Tomorrow, May 15, ARMA-Q gets a formal unveiling at the House of Lords and the corporates of the property management world will herald this as a new dawn.
In fact, ARMA-Q was unveiled at the organisation’s annual conference last September, and that signified less bright “new dawn” than “same old racket”.
One of the sponsors was Energy Renewals. It offered attendees the chance to win a free iPad if they sign up for an appointment: that is, to provide a sales lead to sign over their apartment blocks for new gas and electricity supplies.
If they did so, there would be further er … what are politely called “incentive payments” of between £3,000 and £50,000 a year.
Large, corporate clients – such as the larger, national managing agents – could do better still with payments of £50,000 to £250,000.
And – as with insurance policies – the brilliant thing is that the leaseholders don’t have to be told anything about these payments and can be relied upon to keep paying up in blissful ignorance!
And this was at an ARMA annual conference entitled “Success in a Consumer Focused Future”!
Our original report on this can be read here
An anonymous ARMA member wrote to LKP: “How can ‘ARMA members lead the market through better regulation and how leaseholders will benefit from a revised set of professional standards’, if ARMA members go with the ‘bungs ‘r’ us’ boys?
“It smacks of hypocrisy and sends mixed messages to everyone attending the conference, or associated with ARMA. It shines a bad light on those of us who backed ARMA from day one, sound in the belief that not only would they ‘provide absolute assurance that choosing an ARMA member will mean reliable, professional and cutting edge service’, but that they would also bring our profession into the 21st century and establish a credible organisation that symbolises transparency and best business practice.”
It is worth recalling that ARMA has never, in its 21-year history, publicly expelled a single member.
Related posts:
What does LKP think of ARMA reforms, we were asked. As the annual conference begins in London today, here we go …
20% of ARMA members ‘walk out over new ethical scheme’
ARMA-Q: a qualified welcome, but it is not a new dawn
Stuff the leaseholders and win an iPad – from one of the sponsors of ARMA-Q
Peverel Retirement up before the ARMA regulator before it can join ARMA-Q
Feuding Chelsea leasehold owners find a court-appointed managing agent makes all decisions
Appearances can be deceptive. Energy Renewals Ltd are a tiny company based in a tiny office in an industrial estate in Farnborough. They have 3 directors and no claimed employees.
The last published accounts show that they turned a loss of £115 into a profit of £2,452.
My advice for anyone wanting to cheat residents in return for an iPad is to make sure you get the iPad first!
You make a very good point.
There is, of course, the possibility that leaseholders will be informed of these “incentive payments” and, in the case of saintly managing agents, a reduction made to service charges. Wide-spread reticence to declare block insurance commissions do not make this very likely, however.
I still cannot understand how these “greedy agents” can charge domestic residents more than they (the agents) pay the supplier.
According to Ofgem it is illegal to charge any more than what is paid for by the Landlord/Agent to the domestic customer/resident. This includes any special deals, they must be passed on
Trevor
I am still trying to find out why some agents fail to pay the suppliers for some years or incur backdated bills? ( Please see Bungs ‘r’ Us comment ).
It seems our supplies to communal areas are regarded as commercial NOT domestic. Something else the government should be looking at along with all the other abuses!!
Hello Lesley, thanks for the explanation. That means the corridors and communal lounge where my mother lives with another 26 apartment ownrs (sorry, lease owners!!!)) are regarded as “commercial”. It just gets worse and worse…………… when will out government stop burying their heads in the sand and stop what to me is blatant abuse of the elderly