Campaign Against Leasehold and Freehold Exploitation
We’ve seen the success that CARLEX has had, in promoting the awareness of how Consensus Business Group companies have been overcharging, failing to provide a service and being accused of profiterring from residents and feel that now is the time for TheTruthAboutSolitaire to start a campaign on behalf of leaseholders and freeholders.
Since TheTruthAboutSolitaire was created, it has become the centre point for all things Solitaire / Peverel related and is the voice for all residents with complaints against these companies. Admittedly, the way that the site is angled, is focused on bringing to the attention of Solitaire / Peverel your issues – but this will soon be changing.
We are now communicating and arranging to work more with CARLEX to promote this continued campaign amonst Leasehold and Freehold owners, as it is not only Retirement home owners that are being exploited. Carlex will continue to focus on the retirement market, but are well aware of the general leasehold issues, and are bringing these other malpractices to the attention of the regulatory bodies.
By integrating with CARLEX we hope to create a self-help group of leaseholders, tenants, relatives or other interested personnel as a collective group, who are all affected by or concerned about the actions, financial issues / operational practices of developers, landlords and management companies of leasehold / freehold developments.
Our aim is on behalf of all leasehold / freehold owners, that have to pay a fee to management companies for the upkeep of their properties / surrounding areas and to seek fairness and justice through the law and ultimately to achieve changes in regulation.
Since early 2000, it’s apparent that all new developments appear to have a ‘clause’ whereby they are usually maintained by a property management company. This includes freehold properties, who contribute towards landscaping, gardening, cleaning and insurance premiums - the owners even have to ask permission of the property management company to: change the colour of their front door, pay a fee to change the name/’s of people on deeds/mortgages, change the style of windows / doors.
The local councils are as much to blame as the developers / property management companies, for allowing these type of agreements to take place.
Somehow, these agreements / practices are in place, whereby the Council are only responsible for a limited amount of services e.g. minimal street lighting, refuse / recycle collection – but the remaining services such as, grass cutting, litter collection is the responsibility of the property management company.
Leasehold and Freehold owners are then charged double for services that should be provided as part of the Council Tax that we pay!
If you would like to support TheTruthAboutSolitaire and help with promoting our Campaign Against Leasehold and Freehold Exploitation – please contact us admin@thetruthaboutsolitaire.co.uk or add your comments below.
Now is the time to fight for policies to change and ensure that we are no longer ripped off!
Don’t forget to sign the No.10 Downing Street Petition, calling for the regulation of the Service Industry / Property Management industry at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/flatownerhelp/
We currently have 374 signatures and need a minimum of 500 for it to be considered by government, which is another reason for linking with CARLEX.
Full details of TheTruthAboutSolitaire joining with CARLEX will be published shortly.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Woodfield Lodge has run into the ground, cleaning and repairs are never carried out. The ‘secure car park’ is a joke no working locks on the doors electric shutters broken in the open position. And after all that they are chrging double service charge now over ~£100 a month per flat.
Some one please help !!!!
November 24th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Hi Nik Farris
Thanks for your posting,
I have passed your queries onto your Property Manager for further investigation and they will come back to you directly.
Please feel free to email me any further details relating to these issues, my direct email address is: andy.solitairepm@peverel.co.uk
Thanks
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
November 24th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Presumably Nik Farris and the other residents at Woodfield Lodge have already advised their Property Manager about the problems there – which appear to be long-running.
In which case, why hasn’t anything been done before? Why does it take a complaint posted on this website before anything resembling action (following a referral from “Andy”) actually happens…???
It appears the standard situation is that residents complaints are ignored, and it’s not until the issues are made public on this website that things then happen…..
November 25th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Andy, Your continued use of Copy/Paste in your effectively automated responses to posts on this site is, frankly, appalling. It is a clear and obvious attempt to divert the issues raised away from the public forum and into the inner sanctum of your own corporate email account (which you have admitted before is not wholly reliable!) By hardly ever addressing any issues on this site directly (on the site itself) just shows Solitaire’s contempt for the problems we all face. Even the fact that you use an alias email as an official communication channel and we have no idea of your true identity and therefore no real reason to trust anything that you do post is again appalling. As a representative of Solitaire you should be completely open, honest and transparent – which I think most people will agree is not the case. E.g. in the Burns Avenue Residents Distress post everything that you claim in your 24-Nov-2009 post (at 10:00am) as been disputed by the person with the problems. There is either a problem with Solitaire’s own internal communications or you are in effect lying to try and cover Solitaire’s tracks!
The momentum building up against Solitaire (and associated companies) is incredible and events like Ian Rapley comments on BBC Breakfast just reinforces everything that we are doing!
Does the leopard change it’s spots? My opinion NO!
November 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Hi Nirmal
you are so correct – i am the Burns Avenue Resident – i asked my neighbour last night if i was seeing things and if i really did have pebbles from the grass to wall of my building – maybe we both need to go to specsavers BUT THERE WAS NOTHING!!!! Like i said, nothing been done in 11 years! Andy’s comments, infuriated me beyond belief! Hasn’t got a clue!!
November 25th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Dear Burns Avenue! Believe me I feel everything that you are feeling and Andy’s response to you infuriated me so much too that I felt I had to write my post! (I would have usually included as many exclamation marks as you too!)
I’m glad that you agree with my points as it shows that I’m not one of the ’serial complainers’ that Solitaire / Peverel think we all are!
Solitaire (and associated companies) hides behind weak legislation in an unregulated industry and the legal jargon contained in most leases that they effectively control through the Freehold owned by a sister company within the Group.
My opinion of Andy and his responses is very quickly going down hill. Also it is a great insight from former employees of Peverel as to the true culture of that organisation (which I can conclude from my experiences of Solitaire and E&M then filter throughout CGB associated companies!) which results in the way we (and good employees there!) have been (and still are!) treated. As Andy seems to have a direct line into “Senior Management” there then why should we expect any different from him? Don’t get me wrong I do appreciate Andy’s efforts in trying to resolve issues but the fact that this has now become ANOTHER step in escalating issues and problems is just ridiculous! A properly run company or group of companies would not need an “Andy” to operate and the fact that they’ve appeared to now have incorporated him into their Customer Relations model is again appalling! (Maybe they should include a link to the TTAS site on the Solitaire homepage?!)
Andy claims that times are changing but (in my opinion) Solitaire have abused their position to control our homes for far too long and will not give up the ‘cash cow’ that we are to them without a fight – I do not think in the, long term, things will really change for the better (…and probably only get worse!)
November 25th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I posted to say that I had seen some improvement, certainly in the service levels. However, once again, every time I say something positive Solitaire come along and spoil it. I sent my 1/2 yearly cq and was told it hadn’t arrived, so I duly sent another one. Solitaire banked both, and when i rang up after 6 attempts at getting through a very pleasant lady apologized, told me to forward any bank charges for repayment and informed me that she had put a note on my account to organise a refund as a matter of urgency. Since then nothing!! So Andy/Neil should i adopt your policy of instructing debt collectors and sending obnoxious letters. I genuinely thought I was moving forward with you guys but you really do never fail to disappoint
November 26th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I am so glad to see that it is not just my partents that have issues with Peverel Management. They have complained on a number of occassions about issues within their apartment block with the most amazing results. They were recently accussed of being a “sad couple with no life”.
Does anyone know if they have the right to see the job description of their House Manager. I believe they should be able to as after all they are paying her wages.
If I had known their block would be managed by such a terrible and poorly run company as Peverel I would never have let them buy. I have never come across such rudeness from company employess as has been shown to them. Perhaps one day Peverel Managemet employess will realise that it is actually the RESIDENTS in their apartments that are keeping them in their jobs.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I thought this was quite apt!
“Solitaire Definition: Also called patience. Any of various games played by one person alone…”
I’m still thankful for the TTAS site in helping to bring all of us ‘lone people’ together on our battle against Solitaire and all of us having had our patience tried to the max!
Brian good luck getting your money back!
November 26th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I have today received an apology and advised that a refund has been posted. Unlike many I have seen some progress but stupid things like this really annoy me. It may be that I have just struck lucky with my property manager but hopefully the improvements are permanent and will spread to others. I am still awaiting investigations into billing for non-existent meters but I am also hopeful this will be resolved soon
December 13th, 2009 at 9:10 am
As a lawyer I think this is an excellent campaign. And it has my support. I particularly like the concept of local authorities using Section 104 agreements to ensure that residential leases are reasonable. It is odd that as yet there is no protocol for a residential lease. Commonhold will never take over but there should be a push towards standardisation of leasehold documentation. Who knows .. it may even lead to cheaper conveyancing