Relatives of former residents of Berkeley Village, Patterson Lakes say they are owed money from unit sales

FAMILIES owed hundreds of thousands of dollars from Berkeley Living retirement village in Patterson Lakes have vowed to fight for justice.

Relatives of former residents at Berkeley Living, Patterson Lakes said the aged care village owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pic James Ross

FAMILIES owed hundreds of thousands of dollars from Berkeley Living retirement village in Patterson Lakes have vowed to fight for justice.

The relatives of former residents of the village say units owned by now deceased family members were sold but none of the money was given to them.

Mignon Bonwick’s mother Belle Butcher paid about $104,000 to buy the lease of her unit and lived at the village for five years before she died in 2008.

Her unit was then resold, without her family’s knowledge, for $180,000 but the family has never received any of the money from the sale.

Ms Bonwick said she and her brother had spent about $12,000 in legal fees over the last seven years trying to get the money owed to them.

About 30 other families recently wrote to Consumer Affairs Victoria and the authority is now investigating.

“Needless to say everyone is very upset; our parents would be devastated,” Ms Bonwick said.

“It’s not necessarily about the money, it’s about the justice — people just want a bit of justice.”

Another woman, who did not want to be named, said her mother-in-law moved into Berkeley Living in July 2009 and paid $175,000 to lease a unit.

She said her mother-in-law died in December that year and the units at the village were sold to investors. Berkeley then leased them out, acting as the managing agent.

“But we haven’t received any payment for the lease agreement my mother-in-law signed,” the woman said.

“It’s just a shemozzle, it really is.

On September 15, police, state Health Department and Consumer Affairs inspectors were called to the site to conduct welfare checks on residents after reports that staff had downed tools amid claims of being consistently underpaid.

Consumer Affairs Victoria spokesman Ben Radisich said they were making inquiries into a dispute between residents and the operators of Berkeley Living about the repayment of an upfront entry fee, known as an ‘ingoing contribution’, paid by residents for occupancy of a retirement village unit.

He said Consumer Affairs had worked with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Public Advocate, Victoria Police and local council to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of residents.

Staff at Berkeley Living claim convicted fraudster Stephen Snowden is the man in charge, though his current role in the company is unknown.

In a statement sent to Leader, Snowden said he was a consultant acting to resolve the financial and legal issues at the aged care village.

He said it was “strata title owners” of each of the apartments who were jointly liable for the money owed to the residents.

“Strata title” allows individual ownership of part of a property, combined with shared ownership in the remainder.

The statement said Berkeley Living and Mr Snowden comply with industry standards and regulations and said staff were paid above award wages.

The office of the Fair Work Ombudsman said it had not received any requests for help from workers from Berkeley Living.