It’s That Time Of Year
By admin | February 23rd, 2010 | Category: Past Articles | 121 commentsWe anticipate that in the next few weeks, we will start to see an increase in visitor numbers to TheTruthAboutSolitaire for the simple reason, that it’s that time of year, when Solitaire / Peverel / OM Property Management / Consort – send out our forthcoming bi-yearly service charge invoices.
Cue, the shock of new homeowners when they see the increases in their charges, the lack of services that have been provided!
The best thing about this is, now that TheTruthAboutSolitaire is firmly established amongst the internet search engines, everyone will logon and see that they are not alone!
We’ve already started to receive e-mails from concerned residents and the only way to reduce these charges is by invoking an LVT or RTM.
Peverel will be very quick to put people off of RTM and tell you that even after RTM, homeowners have come back to Peverel! Trust us, that isn’t the case!
In the meantime, we welcome any new sufferer of Solitaire Property Management, Consort Property Management, OM Property Management, Peverel (any of the Peverel Group), County Estate Management to TheTruthABoutSolitaire.
Andy
You do come out with a load of old bollards, why don’t you tell the truth, for once in your life, you’re picking your answers out the air, and we are paying you to come out with such twaddle.
Paul we are made to pay through our nose not just for him but also
everyone else that starts from the top goes right down to the bottom.
I would love to be a fly in the wall when they train thier staff.
How to bluff your way out which cost nothing to PMC but makes
a lolly to suck on for rest of them.
Well I really must apologise, I have posted previously stating I had some success in getting charges re-credited to our accounts due to mistakes by Solitaire. I’m sorry, I should have said it had been agreed these charges would be re-credited however, surprise surprise, they haven’t.
I was told the accounts would be amended leading to approximately £84 per property being re-credited for accounts relating to year end June 2009. These accounts have recently been finalised (some 9 months later!) and no re-credit is showing. Just for a change, we apparently owe Solitaire money – how many of you are surprised by this, not many I bet!
I’ve emailed my property manager, however as it was she who said this money would be recredited, I don’t hold out much hope of any action. As for the Accounts Department – I’ve been waiting for someone to contact me for almost a year now so I won’t hold my breath!
Andy – Please, please, please – I try to be fair but your company really don’t make it easy. All I want is to pay what I owe, not charges for work not carried out, or charges for sub standard work, or duplicate charges when Solitaire have contracted two companies to do the same job. You really need to be highlighting to the senior management, the mess which is the accounts department. I’ll be interested to see your comments.
Berni & others “managed” by Solitaire
I’ve just looked up their website (to see if they really exist) and I spotted their latest news item dated 04.2010:
It’s a “Draft” News Release, but I’m assuming it’s for real and announcing that they have signed up for the Ombudsman Service – Property for “property disputes”.
Take a look at http://www.os-property.org
Well yet again I’ve failed to get a response from Solitaire so have to post here in an attempt to embarrass them into action! I’m still waiting for Andy’s comments re my posting about the Accounts Dept – luckily I wasn’t holding my breath for the response, otherwise I’d be a nasty shade of blue by now!
Andy – it is now ten months after our year end (30 June 2009) and we still have not received audited accounts however you have kindly posted a figure which you allege we owe on the online property management page for our development. Is this part of the new system, in that Solitaire just pluck a figure from the air with no accounts to back it up? If so, can I play that game too? I reckon with all the time, heartache, blood, sweat, tears and time off work I’ve had to take in an attempt to resolve the problems with Solitaire, you actually owe me a considerable sum of money but shall we say that we are quits. I owe you nothing (ie you don’t charge me for the last 2 invoices and I won’t charge you for the stress and disruption you have caused me).
If you don’t agree with this, then perhaps you’d have the courtesy of sending out audited accounts (supposedly audited by an accountant) before you post on the property site that we owe you money. In actual fact, I estimate that with all the re-credits I have been promised by your staff, you owe each property approximately £100 but I suppose that’s why there’s a delay in processing this. If you don’t let the residents know they are owed money then you can carry on sending out letters demanding payment for the next six months. So you are sitting on a nice little lump sum, which we have paid for, when in actual fact you owe us money. That is totally morally corrupt and I have now just about reached the end of my tether.
I’m now off to research the Property Ombudsman which you supposedly have signed up to. Hopefully they are not part of your network of companies and they may be able to assist me.
Hi Berni
Thanks for your posting. I’m sorry that I hadn’t spotted your original posting from April 5th. My aim is to get the answers to the questions you have asked relating to the annual accounts for the year end to June 2009 and what is shown on your development specific page on our website.
I have forwarded your posts to both the Regional Property Manager and our Head of Client Accounting to investigate and get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks
Andy
Solitaire Online Feedback Manager
Andy,
It was some time ago. I must have been drunk. I think i may have accused Peverel of being honest. If this is the case then, without hesitation i extend my sincere apologies for any slur i may have caused to the good name of Peverel!
Following a meeting with our estate manager, it has been agreed that through what may be termed a misunderstanding, many of our issues remain unresolved. Indeed i think the Estate Manager has given up on getting a response from E&M. Since it was the actions of E&M that started all of this you can see this is very serious.
Perhaps you will now revisit the log, or logs,and perhaps you would like to correct your previous posts, and apologise for the misleading information.
You will be aware that concerns were expressed about overflow pipes leaking for years and that heavy plant was used when decorating. On two blocks cracking has now appeared on the brickwork. Whilst i am no expert this is causing a great deal of worry. Perhaps you could reasure me Andy?
Michael Epstein – when you say cracking has appeared in the brickwork at your development, do you mean within the mortar courses between the bricks, or have actual bricks themselves cracked…??? If it’s the latter, is it random isolated bricks, or is there a defined grouping, pattern, defined line of cracked bricks…???
If the cracks are in the mortar courses, it may well just be a bit of settlement, although depending on the age of your development, this could be a problem (especially if the blocks are not new). How old is your development, and what was the land before the development was built (i.e. green field, or previously-developed “brownfield” site – if so, what was previously there…)???
If the cracks are in the bricks themselves, and is NOT just the odd isolated randon brick but IS a defined area / pattern / line, then you may well have a serious problem – in which case I’d suggest you consult a Chartered Building Surveyor – go to http://www.rics.org/findasurveyor and enter your postcode to find a local one. See also http://www.ibstock.com/pdfs/technical-support/TIS-22-Cracking-in-bricks-and-brickwork.pdf
Any minor settlement / movement should (in theory) produce cracking in the mortar beds, rather than the actual masonry (the mortar being weaker than the masonry). So, without wishing to worry you, if the cracks you mention are in the actual bricks, you need to get it checked, just in case…..
Thanks Matt,
The cracks are in the bricks themselves and are in a distinct line, extending for several feet. The estate was built in 1987 on a greenfield site. The cracking has appeared after the use of a very heavy cherry picker. Peverel were warned not to use this, indeed at the moment we have had to have many paving slabs replaced and landscaping repaired where the lawns have dipped.
Also a couple of flats left their overflows running for over three years and peverel was begged to take action to prevernt damage.
Whatever is the cause, it is of great comfort to know that the support we all have for eachother through this fantastic site is never ending. I much appreciate your post Matt.
Michael – Whilst not good, that does sound a little better. The fact that the cracking has only recently appeared in a development built over 20 years ago points towards it not being natural settlement, and the ignored warnings to Peverel not to use a heavy cherry picker in the vicinity further points to disturbance caused by recent human activities, rather than some natural subterranean activity.
So, in theory, the problem shouldn’t get any worse – providing the cherry picker isn’t used again – but you now have defects that need remedying, and by the sounds of it Peverel are liable due to their negligence. Their failure to deal with running overflows for 3 years is also damning – but comes as no surprise.
I suggest you pull together whatever evidence you can get, and then demand that Peverel make good the cracking at their own cost, and also seek assurances that the paving & landscaping making-good works already undertaken are also met by Peverel. You might still want to get an expert view from a Chartered Surveyor to add weight to your argument, just in case – and then get Peverel to pay the surveyor’s fees as well…
Seems like they have ignored warnings not to do something, proceeded and then caused problems thereafter, which could (and should) have been avoided. But sometimes you just can’t tell people…..
If it’s their fault, make sure the bu88ers pay to put it all right…
Matt, Michael,
What’s the likelihood of one of the following scenarios taking place…
1) Peverel do the work to sort out the problem that they created, at an extortionate cost, take their excessive percentage for managing it and then charge it all back thru the service charge!
2) Peverel claim on the Insurance to do the work, take their excessive percentage for managing it even though it’s farmed out to a sister company, then claim (when the premium rockets) that ‘due to the claims history for the block the premiums have gone up’! Where in reality it’s Kingsborough’s cut that’s got bigger!!
We’ve also had problems with guttering and leaks for years. Solitaire only recently fixed a drain pipe that was literally hanging off the building for years (…sometime I just wonder what our Field Based Property Managers actually do when when they supposedly visit on-site!?) but seeing as how long it had been left in that state of disrepair it appears to now be blocked and when it rains water just flows down the side of the building. Also a number of individual Flat’s over run pipes have been leaking for so long and so much that there’s now more grass and moss growing on the side of the building than in the landscaped gardens!
(…no doubt Andy will claim that’s an added feature!) 
Solitaire had also previously (and this is years ago now!) authorised the use of a heavy cherry picker in the past (…this was when they actually seemed to do some work!) but that had messed up the paving and water meters in the front of our block and that’s never been put right either!
Michael, good luck with trying to get all yours sorted out as they haven’t bothered with ours to date! I even mentioned in a communication directly to Andrew Billson the Managing Director of Operations at Solitaire about leaks of waste water (where fungus had begun to grow!) under our block that was damaging cars in the parking area but nothing about that has been done??? (…are you reading this Andy? As you were sent the email too but I never heard anything from you? Yes it’s STILL a problem as NOTHING appears to have been done about it!!!)
Nimal
Ask your property manager for a copy of your insurance policy which will be with Oval then contact them directly to come and visit the site.
Its worth a try.
My latest personal battle with Solitaire concerns litter….. OK, not the biggest issue, but still a relevant one, considering Solitaire are (apparently…) responsible for the maintenance & management of my development. In which case, this – in my view, at least – includes removing litter.
I’ve now asked the same question on at least 3 separate occasions to my Property Manager: who is responsible for litter picking??? Obviously this is a very tricky question, requiring a lot of research, as I’m yet to receive an answer to the question….. By way of copy emails, “Andy” has also been asked the same question. No prizes for guessing that he hasn’t replied himself…..
Said Property Manager actually considers that there is no litter at my development, and told me so in an email he did send me recently (but in which he didn’t answer the question on who should clear any litter….). I am also advised that Solitaire’s H&S person also thinks my development is very clean & tidy. Shame neither of them are capable of looking beyond the edge of the hard landscaped areas, into the undergrowth…..
As a result, I took a dozen photos around my development a couple of weeks ago, and emailed them back to my Property Manager (and also “Andy”), which clearly show that there is plenty of general litter (i.e. crisp packets, drinks cans / bottles, discarded cigarette packets etc.) within the planting beds / borders around my development. And it’s clear from the weathered state of the litter that some of it has been there some time.
Oh, and there’s also a complete drawer-leaf dining table dumped behind a hedge, too. If it wasn’t for the fact that it’s been outside for weeks, and also the fact that I’ve nowhere to keep it, I’d have it for myself & refurbish it. But, as it is, it’s still dumped (well, it was as of 8am this morning – perhaps it’s been cleared today…???).
My development is private property, so any street cleaning by my local Council will not be provided to the bulk of the site. Therefore, it is surely the freeholder’s responsibility (in my case this is Estates & Management Limited), who presumably include litter picking within the general site maintenance & management package – i.e. Solitaire.
Anybody else had fun & games with getting Solitaire to a) acknowledge that litter picking is within their remit, and then b) actually getting it done…???
It’s not rocket science, after all. But when they refuse to confirm who is even responsible for doing it, what chance is there of actually getting it done…???
Jon, If I could ever get through to my Property Manager then I probably would!
@ Matt – Look in your lease, litter picking is in mine under the management companies responsibility, I got out of my PM that its the landscapers duty to do this, and I have seen them do it @ my property, once …
If it is on your lease and it is not being done, then they are in breach of your lease …
Matt
try and get hold of your gardening contract as our litter picking was included in that. If its not insist it is put in there when the contract is next due for renewal.
Nimal
I know how frustrating it gets believe me I threatened my ex property manager with legal action.I dont know if you have his e-mail address but the format is for eg
John Smith would be jsmith.propertymanager@solitairepm.co.uk
Send an e-mail every minute until he/she gets the message.
Wonder of wonders, I’ve had a reply to my email, which does indeed confirm that the gardening contractor should be dealing with litter. Seems that they are to get a reminder of this particular obligation within their contract, and I’ve been told that a full litter pick wil be undertaken next week. Oh, and the dumped dining table will also be removed.
Not only that, but I’m also told that any costs incurred will be claimed back from the gardeners, as they haven’t been dealing with the litter when they should have been…..
I think I need to lie down in a darkened room…..
Matt
When you have finished gazing at the amazing reply get your manager to fire you a copy of the e-mail or letter that he/she is to send to the gardeners.
Just to make sure of course!
Enjoy the euphoria.
With respect to the insurance policy a pdf copy is available on the website for your development. If you are not registered do so. It takes a couple of weeks but that will be quicker than a Peverel response.
Matt,
That is amazing. Our present estate manager has not given us either her mobile number nor her email address. No one on the development has met either this estate manager nor her predecessor. We too have what looks like discarded furniture in our garden.
I meant to say also that when I was checking on the Peverel website before this post that our insurance policy document itself changed on 1 April 2010 and grew from 36 to 44 pages. This is remarkable given that we are one of the Fortune 500 with a policy year end of 30 June.
It’s actually the Regional Property Manager who has responded to my emails concerning litter picking – the actual Property Manager for my development is on sick leave. I do have his mobile phone no., and to his credit he does answer my calls or call me back if I leave him a message. He even rings me when he is on site doing a regular inspection – which do seem to be happening more often / regularly now, which certainly wasn’t the case in the past. So, some degree of an improvement…..
Neil – I suggest you demand via Andy the contact details for your Estate Manager, and also her superior/s. Also demand a site meeting with her, so that you can actually confirm she exists, and then also make her fully aware of any issues you have, and also establish when she carries out her regular site inspections, which of course they are now doing more regularly since Peverel took over…..