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Hi ,
We were having issues with a SM where there were wrong debits in the cash account. They blamed it on their software but reversed the entry only after we persisted on the issue and eventually the owner sold his company to his employees.
At the AGM ( unfortunately i was not present) the EC decided not to go ahead with the new owner and dismissed their appointment, They hired a new agent. In the annual report we had a cash balance of approx $8k ..however when the books were handed over we did not receive this.
The EC asked this new agent to pursue the matter which he never did. The new agent turned out to be hopeless and we appointed anther SM. This same issue was explained and the new SM says there is no way we can chase this missing money.
What bugs me is why are the other EC members so callous about this. Don’t we have any avenue of pursuing this money?
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@Beth99 said:
What bugs me is why are the other EC members so callous about this. Don’t we have any avenue of pursuing this money?You have two issues here – an uninterested EC and a string of deadbeat strata managers.
The first is probably more worrying – what other issues have the allowed to drop into the too-hard basket?
The second could be as simple as a claim at your local court for a debt, a complaint to Fair Trading, or both.
The strata manager’s duty to hand over documents under the strata Act does not specify the transfer of funds, so taking them to NCAT may only result in establishing that they owe you money, rather than forcing it to be paid.
Personally, I would be raising a complaint with Fair Trading who will … wait for it … have a chat to them. But that might do the trick and get you round the simple arithmetic that pursuing $8k may cost more in time and fees than you get it return.
By the way, I would be more concerned that you are only missing $8k? Where’s your sinking fund?
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
We have over a 100 units yet our owners would be up in arms if $8K went missing!
@Beth99 said:
When raising a complaint with fair trading..we can do it as an EC right ? Don’t have to involve the SM ? I don’t want him to charge us fees when it will be us doing the hard work !You can raise it as committee or as an individual and you can do so online here. Click through to the various pages of the form and you will see it couldn’t be easier, with drop-down menus covering most aspects of the complaint.
And there’s more information about disciplinary action against managers on the facsheet HERE.
Having said all that, there’s a very good chance that once you show that you are prepared to take action, and initiate the process, that money will miraculously appear in your accounts.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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