How Are You Treated By PPMG?
By admin | August 31st, 2010 | Category: Past Articles | 58 commentsTTAS Contributor ‘Nirmal’ raised a very important point in a recent comment of his, when he raised the point of whether anyone had noticed a change in the way they were treated, having highlighted a complaint via TTAS?
When TTAS was first setup, we found that when residents referred to the website, their concerns were acted upon and is it possible that now the site is so popular, PPMG have given up trying to ‘protect’ and ‘surpress’ these complaints and are more than happy for them to be in the public domain.
Posting on TTAS is at the discretion of the contributor and if you wish to use your full name as a username – you can do, but most people prefer to have an alias that is difficult to identify by PPMG.
When complaints started to grow via the website, ‘Andy’ asked visitors to contact him direct so that he could handle your enquiry, to which we then started asking contributors to use their client reference number on their postings to help ‘Andy’ identify them – thus revealing the identity of the contributor to PPMG / SPM.
If you feel you haven’t been treated in the way that you deserve to be treated by PPMG, all because you contacted TTAS to help fight your cause – let us know, because if this type of ill-treatment has occured – it should not be allowed and PPMG should be a lot more professional than resenting a resident for publicly highlighting their failings.
David, Matt, Smudge, Archangel, Michael Epstein, and others…
IRPM was set up by ARMA. ARMA as we all know are next to useless and have no true ‘clout’ with their members except to ‘expel‘ them from their membership! (…oooh!) But that doesn’t stop that member still practising their shoddy practices to the leaseholders under their control only now just without the ARMA badge! It has also been established that Peverel (and I would lump into that all the other businesses within CBG) has a very close involvement with ARMA
Even so with this involvement Solitaire is due to be leaving ARMA anyway:
http://solitaire.thinkbdwsupport.co.uk/assets/upload/ARMA%20Update.pdf
So does it really matter to us if a given PMC is a member of ARMA or not?? Or that our PMs are ‘qualified’ IRPM members or not? No is the answer, and let me elaborate…
I believe that ARMA was originally set up by some of it own members!!?! It’s like, as Smudge and a few others were alluding to, me setting up my own “Association of ‘Brilliant!’ People” (the ABP) with a fancy logo and claiming that because I’m a member of that ‘association’ that in itself makes me ‘Brilliant’! (…but don’t you see the irony? I made myself a member! Ha ha!) Then, and this is the great (if not ‘Brilliant!’) bit, as Founder and Chairman of the ABP I get the ABP to set up the IBP – the “Institute of ‘Brilliant!’ People” (again with a fancy logo that you can put on your business cards to show everyone that you are ‘officially’ ‘Brilliant!’ and also try to look professional and it’s own ‘independent’ web site too so it looks like I had nothing to do with it! Lets just say that the ABP ‘sponsors’ the IBP) and then get the IBP to come up with some exams and designate different grades of membership to be able to be ‘officially’ classed as ‘Brilliant!’,…these could be:
AFFILIATE – unfortunately you don’t get any letters after your name! You’re just ‘ordinary’, not ‘Brilliant!’ But want to try to be ‘Brilliant!’
ASSOCIATE – AIBP for this you will need at least 1 year current, relevant experience at being ‘Brilliant!’ and have an appropriate relevant qualification from the IBP
MEMBER – MIBP for this you will need at least 3 years current, relevant experience at being ‘Brilliant!’ and have an appropriate relevant qualification from the IBP (Part’s I and II – Oooo! That sounds hard to obtain doesn’t it!?)
FELLOW – FIBP can be awarded by the Chairman of the IBP (but as he’s my mate seeing as the ABP with me as the Founder and Chairman originally setup the IBP it’s not really a problem) and you will have to have at least 10(!) years current, relevant experience at being ‘Brilliant!’ and passed all the exams (…or be my ‘good’ mate or have a large bank balance!)
The Syllabus and Examinations Working Group of the IBP (sounds very official huh?) have come up with a stringent set of exams for the IBP:
Associate Paper 2010 IBP Part I Examination:
Attempt ALL question(s) – you have up to 2 hours to complete this paper
Use a HB Pencil
Mark all your answer(s) with a cross ‘X’
Hand in ALL answer sheets at the end of the examination
—Start—-
Q1: Are you ‘Brilliant!’?
A1: Yes [ ] or No [ ]
—-End—-
Member Paper 2010 IBP Part II Examination:
Attempt ALL question(s) – you have up to 4 hours to complete this paper
Use a HB Pencil
Mark all your answer(s) with a cross ‘X’
Hand in ALL answer sheets at the end of the examination
—Start—-
Q1: Did you pass the Associate Paper exam?
A1: Yes [ ] or No [ ]
Q2: Are you still ‘Brilliant!’?
A2: Yes [ ] or No [ ]
—-End—-
FELLOW (FIBP)
Not examinable but will help if you are one of my friends or have a large Bank balance! (The 10 years or so experience is discretionary!)
Joining fees:
There is a non-refundable application fee of £500 for all grades of membership (cash only, non sequential unmarked bills please!)
Annual subscriptions:
Affiliate £550
Associate £800
Member £1,100
Fellow £11,000 (…see what I was talking about re. Bank balance! Well I, ooops sorry I mean the IBP need to make a fair profit too!)
Examinations:
The non-refundable fee to sit the IBP Part I Examination is £500 (I…there I go again! I mean the IBP can take cheques for this!)
The current fee to sit the IBP Part II Examination is £2950 (N.B. This examination is run by the “Chartered Institute of Amazing People” on behalf of the Institute and this fee should be verified when booking with them (unfortunately I, sorry my mate, couldn’t get a Charter for the IBP but the ‘CIAP’ have helped me, ooops I mean the IBP, out and only take 20%!)
If anyone’s interested then for a prospectus and application please contact me!
I’m also thinking on linking up IBP with the British Snail Council as snail’s can be ‘Brilliant!’ too!
(Smudge, you will of course get a little payout for this!)
So you see how it could all fit together (and sound reasonably plausible)?!?
Getting back to the serious stuff! Complaints to ARMA are a waste of time; nothing comes about from it (I have tried!) I would therefore assume, from their close association with each other that the same could be said of IRPM? The fact that the IRPM appeared to have a technical glitch with their search facility just when a link to it appeared on this site in my mind brings into question any claim of ‘independence’ that they may make.
ARMA was set up by Property Management Companies to benefit ONLY the Property Management Companies, they do NOT have leaseholders interests or even rights in their or their members objectives. ARMA can’t even be bothered to come up with their own Standards and instead ask “all members endorse, accept and undertake to comply with the RICS code of practice ‘Service Charge Residential Management Code’” – to clarify, to “undertake” is defined as “to take upon oneself, as a task, performance, etc.; attempt” – why don’t they just say “TO COMPLY WITH”??! I could ‘undertake’ to fly to the moon, doesn’t mean I’m going to actually do it or even try to do it, even if I ‘accept’ and ‘endorse’ it!?! So you see how they can get away with their behaviour now!?
RICS however are truly independent and chartered! Though they might not have any direct control over the companies we’re all talking about here, any and everything they get in the way of complaints against these companies should start to ring alarm bells! (…and hopefully something will then eventually come of that!??)
BTW I forgot to mention that ALL TTAS readers can get a special discount on their ABP memberships!
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with self-regulated efforts to professionalise an industry, though every organisation from the Bar Council to the General Medical Council suffers fairly relentless criticism when they are perceived to be soft on members. In truth, the UK doesn’t have unbounded resources to police every nuance of business and other activity, so people have to do it themselves. It should not be mocked per se. To be fair, the Part 1 IRPM examination is fairly straightforward, though many fail. The Part 2 is tougher. If you do not know your regulatory framework, H&S, and so forth, you will struggle – and many more do. It provides a sensible framework for understanding leasehold and block management. An exam will not make you a good person, just better aware of the duties and responsibilities of the work. I worked in various property and tenancy management roles for 20 years and still learned a good deal, and in a very compact manner, by undertaking the IRPM course so I’m a big fan. I have other qualifications, from membership of the National Association of Estate Agents to a masters degree and Fellowship of the Chartered Management Institute: the fact remains that the IRPM course was useful and relevant.
Of course, you will know that bad candidates can scrape through exams, and that brilliant, sympathetic individuals can do nothing from within a rotten organisation. But to launch such bitter attacks on a positive education process is counter-productive. The alternative, that the course is beefed-up and extented, includes more on ethics and anti-corruption, and achieves chartered status is what we should all be aiming for.
Please don’t be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, you guys! The more you loathe the industry, the more you should support those such as the IRPM who are, as a matter of fact, improving it.
@Duncan Redbrooke, thanks for your input but to compare the IRPM to the Bar Association and GMC it pushing it a bit!? Mocking of the IRPM only occurred AFTER they took down their search facility of their members – probably at the request of “Andy” and Lee at PPMG – so how is this transparent in any way!?? IRPM was established by ARMA (who we all know are useless for leaseholders and only exist to serve their members interests even though they try to portray themselves as a ‘public’ overseer of residential property managers!!) PPMG has close links with ARMA and thus the circle is complete!
I echo your statement that the “alternative, that the course is beefed-up and [extended], includes more on ethics and anti-corruption, and achieves chartered status is what we should all be aiming for” but is this really going to happen with the IRPM from ARMA when PPMG have any say in the matter!?
The IRPM will only get such support from us (me!) IF they show that that they are willing to stand by their own Code of Conduct, namely:
2. Rules of professional conduct
2.1 No person in membership of the Institute (in whatever classification) shall conduct himself in a manner that would bring IRPM or its membership into disrepute.
2.2 No person in membership shall associate himself with any occupation or business which would, in the opinion of the IRPM Board of Governors, result in the reputation of the Institute being called into question.
2.3 All persons in membership of the Institute shall undertake not to seek business by any practice that involves the use of deceit, subterfuge, misleading or defamatory material.
Clearly a lot of it’s members turn a blind eye to the questionable actions of the PMC they work for – how else would you explain the BIG LVT decisions of late against a certain PMC (…and the many more that are due to come judging by the activity on TTAS at the moment) when SOO many ‘qualified’ people work for that company?
If I was going to give IRPM a school report it would have to say “Needs to try harder, much harder! And listen to itself for a change too!”
“…brilliant, sympathetic individuals can do nothing from within a rotten organisation” but there are soo many of these so-called professionals as listed and if they all voted with their feet maybe then I would say that the IRPM is a “positive education process” that makes a difference! However until something changes my views remain as above. Maybe you as a member could highlight this to the Governors? Thanks.
Also to close, if someone is struck off from the Bar or GMC they can’t continue to (legally) practice! A lesson for ARMA and the Government there me thinks!
Hi Gang!
I have requested copies of bank statements for the Woodland Trust going back 3 years. Dr Do-little my PM has refused quoting Section 22 Leasehold and Tenant Act.
I can only presume their must be something to hide.
Any ideas how i can force DR Do-Little to show us the accounts?
I feel it would be very interesting to match the invoices with the statements.
I have been told that money paid to OM is normally transferred to our Trust account within 24 hours and that if anyone wishes service charges can be paid direct into your own Trust account.
I suggest we all do this.
As I understand it (no doubt Neil will be correcting me shortly) the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 as amended Section 22 requires a Landlord to provide access to detailed accounts and facilities to make copies from them for a period of up to 2 months after a request has been made. However, these requirements do not come into play until an initial summary statement has been published, eg you need annual accounts to have been sent out to trigger this right to inspect the detail.
There are other sections of the act which confer an obligation on the Landlord to supply a statement (annual accounts) within 6 months of the end of the accounting period. To fail to do so is an offence under the Act, and entitles you to withold payment of service charges.
Shot in the dark, Michael try PRE ACTION DISCLOUSER AND THEN FORCE
WITH COURT TO ORDER DO LITTLE TO GIVE YOU ACEESS.
Charles Johnson,
Sorry to disappoint you but no corrections! This is because I have not experienced the problems inflicted on Michael Epstein. Also I have no experience of supernumerary land.
If I may put in a word for PPMG I do not think that they have a corporate policy of being so obstructive as Dr Do-Little, although they do not seem to have a corporate policy of encouraging PMs to be helpful either. Every year I asked for copies of some invoices. Many times this was after the six months required by S22. Of the dozen or so PMs none ever refused although they sometimes required reminders. Even with the invoices I never made sense of the accounts until I learned from Jon Dyson on TTAS that I should first ask for the ‘audit trail’ or ‘Review Notes’ whose existence was never ever volunteered.