Send a wake up call to the Board of the British Association of Removers
Over recent years members of the British Association of Removers have seen their membership costs increase, with a real time decrease in benefits. Members now receive very few real tangible benefits from the Association, like advertising, leaving members to promote the Association at their own cost. Repeatedly the Board, without members’ direct permission, have tried to enroll members in schemes which are expensive and administratively burdensome. Up until recently one of the advantages of the BAR was their arbitration and conciliation service, the costs of which were originally included in the membership fee.
Last year the Board decided, without consultation, that members should meet the cost of this themselves and reached an agreement with the Property Ombudsman to undertake this service with a charge of £250 or £350 to be met by member per complaint. No reduction in membership fee was offered to members. By doing so the Board have committed the very people they should be representing in to large additional costs over and above the large membership fee.
The Property Ombudsman 'The Facts'
1. If a customer has any concerns about any element of a service they have received from a member, they are directed to TPO.
2. Absolutely any concern is a valid complaint, including minor issues such as arriving a few minutes late.
3. TPO will consider any complaint with or without a final view point letter.
4. TPO will consider a complaint even if legal proceedings are ongoing.
5. TPO will consider a complaint even if a substanial sum is owed by the customer to the member.
6. TPO will take on a complaint even if it is more than 10 years old.
7. An initial complaint addressed to a member with the BAR or TPO copied is a valid complaint.
8. Every complaint comes with a minimum £250 charge to the member.
9. A client may choose to up rate the complaint, even if the member objects, which comes with a £350 charge to the member.
10. The member pays the full fee and there is no charge to the customer, even if the complaint is determined to have been vexatious or spurious.
11. The Estate Agent industry negotiated a much lower rate of £195 plus vat with TPO per branch, regardless of the number of complaints
12. Estate Agents rates are proudly advertised online https://www.tpos.co.uk/join-the-scheme/online-application/membership.
Sign this petition today and call for the Board of the BAR to re-examine TPO charges and stop increasing membership fees by the back door!
Updates
July 25, 2017
The momentum is undeniable now. We have their attention and it is time to turn up the pressure.
21 Comments
I think Mark might have missed the point, my understanding is that TPO charge £350 just to look at a complaint, any compensation is over and above this. For instance the BAR have not put anything in place to stop TBO fining the mover hundreds of pounds for arriving 30 minutes late on a removal!! BAR need to do more to protect the people who pay their wages!!
The B.A.R is and has always been a club for a group of gentlemen that have been in the removals industry for a number of years with the goal of having an association to aid it's members with customer disputes. Many years ago this was the case, with more member added to the board the decision making by the directors has become more and more diluted in respect of making the final decisions on who they should help. In most recent years the B.A.R are only interested in assisting the customer only. Even with full hard factual eveidence that proves that the customer is wrong in a dispute the B.A.R will still aid the customer with thier claim and also protect the customers best interest with the Ombudsman process. The B.A.R are quite simply a joke.
Wow!! It's so easy to get on working hard just seeing past this sort of thing & presuming the Trade Association you have worked hard to be a part of has your back, knowing what our industry can be like!!
This is just tip of the iceberg...when issues are raised such as all ...members all ! Are using t&c's that we were challenged on by a barrister such as limiting amounts on claims ...this is in fact ilegal cases have been taken and won no such limits can be placed so all members t&c's are still a year on incorrect ...we raised at meetings no reply so rang directly and gave new laws correspondence etc and were told new were going to be written ??? One year on still nothing ??
I thoroughly agree. I think the B.A.R really do need a wake up call and help to protect its members not make things a lot harder.
You run your own company to be your own boss, not to be dicktated too by the membership.
Time to vote them out
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Send a wake up call to the Board of the British Association of Removers
Over recent years members of the British Association of Removers have seen their membership costs increase, with a real time decrease in benefits. Members now receive very few real tangible benefits from the Association, like advertising, leaving members to promote the Association at their own cost. Repeatedly the Board, without members’ direct permission, have tried to enroll members in schemes which are expensive and administratively burdensome. Up until recently one of the advantages of the BAR was their arbitration and conciliation service, the costs of which were originally included in the membership fee.
Last year the Board decided, without consultation, that members should meet the cost of this themselves and reached an agreement with the Property Ombudsman to undertake this service with a charge of £250 or £350 to be met by member per complaint. No reduction in membership fee was offered to members. By doing so the Board have committed the very people they should be representing in to large additional costs over and above the large membership fee.
The Property Ombudsman 'The Facts'
1. If a customer has any concerns about any element of a service they have received from a member, they are directed to TPO.
2. Absolutely any concern is a valid complaint, including minor issues such as arriving a few minutes late.
3. TPO will consider any complaint with or without a final view point letter.
4. TPO will consider a complaint even if legal proceedings are ongoing.
5. TPO will consider a complaint even if a substanial sum is owed by the customer to the member.
6. TPO will take on a complaint even if it is more than 10 years old.
7. An initial complaint addressed to a member with the BAR or TPO copied is a valid complaint.
8. Every complaint comes with a minimum £250 charge to the member.
9. A client may choose to up rate the complaint, even if the member objects, which comes with a £350 charge to the member.
10. The member pays the full fee and there is no charge to the customer, even if the complaint is determined to have been vexatious or spurious.
11. The Estate Agent industry negotiated a much lower rate of £195 plus vat with TPO per branch, regardless of the number of complaints
12. Estate Agents rates are proudly advertised online https://www.tpos.co.uk/join-the-scheme/online-application/membership.
Sign this petition today and call for the Board of the BAR to re-examine TPO charges and stop increasing membership fees by the back door!
Updates
July 25, 2017
The momentum is undeniable now. We have their attention and it is time to turn up the pressure.
21 Comments
This time the BAR has gone too far, just like they tried to do with the BS standard. I think we should all withhold our membership, until a membership vote is offered on this!
I think Mark might have missed the point, my understanding is that TPO charge £350 just to look at a complaint, any compensation is over and above this. For instance the BAR have not put anything in place to stop TBO fining the mover hundreds of pounds for arriving 30 minutes late on a removal!! BAR need to do more to protect the people who pay their wages!!
The B.A.R is and has always been a club for a group of gentlemen that have been in the removals industry for a number of years with the goal of having an association to aid it's members with customer disputes. Many years ago this was the case, with more member added to the board the decision making by the directors has become more and more diluted in respect of making the final decisions on who they should help. In most recent years the B.A.R are only interested in assisting the customer only. Even with full hard factual eveidence that proves that the customer is wrong in a dispute the B.A.R will still aid the customer with thier claim and also protect the customers best interest with the Ombudsman process. The B.A.R are quite simply a joke.
Wow!! It's so easy to get on working hard just seeing past this sort of thing & presuming the Trade Association you have worked hard to be a part of has your back, knowing what our industry can be like!!
This is just tip of the iceberg...when issues are raised such as all ...members all ! Are using t&c's that we were challenged on by a barrister such as limiting amounts on claims ...this is in fact ilegal cases have been taken and won no such limits can be placed so all members t&c's are still a year on incorrect ...we raised at meetings no reply so rang directly and gave new laws correspondence etc and were told new were going to be written ??? One year on still nothing ??
I thoroughly agree. I think the B.A.R really do need a wake up call and help to protect its members not make things a lot harder.
You run your own company to be your own boss, not to be dicktated too by the membership.
Time to vote them out
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This time the BAR has gone too far, just like they tried to do with the BS standard. I think we should all withhold our membership, until a membership vote is offered on this!