt PDF as your printer from the print menu in any application to print to PDF files.

PDF files are the standard for document sharing in business. Being able to create a PDF file of a document makes electronic distribution easy and eliminates any compatibility issues people might have with other file formats."

(as described on their site).

The downloaded file is not large. When testing the software's capability a word file with text was opened, a picture imported into the file, and for good measure the "PrtSc" key pressed and this view of what was on the desktop copied into the file. Then just selecting "print" from the menu and choosing Bolt PDF Printer instead of the normal printer, the file was converted into PDF format and saved. So simple!




Sunday, October 9, 2011

Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd - Problems with them

They are better known to us as
SKULLDUGGERY & HOAX

We have had multiple problems with Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd

Hi,
We were without a kitchen from 18th September 2010 until 24th February 2011. This has been a most traumatic and costly experience with Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd - an absolute nightmare.
Beware of Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd and especially Stefan Mayer who is most obliging and attentive until a contract is signed and the substantial deposit is paid. From that point onwards dealing with Scullery & Holz becomes a nightmare.

Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd is a business that is incapable of fulfilling it's contractual obligations - most certainly this has been our exasperating experience with them.
Anybody out there thinking of doing business with Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd of 525 Willoughby Road, Willoughby NSW 2068, phone 61 (02) 9958 4811 please check them out here and at:

Scullery & Holz Interiors pl ABN91102846284 (a site especially set up for customers to leave comments)

http://www.localbuzz.com.au/business/scullery-and-holz-sydney-pty-ltd/85623
(you may need to copy and paste the web address above if it does not appear as a link).
Scullery & Holz are most attentive until the contract is signed and a substantial deposit taken ( they are not supposed to take more than 5% of the contract price at the time the contract is signed and they are supposed to provide the Home Warranty Insurance cover at that time). Once they get your money they are virtually impossible to contact, and neglect to get anything done. Phone calls, when answered, are not much use. Many promises will be made, and then when these are not kept, excuses will be made followed by further assurances which are also not honoured. These are delaying tactics used by the company.
When we decided to replace our kitchen early in 2010 we looked at quite a few showrooms and finally were trying to decide between two companies on our short list:
Scullery and Holz Interiors Pty Ltd in Willoughby and
Mobalpa Kitchens in Drummoyne.
Stefan Mayer, the owner of Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd was most attentive to all our enquiries and promptly provided us with a complete set of drawings for the proposed kitchen. Our telephone calls were answered instantly and upon making changes to the plans Stefan Mayer immediately produced new sets of drawings ( on four occasions).
Sadly, this early attention to our calls and enquiries prompted us to sign a contract with Stefan Mayer of Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd.
Our experience with this company has been a nightmare. We were without a kitchen for eight months. They abandoned the job after having failed to complete it by the fourth promised finish date. Now sixteen months since signing the contract with them, we are still waiting for Scullery & Holz Interiors Pty Ltd to refund us the $13,296.47 we paid in excess of the contracted price to have our kitchen finished and all their errors corrected by another contractor.

We signed a contract with Stefan Mayer of Scullery and Holz Interiors Pty Ltd on 30 June 2010 for a kitchen with a contracted price of $41,780.00 scheduled to start at end August 2010 and promised for completion within eight weeks. This company took a deposit of $11,000.00 and then failed to perform. Once the deposit was paid, Stefan Mayer was virtually impossible to contact.
Scullery and Holz:
failed to provide us with Home Warranty Insurance,
failed to engage only licensed contractors and
failed to start the job at the end of August 2010
failed to keep their promise to complete the kitchen on four separate occasions:
26th October 2010;
20th November 2010;
20th December 2010 and
24th January 2011
failed to order the cabinetry until mid November 2010 (20 weeks after taking the deposit
failed to pay the cabinet maker- prior to expecting them to allow for pickup.
We got delivery of the cabinetry on 7th December 2010 by going to Lovely Kitchens ourselves and paying Scullery & Holz in advance at the factory. There were numerous design faults that Scullery & Holz were unable to fix themselves. One week after delivery of the cabinetry they commenced installation. Their installer then walked off the job on the 18th December. On 20th December they promised to finish the kitchen by 24th January 2011. Scullery & Holz closed for the Christmas holidays on 23th December 2010 sending us an e-mail instructing us to immediately pay the balance of the contract price to their bench top supplier before they would start our bench tops.
Had we done this we would have paid the full amount of the contract price to Scullery & Holz. We would have had a kitchen that was not even correctly installed, with cabinetry and fittings in disarray and that were not according to our requirements, without bench tops, without appliances installed and connected and cabinetry unpainted. In the end they virtually abandoned the job and it was then finished by Lovely Kitchens costing us an additional $13,296.47 over and above the contract price. Scullery and Holz failed to keep their promise to reimburse us for any amounts we paid Lovely Kitchens to finish the job they could not complete themselves.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Company Executives’ Excessive Salary and Bonus Payments.



Company Executives’ Excessive Salary and Bonus Payments.

There has been considerable discussion, around the world, concerning the excessive payments being made to executives of companies. In spite of the financial crisis, that originated from the poor management decisions made by so many of these company executives, payments to them have remained at unacceptable high levels.

In Australia, the Government is considering legislation which could restrict such payments being made without shareholder approval.

There is a simple solution to this problem.

Each company should set up a special fund into which a proportion of monies from retained earnings are placed. Out of this fund, each year, should be paid shareholders dividends, directors fees, executives bonuses,incentives and golden handshakes.

Each year, the shareholders should determine what proportion of these funds will be allocated to the payment of directors fees, executive bonuses, incentives and golden handshakes ( say 5%) and what proportion will be paid out to shareholders in dividends (say 95%). Now in a year where say $100 million is available for payment from that fund, $95 million should be paid to shareholders in dividends and the directors can then determine how the $5 million will be paid out to themselves in fees and to the executives in bonuses, incentives and golden handshakes.

There should be an understanding by the directors and executives that total payments to them cannot exceed the proportions set down by the shareholders. In a year where the directors elect to not pay a dividend to shareholders, then there should be no payment made in that year to the directors or executives in the way of fees, bonuses,incentives and golden handshakes. It is about time that these officers of the companies realise that their first responsibility is towards the shareholders who have provided the funds for the enterprise.

Now this will resolve the issue of high bonuses and incentives being paid to executives when the company is not doing very well. Many companies have paid substantial amounts to executives in years when company profits have been deteriorating and even when shareholders dividends were reduced or not declared at all. What a disgrace!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Useful downloads

Many years ago I was searching for a way to save emails outside of Outlook Express short of saving them one at a time. Eventually I came across DBXtract, a small and most efficient programme, that makes the task simple. It can be downloaded free from PCWorld via the following link.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23383-order,1-page,1/description.html


The programme is easy to use once you know where your emails are stored. For those of you who wish to find the location of their email store follow these instructions, remembering that the symbol > means click on:

  1. Open Outlook Express
  2. in the menu bar > Tools
  3. from the drop down menu > Options
  4. in the new window that opens > Maintenance
  5. in this view > Store Folder
  6. in the new window the address bar will show the path to the location of your email store folder
  7. this folder stores your emails in '.dbx' file format which is a zipped type of format.
  8. Make a note of where the store is so that you can browse for it later, when using DBXtract.

You now have the option to change this location if you wish. If not just > Cancel > Cancel and you will be returned to your normal Outlook Express window.

Please contact me if you need any further help with this.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Stockmarket Ramblings - UXC

UXC is an interesting small cap company listed on the ASX. Not so long ago its shares traded as high as $2.83. Currently they have traded as low as $0.99, a drop of 65% in value. The company announced that they were unable to explain why this should be as nothing has changed within the company and its operations. This is a company that appears to have many of the features that are attractive to Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated when looking for potential takeover targets. It is trading at a price under 7% annual earnings, and over the past few years its increase in earnings have averaged at 42%. The comparison of UXC's half yearly earnings shown below are indicative of this company's growth and potential. With the end of financial year a couple of weeks away and the prospect of a distribution in the vicinity of 5.5 to 6.5 cents per share, this must be a stock worth having at even double the the current price.


Half Year Report of
UXC LIMITED and its controlled entities
For the Six Months Ended 31 December 2006
Six Months Ending
31 December: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Revenue ($'000) $272,897 $197,027 $133,311 $115,249 $87,126
NPAT ($'000) $12,175 $9,363 $6,841 $6,226 $3,969
Basic EPS (Cents) 6.44 5.38 4.20 4.15 3.13
Interim Dividend Declared (Cents) 4.25 3.50 2.50 2.25 2.00
Dividend Payout Ratio (%) 66% 54% 60% 54% 64%
Total Assets ($'000) $340,408 $271,550 $186,859 $202,579 $126,971
Return on Assets (% per annum) 7.2% 6.9% 7.3% 6.1% 6.3%
Shareholders’ Equity ($'000) $155,859 $130,376 $105,324 $101,367 $74,312
Return on Equity (% per annum) 15.6% 14.4% 13.0% 12.3% 10.7%
Gearing Ratio (%) 35.7% 25.4% 18.8% 25.8% 0.0%
Avail Franking Credits ($'000) $19,500 $17,900 $18,000 $18,300 $15,700
Market Capitalisation ($’000) $346,400 $318,200 $148,200 $127,400 $111,100

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Stockmarket Ramblings - VPE & VPEO on the move

With the recent increases in the price of oil reaching US$135.00 per barrel, it is not surprising that Victoria Petroleum Shares and Options have traded at a higher price. This company is producing oil and coal seam gas in moderate amounts from its Australian wells. Interestingly it was announced that the ANZ Banking Group have now become a substantial holder of shares in VPE. Further interest has been from a British energy company B G Group whose recent investment in Queensland Gas Company has preceded QGC's acquisition of 7.13% of VPE. The recent increase in share price and activity in VPE's shares has prompted an enquiry from the ASX. VPE has 254.8 million shares on issue together with 61.8 million options exercisable at $0.25 by Jan 2010. The company has a number of joint venture operations in progress which are likely to make it cash flow positive within the next twelve months. It has been substantially undervalued by the market. It would not be surprising to see the price of the fully paid shares approach $0.90, within the next twelve to eighteen months, following a few more successful wells being drilled on their permits. VPE has a success rate of approximatley 50% at present.