The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it... READ THE FINE PRINT Reader Silas Chan rented an office space from the international business service group Regus' business centre in IFC, Central. When he left at the end of April, he was shocked to be asked to pay a $5,100 fee for three months of 'virtual office' and $1,600 for exit-clearing charges for two people, fees he said were never made known to him until the end. 'These charges had never been communicated to us till the day we were about to leave, nor were those charges being specifically mentioned in the standard Regus charges booklet given to every tenant,' Mr Chan wrote. 'These termination arrangements were only mentioned in a small clause at the back of the licence agreement we signed with them but without clearly stating the exact charges.' Regus has now agreed to waive those fees in his case, but Mr Chan said the company still insisted the charges were legitimate. He is still waiting for the return of his rent deposit of $22,000, which he was told would take two months after he moved out. Regus replies: 'Having now looked into the situation, I can confirm that Regus is currently in discussion with this client and that outstanding issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.' SAFETY MATTERS John Harvey of Happy Valley was astonished that Fire Services inspectors claimed it was none of their business after inspecting a building exit at his home that was blocked by a grill fence and metal gates built by the landlord, ostensibly to prevent burglars, but it would also stop tenants from escaping in a fire. 'I called the Fire Department Help Line to discuss the matter and in the afternoon a fire officer visited the premises and called me directly with his findings,' he wrote. 'He acknowledged that the enclosure was a potential problem but two issues prevented him from taking any action. 'First, the escape stairs had access to the roof, a comforting thought after carrying the kids all the way down to the ground floor and then having to go back up the stairs... and second, the enclosure is actually outside the building line and therefore the Fire Department has no jurisdiction.' Take Action referred the case to the Buildings Department, which has taken it up. The Buildings Department said: 'An advisory letter will be served to the Incorporated Owners of the building for rectification of the situation. If rectification work is not completed, a statutory order will be issued to the owners concerned.' AGE BEFORE DUTY Ronald Wong, 68, of the Peak, was peeved that immigration officers allowed young and able-bodied travellers to use a queue reserved for the elderly and disabled at Shun Tak Ferry Terminal. 'I arrived at the terminal on June 1 from Zhuhai. I was at an immigration counter at precisely 7.20pm which displayed signage for seniors and the disabled and was disappointed to find a long queue of some 20 people awaiting clearance,' Dr Wong wrote. He said only he and another couple appeared to be over 65 but everyone else in the queue were young, physically fit people in their 30s. 'On clearing immigration, I spoke to a male supervising immigration officer of senior rank behind the counter purportedly designated for the aged and the disabled. I complained why the authority would allow people to come through clearance at this counter if they did not even bear the slightest resemblance of being senior or disabled. 'He explained that it would be difficult to turn them away. I then requested him to remove the sign as it was insincere and hypocritical if the department had no intention to extend the courtesy to senior or disabled citizens,' Dr Wong wrote, but he said the officer declined to do so. The Immigration Department said 'help-through' counters may be opened to all travellers to facilitate passenger flow. 'A special 'Help-through' counter is set up at the arrival and departure hall for the disabled persons or persons who are aged 65 or above,' the department wrote in a written reply. 'As soon as the queuing passengers have been cleared, this 'Help-through' counter will also perform immigration clearance for other Hong Kong residents or visitors so as to maximize the use of staff resources.'
