BAY City Rollers star Pat McGlynn is being taken to court over an unpaid £15,000 bill for a house refurbishment.
The guitarist refused to pay his local council after what he claims was “a cowboy job” refurbishing one of his homes in Edinburgh.
He compared the six-year stand off to his former band’s battle for millions of pounds in royalties, claiming the stress was affecting his health.
He hit out at the “terrible” standard of work carried out in 2004 to a three-bedroom home he rents out in the city’s Burdiehouse Crossway.
Council insiders said the 1970s pop sensation had signed an agreement for the building work to go ahead but failed to co-operate when they offered to survey the home after his complaints.
McGlynn, 52, said: “I’ve been arguing with the council for six years to get the work repaired.
“They have done a cowboy job but they are saying it’s not that bad.
“The whole thing has been a nightmare.
“I can’t sleep at night – I’ve been to the doctor to get sleeping tablets because it’s just driving me crazy.”
“Squint”
He refused to pay for the refurbishment, claiming the brickwork and new windows devalued the home’s value.
He even claimed he could have done a better job himself.
He said: “The brickwork is squint and the new bricks are the wrong colour.
“I could have done a better job myself and I’m not even a brickie.
“The council sent a surveyor to the property but he said the brickwork was a blemish and the bricks just needed re-pointed, but the bricks are all sinking and it looks like the house is ready to collapse.
“They also put the wrong windows in.
“The council said the work won’t affect the value of the house if I sell it, but that’s a load of rubbish.
“They did a terrible job and I’ve been arguing ever since to get it rectified.”
“Constant stress”
McGlynn and his former band-mates are currently embroiled in a bitter struggle over royalties against the Rollers’ old record label, Arista.
He said: “This is getting as bad as the Arista case with the Bay City Rollers – it has been going on for years.
“All I want the council to do is fix the house properly.
“I don’t know what to do, it’s just getting too much for me.
“It is a constant stress.”
A council official confirmed a court hearing is expected in September.
A spokesman for the City of Edinburgh Council said they were restricted in what they could say about the row due to the legal process.
He said: “The matter is now in the hands of our legal department.”
