Charterhousepm Reviews 3

Extremely poor communication and unprofessional conduct, that should be investigated further. The company relies on threatening language and makes legally incorrect claims. If they can, they will try to bully you unless you can instruct legal force. Be warned.

Terrible. And you'll get intimidating letters from a debt collecting firm if you raise a dispute and refuse to pay the fees in protest - with hefty additional charges added in as punishment. In my case, several people on our development raised complaints about their failure to manage it and deal with our complaints. Surely, if they fail to honour their side of the legal agreement (non compliance), they have no right to charge fees? In the real world you only pay for a service you receive. No wonder it's called 'Fleecehold' . The sooner the system is reformed, the better.

I have been in dispute with the Director/Owner of Charterhouse Property Management (CPM), as well as Priority Business Solutions Ltd, for over 3 years.

I have been refusing to pay their bills on the grounds of no apparent authority for their actions/overreach, poor service, refusal to facilitate Annual General Meetings, refusal to provide open book accounting/justify their bills, refusal to visit site, failure to apply due diligence/control over the work and billing of contractors, their raising additional unexplained bills/annual charges, their refusal to provide proof of site insurance that residents are charged for, their refusal to consider complaints, …

I have raised my issues with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), CPM’s affiliated professional body, pressing for CPM’s removal from RICS. RICS have advised that CPM’s ‘customers’ have no contract with CPM, suggesting that CPM’s often threatened legal action is an empty threat that cannot be enforced. With that, I invited CPM to take court action against me but they appear afraid to see CPM’s circumstances and practices exposed to the court.

RICS have insisted that CPM initiate a 2-Tier complaints system. While CPM have done this, they have refused to advertise this to CPM ‘customers’. So, if dissatisfied with any aspect of CPM’s involvement (and I am aware that a very high percentage of ‘customers’ are), do not complain to RICS (as advertised on their website) but instead complain to ‘The Property Ombudsman’.

After my initiating small claims action against CPM they have repaid funds transferred to them erroneously/inappropriately when I took ownership of my home. While CPM have written to advise that funds were repaid to me ‘strictly on a commercial basis’, I would argue it was in order to prevent their dealings being exposed to the court. While CPM avoided this, I am hopeful that their threats to take court recovery action against me for withholding payment is more than just bluster, and they afford another opportunity for me to seek legal intervention - for the good of myself and many others!

I hope the above informs your investigations/assists your complaint/helps you in seeking resolution and/or legal advice. While I will continue to fight on, I’d encourage others to join me in taking CPM to task. With collective action we can ensure accountability and bring about positive change.