Have things improved with Solitaire?
It’s been almost two months since Andy from Solitaire Property Management started actively contributing to TheTruthAboutSolitaire and I’d like to ask, have things improved for you? Judging by some of the comments that have been posted by contributors, it would appear that they haven’t.
In early February we were informed by Andrew Billson of Solitaire / Peverel that it would take time to get things sorted at Solitaire, but it is now almost 5 months later and still people are complaining of the same things: Poor Service, Incorrect Bills, Debt Collection Threats when accounts are on hold, lack of communication and false service charges on management accounts.
Peverel have advised some residents that they have now completed the integration of Solitaire clients into their own, so surely things should now be sorted? Unless we are now experiencing the poor service of Peverel Property Management?
I’d like to congratulate Solitaire on their contribution to TheTruthAboutSolitaire, although I’m disappointed to see that Andy has been very quiet of late. Is this because he’s been trying to get the problems sorted, or is it because he’s been overwhelmed by complaints or is he having a well deserved break due to all the complaints he’s received?
Another positive I’d like to highlight is the fact that when you now call Solitaire, even though you have to be a little patient you will get through to someone. However, the problem seems to be, once you get through to someone, they either never have a clue, they put you on hold, say that the issue has to be dealt with by the Luton office or they say they’ll get someone to call you back and they don’t…. the same old Solitaire story.
I’d appreciate your comments on the ‘improvements’ at Solitaire / Peverel, because there must have been some at some developments by now.





July 3rd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Not convinced of anything resembling an improvement from our friends at Solitaire. At my development, there are a number of issues still to be resolved, which have been discussed with the Property Manager, who has advised that works will be done, but still no actual sign of anything physically happening on site – this has been going on for months now (some issues years…) I now have a Service Charge bill sat on my desk, which was due for payment at the start of July – I’m not reaching for my chequebook just yet.
Within a week of the Service Charge bill arriving (which is actually for less than the January-June bill – £306, compared to £345), I received a further letter advising that an additionl Service Charge will be required, provisionally of £107, but subject to confirmation, once the Accounts are finalised – these will be sent to me “as soon as possible”, and I will be scutinising them VERY closely, to make sure we aren’t being charged wrongly (which seems to be a common trick). Following the issues “Sheps” has been having, I will be checking we aren’t also being charged for items not present on site – like Sheps, we don’t have any gates, or external water supplies, etc. etc.
I haven’t actually tried the “new” customer services number – I prefer to send emails, which then immediately creates a written record of correspondence, therefore proving proof of issues being raised, and the response (or usually lack of….) I get in return from Solitaire.
“Andy” has indeed gone rather quiet recently – perhaps he is on leave due to the stress of it all…??? Perhaps he’s realised the enormity of the task ahead to get Solitaire & co. into line, and has decided it’s a thankless, unachievable task…??? Time will tell, I guess.
July 4th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I think the reason your service charge bill was less is because Solitaire have forgotten to add on the amount for the reserve fund due to a software problem in transferring over data. The only reason I say this is I had a letter today giving this as an explanation and the amounts are very similar. Another c***-up?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:03 am
The ’service’ supplied by Solitaire will only improve when they start to visit the developments for which they are responsible. Their lousy standards have been recognised by ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents). I noticed that the ARLA logo no longer appears the bottom of Solitaire’s letters and bills and so I phoned ARLA to ask them why. They told me that Solitaire were no longer members of their organisation but they refused to say why.
I noticed on the ARLA website under the heading of ‘Principles of professional conduct’ it says that member companies must ‘…not act dishonestly of decietfully or otherwise in a manner which shows moral unfitness or brings the Association into disrepute’.
Andy, why has Solitaire lost membership of ARLA ?
July 6th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
So if ARLA have cancelled Solitaire’s membership with themselves (for reasons we can currently only speculate on…), how long will it be before ARMA do the same…???
But as we know from what was said by the ARMA representative interviewed by Nicky Campbell on “Watchdog” recently, if ARMA do expel a member agent, said agent can still continue to trade, as ARMA ultimately have no real clout – is the same true of ARLA…???
An explanation from Andy on why Solitaire are no longer members of ARLA would be welcome – to stop speculation, if for no other reason.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hi a n onymous & Matt
You’re quite right Solitaire aren’t members of ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) any more.
The reason is very simple – some years ago Solitaire had a lettings service and they became members of ARLA as a result. Well before Peverel Property Management took over the running of Solitaire they ceased offering a lettings service. Hence the ARLA membership simply lapsed and the logo was removed from Solitaire stationery.
Solitaire are of course still members of ARMA (Association of Residential Managing Agents).
Thanks for posting – I am pleased I’ve been able to clarify the difference between ARLA and ARMA. It can be confusing I know!
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
July 6th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Hi everyone
Thanks for your post. No I haven’t disappeared or been on leave! I’ve been busy helping the guys prepare for the Peverel Property Management operations conference that took place last week.
All Solitaire property managers attended the day and half programme. It had one main focus – improving Customer Service.
It was great that a representative of the Institute of Residential Property management (IRPM) attended the conference as six of our Solitaire property managers have just passed their Part I exams to become an Associate of the IRPM.
Why is this important to our customers? Well it is yet another tangible example of the positive change being made throughout the company. The IRPM was launched by ARMA seven years ago as a means of delivering a professional qualification in residential property management. It gives an independent accreditation of a property manager’s professional skill. For more information visit the IRPM website http://www.irpm.org.uk
I was sorry to read that admin still felt that things weren’t improving.
I have said before that changing the way that we provide services to customers does take time, particularly changing the information systems so that our accounts are issued accurately and on time.
When Andrew Billson wrote to customers earlier this year he said that “A new Property Management IT system will be introduced into the Solitaire business by summer 2009. This comprehensive data information system was designed specifically for us and we have many years of experience and knowledge in its successful operation. It will allow us to estimate, commit and report on expenditure in a more timely and accurate way.”
All Solitaire properties have now been added to the system. Although some historical information is poor and it is often quite time consuming to resolve inaccuracies, everyone is working hard to sort out these issues. We’re also started a detailed audit process to check the accuracy of development information once on our new system.
And that not all. Once we’re happy with the quality of the development information we will launch an enhanced customer website. This will offer customers the opportunity to manage their account, receive development specific information, view the development insurance policy and make all service charge and other payments online. As soon as I have further news I will post it on this site.
I hope that no contributor to this website feels that we aren’t communicating. Or that our Customer Services team don’t have an answer to their questions. I am always happy to be contacted by email direct at: andy.soltairepm@peverel.co.uk. I pass any email direct to the Head of Operations at Solitaire and we have procedures in place to make sure every contact is followed up.
We may not be perfect but we are determined that every customer will see real changes this year.
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
July 6th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Well on one front it did seem that things were improving – I actually managed to meet our new Property Manager who did seem proactive and keen to get matters resolved. However, there are still numerous issues outstanding – mainly account queries – it seems that our property manager is doing her best to resolve these however is waiting for clarification/assistance from the accounts department, which doesn’t appear to be forthcoming (I think they’re too busy issuing demands for money which they’ve been told will be withheld until they have resolved the queries!).
Our site consists of freehold houses and leasehold flats and there is complete confusion over insurance matters. Our freehold houses should only contribute towards insurance on the communal area but Solitaire can’t even confirm if we have been paying for buildings insurance or not! Why on earth not, they are in possession of the insurance certificates surely?
There is one major query concerning work which was carried out in the New Year. At the time I asked for a copy of the invoice to see how much we were being charged as I had suspicions that invoices were being paid without any checks being carried out. I have only received this information in the last month and yes we have been charged a ridiculous amount of money for the work carried out. I then asked for details of times the contractors state they attended the premises. These have now been provided and I don’t agree with them – neither do my neighbours but our hands are tied. The bill has been paid and we will be charged for it without any chance of appeal. I’d be very grateful if Andy could advise on what residents are supposed to do when they can see they are being ripped off for work done and Solitaire/Peveral (whoever) pay the bill without liaising with residents to see what work was done and how long it took. Surely Solitaire/Peveral have a duty of care to us residents to ensure that we are not taken for a ride by contractors. What can we do to ensure this doesn’t happen again? Andy – any advice would be gratefully received!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I just tried to send an email to you at andy.soltairepm@peverel.co.uk and it failed.
I got this response:
Reporting-MTA: dns;nm-exch-1.pmsl.local
Received-From-MTA: dns;peverel.co.uk
Arrival-Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2009 22:20:52 +0100
Final-Recipient: rfc822;andy.soltairepm@peverel.co.uk
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.1
July 6th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Andy, thank you for the prompt answer. However I am still waiting for an answer to the question I posed on the 11th and 26th of June.
Here it is for the third time.
Is there any reason why customers cannot be informed of dates and times of scheduled visits by Solitaire staff to our respective developments. I assume that such visits are planned in advance and as such it would be easy to inform us of the dates of scheduled visits by placing a note in the envelope with our periodic bills. Alternatively the information could be given on this website or the Solitaire website.
Such a move would do an awful lot to improve the relationship between Solitaire and their customers.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I received an invoice for £440 for my 6 month up front service charge. Two days later I reveived an amended bill for £998! This was accounted to issues wuth a new system – I would say issues with their calculator! This is a huge amount of money- how can this possibly be right when I have a 1 bed flat!?
Upon receiving this adjustment, I asked fro a call for some answers… lets just say, I haven’t heard back and I shant hold my breath!
A very disgruntled customer.
July 7th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Lauren
That’ll be the new “This comprehensive data information system was designed specifically for us and we have many years of experience and knowledge in its successful operation”
Or as other people in the industry call it, an application called PropMan.
You are not alone, we have the same problem on our development and were recently threatened with ‘Debt Collection’, because we haven’t paid our bills because they are incorrect!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I too have received an amended (increased) invoice – my original invoice for July-December arrived at the end of June, but then yesterday I received an amended invoice (luckily only increased by £39), with a grovelling letter explaining that the increase was as a result of an “error” whilst “transferring data” onto the “new software system”, which resulted in the Reserve Contribution being omitted from the original invoice.
So this (presumably) means human error – the software system will have churned out invoices based on the information inputted into the system. Obviously the problem is widespread – and who was responsible for issuing scores of incorrect invoices in the first place…??? Two words – QUALITY CONTROL.
And to rub salt into our wounds, I’ll bet that the additional costs incurred by Solitaire to re-issue the corrected invoices (i.e. somebody’s time, plus paper, envelopes & stamps) will have been added into the overall charges for our respective developments – so it will be us who end up paying for Solitaire’s cock-up. Or perhaps Andy could confirm that these additional costs WON’T be passed on to us residents, and will instead be met by Solitaire / Peverel etc. themselves (as they should be)…???
It’s not our cock-up, after all – we didn’t write the “new software”, or transfer wrong / insufficient information into it, did we…???!!!
Hopeless.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Well Solitaire’s service is certainly changing here at RAQ as Lee Middleburgh has decided to take them off our development and give it to a different Peverel Group, Consort!
Of course we’re going to go on with trying to get RTM anyway, but the admission that Solitaire are a failed company is rather damning!
July 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
In my view it is all hot air and promises. Nothing ever seems to change.
I have received FOUR invoices in a week relating to my property no wonder the management fees are so high in relation to what they achieve. If they have had a conference, who will be paying for it.
I will complain of course but they have developed a hide like a rhino- they have had to.
And as for ARMA well who pay the subscriptions which allow them to continue.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I recently had a letter from solitaire stating we owed our service charge and costs were being added and legal action starting, this came after we had received a invoice from solitaire with our credit card receipt and stamped paid sent out. on calling the office I was told I would have to provide evidence it was paid so I suggested each office communicated with each other and sent a copy invoice on rather than sending out letters resulting in possible legal action, to which I was told this could not be done and my account could not be put on hold until it was sorted out, I asked to speak to someone who could help with my account, as previously working in finance I knew this was not the case. my account has been put on hold now (we have paid our charges as per credit card statement and invoice with receipt from solitaire however the lack of professionalism in handling of financial matters by the company is outrageous, and to be told something cannot be done when in fact it can shows the comapany is neglecting accounts in this manner, if my extremely good credit Rating has been effected by this I will be Looking at legal action in relation to “deformation of character” and have at this point informed my solicitors, the complaints team at solitaire (with no response as yet) and company directors. I wonder how many other cases are out there whilst the Barnet offices are shut and paperwork moved in boxes to Luton which this was the professional answer as to why the error had happened.
I think it is fair to say I find solitaire in relation to property management and financial handling of accounts far from competent and professional.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Hi a n onymous
Thanks for your recent posting. Let me explain briefly how Solitaire’s Property Managers organise their time when managing their individual developments.
Because of the number of different developments, each manager is responsible for; their priorities when visiting a site will be to meet new or existing contractors, carry out site inspections or to respond to urgent matters on site.
The remainder of their time is spent attending to administration duties, emailing customers and contractors or attending meetings with individual residents, RMC’s or Resident Associations.
Having to cover a large number of sites, and attending various meetings, can make it difficult for our Property Managers to predict or specify exact dates and times that, they will visit a specific site.
However, they are all happy upon request to arrange meetings with individual residents or groups of residents, if they have issues, which they would like to discuss.
Please feel free to contact your Property Manager or myself directly. My direct email address is andy.solitairepm@peverel.co.uk and I will pass on any request on your behalf.
Thanks
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
July 8th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
HELLO
yes i paid my service charge on july 1st which is very early for me ,then the day after another bill stating a software problem and i owe them a firther £81 which they can sing for a few weeks
they want our money the take weeks to pay the money into their account
we pay them to mamage not to make mistakes
my problem with this charge is who set this covenant into my deeds
i had 30 minuites with a soliciter who said this is the most draconian legal document he has ever seen ,and it probably violates my human rights .i could not afford to pay him so that was the end of that
,i would like to persnoaly meet the person who set this up for 8 little houses and ask him or her why is this nesessary ,i look over the road to other rows of houses and think how lucky they are to be managing their own houses as i should be and not paying £630 per anum mainly for nothing
July 9th, 2009 at 9:15 am
So this “software problem” seems to be very widespread, and has affected many service charge invoices – as I’ve previously commented, this is ultimately down to human error somewhere within the system, and the additional admin charges which Solitaire are running up as they re-issue corrected invoices should NOT be charged to us, the residents, but picked up by Solitaire themselves.
Somebody within the Peverel / Solitaire etc. set-up must have some serious egg on their faces – is it the I.T. department, or Credit Control / Accounts, or ?????. Or will they just blame the software writers…..
July 9th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Living in a 2 bedroomed flat in Canterbury (managed by Solitaire) for the last 4 and a half years, I am thoroughly disgusted by the non existant service! We have fences broken in the communal garden since January 2007, apparently this is the responsibility of the ‘major works department’. A shabby communal hall, flotex flooring, dirty, grey and old is the cheerful welcome we enter, not to mention the tired marked walls leading to each flat. A fee of £1012 was paid by myself on 1st January, 2009, I now received another invoice for £558.00 a week ago, only to receive yet again another invoice for £345.00 twenty four hours later. I then find out my neighbour, who has exactly the same flat as myself received an invoice of £678.00, £220.00 lower then my invoices! Phoning the number I was given to query these invoices the person didn’t have a clue and referred me back to ‘Solitaire Management Property Ltd’ in Barnet. Solitaire Management Property Ltd, Luton, Accouts, where I was told to ring are not responsible for the amounts of invoices we receive!!! Does anybody understand this and can explain what my money is being spent on? All we visibly see is a lawn being mowed once a month, if we are lucky and allegedly a cleaner wizing around the hallway with a vacumn cleaner. Quite often duplicated letters are received at my address. Clearly these people do not not what they are doing, oh yes, they know how to bank our cheques!
[ADMIN EDIT]
Brenda – you are not alone, the things you are describing are what everyone experiences, yet Solitaire are able to get away with it. Speak with ARMA as they are currently very interested in Solitaire / Peverel.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I’ve stopped paying my bills full stop. Happy to go to court, I have plenty of photgraphic & email evidence of negligence on Solitaire’s part to present at the hearing. I dont want to do this but they’ve pushed me to it.
July 10th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
ONE WORD “NO”
My new ‘Senior Property Manager’ Couldn’t even find the time to reply to me about an issue with my property even after the THIRD EMAIL over the period of over a month. Instead I received an email back from the ‘Business Co-Ordinator’.
Nothing has changed… Infact I feel it has got WORSE!!!
Solitaire you still suck!
July 15th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Has anyone else here received a letter advising them of a visit from an ” aerial engineer prior to the digital TV switchover ” , please find below a copy of the e-mail I sent to Solitaire on the 10th June . I have received no reply despite chasing it on three occasions .
Dear Sir/Madam ,
I have recently received notice from yourselves of impending works by a visiting engineer with regard to the digital switchover ( at a cost of £125 plus VAT per unit ) . I would be interested to know why this is required , I have myself been using both digital terrestrial TV ( Freeview) and DAB digital radio services for several years now with no difficulties whatsoever from the existing aerial .
July 16th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I live on the Chapelford developement in Warrington and we have exactly the same issues. Thought I had resolved it after 4years with Solitaire then the new company Peveral fuck it up again. The residents plan to go to court here as well
July 18th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Please see the response from Solitaires customer service team in response to my issues posted above, pasted below and my reply at the top, anyone with the same problems please contact me on StevenSearle28@aol.com as I am keen to hear from you.
Hello and thank you for your reply, however…
I cannot believe the comments you have made below, I am now in talks with ARMA (Association or residential management agents) and a MP brought in to look at the “Solitaire Group” and should point out I will be forwarding any correspondence to them as well as my legal team for ref.
As stated previously in my letter, I have a copy invoice sent from solitaire with credit card receipt showing we have paid for the period 1 Apr 2009 to 30 Sep 2009 , if you cannot find any records of this, it without any doubt, shows pure incompetency in your accounting of property management.
I would now like you to provide all details of the account and personal information including payments made and financial details held under our address and our name, as per our personal rights set out in the DPA 1998, within 14 days.
I want you as a trading professional company to provide me with the details required, not for me to provide my evidence you originally sent out back to you, let’s hope they are correct with the receipt and telephone conversations I have had on communicating with Solitaire on this matter,
With regards to your email below.. I have also advised when and how this payment was made both written and verbally twice – your comment below saying this is not the case. The “up to date statement” advising of our Current balance that you have attached is completely wrong in relation to the account and will also help support this case.
The resolve to this matter as you put it below, is for Solitaire to handle financial information accurately.
Regards
Steven Searle
From: Solitaire Customer Services [mailto:customerservices@solitairepm.co.uk]
Sent: 13 July 2009 12:27
To: StevenSearle28@aol.com
Subject: RE: complaint regarding account REF 80501D50067
Dear Mr Searle
Thank you for your letter dated 3rd July 2009. Regarding your account.
I can confirm that we have received your payment in question dated 10th October 2009 for £456.88. Please find attached a statement of accounts for your information.
The final notice before legal proceedings is for the period 1st April 2009 to 30th September 2009. Your account was in credit from a balancing service charge of £145.45 however this did not clear the balance on your account. Please also find attached an up to date statement advising of your current balance.
Can you please confirm when you made your payment for the period mentioned above as we do not seem to have received this and you have not advised how and when this was made.
I believe you have spoken to Kemi in credit control and advised that you will be sending proof of payment however this has not yet been received.
Please advise so that we may resolve this issue.
Kind Regards
Hannah Kirwan
Solitaire Customer Service Department
Solitaire Property Management Ltd
Lynwood House
10 Victors Way
Barnet
Herts
EN5 5TZ
Help the environment – please don’t print this email unless you really need to!
(t) 0845 034 5790
(f) 0208 440 1333
(w) http://www.solitairepm.co.uk
(e) customerservices@solitairepm.co.uk
From: steven searle [mailto:StevenSearle28@aol.com]
Sent: 03 July 2009 21:00
To: Solitaire Customer Services
Subject: complaint regarding account REF 80501D50067
Please read the attached letter I will be sending to you, the company director, my solicitors to hold, and the regulatory authority.
I await your response.
Regards
S Searle
Help the environment – please don’t print this email unless you really need to!
Solitaire Property Management Ltd.
Lynwood House
10 Victors Way
Barnet
Hertfordshire
EN5 5TR
((t) 020 8449 6125
(w) http://www.solitairegroup.com
The information contained in this message (including any attachments)
is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not the
intended recipient, please delete it from your system immediately – any
disclosure, copying or distribution of this message or any action taken
or omitted to be taken in reliance upon it is prohibited and may be unlawful.
Solitaire Property Management Ltd makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any
information contained in this message and excludes any liability of any
kind for the information contained in it for the transmission, receipt, storage
or use of such information in any way whatsoever. Any opinions expressed
in the message are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Peverel.
This communication is from Solitaire Property Management Ltd. Registered
Office: Queensway House, 11 Queensway, New Milton, Hampshire,
BH25 5NR. Registered in England No.2061041
July 21st, 2009 at 9:02 am
Emailed Andy has he has suggested with the problems on my site. Waited a week for a reply and got this response. Hi Adam, Thank you for your email, I have passed your query onto the Solitaire team for further investigation. Kind Regards Andy
Not exactly sorting out the problems! The problems we have on our site are due to our property manager not giving a damn about the site. Even a simple request to Solitaire turns into a major issue and a fight to get it done. So Andy passing it on means I have gone back to square one as it will end up with our property manager and nothing will happen.
On another point, I have read that a few people have got “sweeping” on their budget, but don’t know what is covered by it. We have had “sweeping” on our budget for the past three years. After a few emails being ignored about it, our property manager casually mentioned that we have no contracts in place and it will be removed from the budget. I have a feeling Solitaire leave it in the budget as a contingency to cover up over spend in other areas.
As no one ever seems to know what their management fee covers, I have suggested on several occasions to Solitaire that it would be a good idea if they posted in the communal area a list of all the contracts we have, what is covered by them and how much we have to pay for these contracts This way everyone would know exactly what they were paying for and if it was good value for money. Solitaire doesn’t seem to keen on this idea. I wonder why, when they are supposed to be increasing communication with people
Have things changed at Solitaire? No. Nothing seems to change at Solitaire. Just a lot of talk, but sill no action.
If anybody is from Maidstone, I would be interested to hear from you.
July 21st, 2009 at 11:10 am
Adam’s idea about lists of contracts being displayed in communal areas is a good one. He has a point – we are paying for the various contracts at our respective developments, and therefore the costs for these contracts should be easily accessible to all, which would then allow us to see exactly how much is being paid, and whether we are getting value for money. It would also allow us to see how much Solitaire lump on top for their “administration” charges…
Will this happen? In a word – NO. That doesn’t stop us asking (demanding??) for this to happen, though.
No, things have not improved with Solitaire. Andy has gone very quiet, again. Adam’s experience with contacting Andy directly – as Andy himself has suggested – has got Adam nowhere.
I’m not from Maidstone (I’m in Cheltenham), but location within the UK doesn’t seem to make much (if any) difference in terms of the level of service received from Solitaire – it’s crap everywhere. At least they’re consistent as far as that is concerned…..
July 21st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Matt / Adam
Having struggled for over two years to get Solitaire to send me details of the contracts for the Cleaning and Landscape Maintenance, when I queried the services (trust me there were loads that we weren’t getting)
Solitaire replied with the response “if you want that to be included, it’s an additional charge” (Anthea Moors and Cassandra Ford)
What the hell is the point of a contract if everything on it was an additional charge. When I showed the contracts to the contractors, they told me that it was the first time they’d ever seen a copy!
Solitaire appear to not want to disclose information, because they know that by keeping people in the dark, it’ll reduce complaints about services not being done, except they fail to realise that by not telling us what we’re paying for, we’ll complain more!!
July 21st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Sheps – I think you’ve hit the nail well & truly on the head…!!!
Solitaire seem to want to treat us residents (their clients) like mushrooms – i.e. keep us in the dark, and feed us on sh1t…!!!
Perhaps it needs a sustained, organised campaign on a number of issues, to force Solitaire / Peverel / Estates & Management etc. to provide us with increased financial information. At the end of the day, we are paying for these services to be provided by way of our service charges, so I think it is only fair & reasonable for us to have full access to the facts (and figures), so we can see exactly what we are paying for, and to then make an informed judgement on whether we are actually getting value for money – the general answer to this is no, we’re not.
If you take your car in for a service, you expect to see a detailed, costed breakdown of the different items you are being asked to pay for. So why can’t we see how much the gardeners / cleaners / window cleaners etc. are charging to maintain the developments we live in. Seems entirely reasonable to me…..
July 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Oh, and they seem to want to find any excuse to charge us more money, which is really taking the you-know-what…..
July 24th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Received a bill last night for £620 from Solitaire for additional services to my flat. Back in Feb they repaired a damaged pipe to my flat. They did this before telling me and then told me the cost was £320. Despite chasing them for five months to get a breakdown of the costs and proof the work was actually done, they have refused to provide anything. I was shocked to receive the bill for double the original price last night and still with no backup. I know I am not the first person who has been charged for things Solitaire cannot backup. I am now seeking legal advice as they seem unwilling to help and I have no doubt in a few weeks they will try and charge me penaly fees for late payment. Despite yet another email to Andy this morning asking him to sort this mess out. ARMA are also involved although I am not sure how much help they are.
Happy birthday “The truth about Solitaire” Thank you for all your hard work over the past year. At least I know I am not alone in fighting Solitaire
July 24th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
An update on my above note. Having told Solitaire I am seeking legal advice on the matter. I have received the following response “You are correct that the actual work originally stated by the contractor was £328 + VAT. Please accept my apologies for my oversight as I had overlooked the fact that the cost originally supplied was actual and not an estimate. I assure you a credit of £243.22 will be placed on your account and we are currently trying to contact the contractor to query his invoice and ensure he raises a credit.” From reading this it looks like they have tried it on and decided to charge me the £620. In the home of making an extra few quid. Now I have complained they have reduced the price. I urge anybody with charges they are not sure about to confront Solitaire
July 24th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Hi Matt, Francescc, Cath, Lee, Ben
Thanks for your recent postings; I am here to help find resolution to your enquiries.
Solitaire manages a large number of properties, so to answer each individual complaint that is posted on this site can be very difficult, if we cannot identify who you are and the development which your issue relates to.
Please feel free to email me directly at: andy.solitairepm@peverel.co.uk the more details you can supply me with the quicker I can bring it to the attention of the Solitaire Senior team and come back to you with a detailed response.
Many Thanks
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
September 18th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Hi All
It’s been a while since I last contributed to the website, but this has been due to a few things going on with our estates cause.
So much has gone on and I have spoken with so many people that I can’t quite remember, if I have mentioned that following the advice of ARMA, we applied for an Independent Adjudication to be undertaken by a company called IDRS Ltd to look at our complaints.
I wont go into too much detail on this at present, as I don’t want affect the outcome of the adjudication, apart from the fact that we are awaiting Solitaire to provide re-audited accounts to the Independent Adjudicators by the 30th September, having highlighted discrepancies.
In addition to this going on, I have also rallied the residents to prove to Estates & Management that everyone at our estate wanted rid of Solitaire, because we all shared the views that we were being ripped off by them.
This evening I received confirmation from Hilary Quinn of Estates & Management, that our chosen property management company were likely to be appointed to manage our estate as of a 1st November handover date.
She did advise that all lessees have to settle any outstanding accounts with Solitaire, prior to the appointment of the new property management company. (a kind of clause in the appointment to ensure that Solitaire get their money!)
But pending the outcome of the independent adjudication and our re-audited accounts, it makes sense to withhold this payment until they provide accurate information.
I’m not building my hopes up just yet, because things could change (knowing what Solitaire / E&M are like) but it’s a positive feeling that possibly by the 1st November, we will no longer have to deal with Solitaire.
Bearing in mind that since May / June of this year, we haven’t had any services provided by Solitaire apart from grass cutting and you can only imagine how quickly our estate has deteriorated in that period. So there will be a lot of effort to be made, to get the place looking nice again. Its just a shame that it’s now the autumn/winter by the time of the appointment and couldn’t enjoy the place looking nice in the summer.
Oh well never mind! My advice to everyone that feels the same as I did: be determined and don’t give up, because it’s a marathon and not a sprint dealing with Solitaire, but in the end and with the right advice / evidence you can change things.
I’ll post again once the Independent Adjudicators have come to a decision.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Six months ago we were delighted to hear that Solitaire was to turn over a new leaf and as clients we were to receive a professional management service from now on. We knew it sounded too good to be true and so it was. Apart from an auto reply to emails, little has changed. Emails and letters take for ever to get a reply, if at all; some on-going maintenance problems from last May are still unresolved.
It is appalling that Solitaire expects us to pay professional fees up front for an inefficient, indifferent incompetent and unacceptable service. In practically every other type of business it would be rightly bankrupt and in receivership by now.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Have a problem with Solitaire-potentially.
A leak in the communal skylight has resulted in water damage to the ceiling,and leakage on overhead electrical sockets.
Reported this in 2008,then again in September this year.
I also involved the local Fire Brigade,as this presents a Fire Risk.
They,and I were assured that repair was imminent.
As of this date,the leak,and attendant danger persists.
I cannot rouse Solitaire to action,and I wonder,in this case of potential Negligence,should my next legal step be?
November 16th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Hi Firestopper
Thanks for your posting,
I am extremely concerned to read of the problems that you have been experiencing at your development.
I have forwarded your email directly onto the Solitaire Operations team for further investigation. I would be very grateful if you could forward me your development details so that we can look into resolving these issues immediately.
My direct email address is: andy.solitairepm@peverel.co.uk
Thanks
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
November 16th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Firestopper,
According to the solicitors I spoke to recently
“Your local authority has the power AND the DUTY to take action against landlords or property managers where the premises pose a risk to the health and safety of leaseholders. They can prosecute them for not repairing [the problem] and force them to carry out improvements or repairs to premises that contain hazards. However, the cost of the repairs will then very likely be reflected in your service charge.”
So you can see they have us over a barrel either way – best solution is to apply to the LVT to appoint different managers immediately, citing this serious danger to your health.
Andy may say that he will get it fixed but this what Solitaire always say, indeed, they have already lied to the Fire Service.
The fact that Andy needs you to tell him which property under their management is a death trap, despite the fact that they have already told the Fire Brigade that repair was imminent, and instead of taking notice of such a serious problem and prioritising it as of the utmost urgency, (ie a serious health and safety risk), means there is little chance of any immediate remedy.
I would also suggest that the Fire Brigade might want to take their own action against Solitaire after their incompetence / lies have caused serious risk to the public.
Basically, don’t bother with any further attempts to communicate with Solitaire, the only option you have is to force them to comply with the Law and the terms of your lease.
Specifically, they are in breach of contract once you have notified them of an item that requires repair – this is why they continually pretend that they have not received letters or phone calls, – because once they have been notified that a repair is required, they are in breach of contract and can be taken to the county court for remedy.