A deliciously wicked spoof website has been launched to highlight the cruel duplicity that property owners in ‘water wars’ areas, such as Vale do Garrão, have been subject to.
Infralobo.com includes a look at the water company's background, calling it a ‘family business’ in a reference to its president being the Loulé mayor’s brother-in-law, a look at the legal problems associated with the notorious bedroom tax and the fact the presiding judge in the first court action is a close neighbour of mayor Vitor Aleixo.
The serious side to this website is the blatant transfer of funds by Infralobo, sorry - 'Infraloco' - from the Quinta Jacinta, Vale do Garrão and Vilas Alvas estates to Vale de Lobo (Loco) where the immaculate lawns, trimmed verges and pristine infrastructure is all in sharp contrast to the pitted roads, overgrown pavements and visibly degraded areas of its close neighbours.
Referring to the council water company as ‘Infraloco’ throughout, the anonymous author(s) explain the basis of the scam whereby the estates next to the prestigious Vale de ‘Loco’ have been subsiding their already rich cousin:
“Through the creation of Infraloco, and an ingenious way in which property owners were convinced to pay again for services they have already paid for and for work and investments they should not pay for, it has been possible to almost completely re-build Vale do Loco without incurring any expenses for the owners (shareholders).
"To further increase the revenues, without incurring associated expenses, several adjacent developments were incorporated into the scheme allowing property owners in those developments to contribute towards this worthwhile cause.”
The text continues in the same vein and helps to clarify the situation where any semblance of a commercial relationship between water customers and 'Infraloco' long ago broke down.
The imposition of a ‘bedroom tax’ was the final straw and, while awaiting a court ruling on the legality of this additional charge imposed by the water company, Infralobo engineers disconnected those householders who were withholding this part of their monthly fees.
In the question and answers section, a typical Infraloco customer at last is defined with clarity:
“Our definition of ‘the clients in these developments’ is to say that they meet the following criteria:
Mainly foreigners
Do not vote in local elections
Absentee property owners
Can afford to pay
Like to have water in the house when they come on holidays
Have been told by their lawyers there is no point in objecting to our charges”
The real Infralobo is owned 51% by Loulé council whose recent good work in reorganising the municipal accounts, freeing funds for local projects and generally giving the impression it is a well run and sensible local authority, must be looked at in relation to its appalling treatment of the water customers in the Quinta Jacinta, Vale do Garrão and Vilas Alvas estates.
Infralobo’s president, Eng.º José Eduardo Rodrigues Miguel, rightly should be irritated by the spoof website Infralobo.com as he has ignored all attempts to open a sensible dialogue with property owners, so deeply involved is he with the nefarious way in which his company is managed.
His brother-in-law, mayor Vitor Aleixo also has failed to comment on, or apologise for, the appalling treatment of many of Infralobo’s customers, including a failure to answering the valid questions as to why certain householders are paying twice for services which they fail to receive and why many have been disconnected for refusal to pay a random, unilateral bedroom tax which has not been validated by a competent court.
Check out the website now, before it is closed down:
http://www.infralobo.com/home.html
A deliciously wicked spoof website has been launched to highlight the cruel duplicity that property owners in ‘water wars’ areas, such as Vale do Garrão, have been subject to.
Infralobo.com includes a look at the company background, calling it a ‘family business’ in a reference to the water company’s president being the Loulé mayor’s brother-in-law, a look at the legal problems associated with the notorious bedroom tax and the fact the presiding judge in the first court action is a close neighbour as mayor Vitor Aleixo.
