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Time for a Weather Post

I am very aware that the Reeds Rains posts have been taking up a my thoughts a fair bit recently, so I thought I better put something new up.

In true English fashion, when we have nothing to talk about, I thought I would mention the weather :)
To be honest, the weather does play quite a part in my life as I commute to work everyday on a motorbike, a journey of around 30 miles each way.
I wear proper kit so whether it is raining or not does not really come in to it. I am always dry.

What I do wonder, is what the hell is going on with the weather.
Looking at last year, I do not remember much rain and I do not remember much sun. Saying that, I think there was a lot of rain, but it just did not rain during the times that I was actually on the bike, a fact that I love.
There is many a time when I get to work just in time for the heavens to open up with the mother of all downpours.
I even go as far as altering my route based on which direction has the blackest clouds.

We were forecast another blinder of a Winter, with Councils stockpiling salt and grit, plans were being made to keep the Country running, railway companies were hoping that it would be the right kind of snow, employees were hoping that everyone f^%£&() up again and they could not get to work, and the shops had got snow shovels and sledges in stock ready for Halloween.

HA!! Mother Nature threw a curve ball and gave us the mildest Winter that we have seen in years.

We have had a few days of cold, though. I reckon I have seen maybe 4 frosts this Winter, and the seat on my bike has had a layer of ice on it three times, when I have set off for the commute home.
To be honest, I love it when it is sub-zero temperatures and I am on the bike. Everything is so crisp to look at, skies really are clear, and you really can see for miles.
Add to that everything having a coating of frost, and the thick tendrils of breath in your helmet and wow does it feel good to be alive.
The Councils are obviously making good use of their salt mountains as the road salting seems to to be much thicker this year. The salt granules also seem to be three times the size, kind of a disadvantage when you are on a bike because it causes ridges of salt/grit that a perfect to cause you to lose traction, causing buttock clenching, though exciting, moments.

Today was a day of the thickest and finest drizzle that I have ever seen. A perfect day to have been working from home, which I was.
I am kind of hoping that it has dried out by tomorrow, otherwise all the salt that it has dissolved will makes its way into all the nooks and crannies on the bike. Which is never a good thing. It means I will have to wash it.

Blimey, 534 words on the weather.

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It really beggars belief what they have done this time.

I wanted to ensure that I had the same facts that Reeds Rains Property Management would have whilst investigating my complaint.
To this end, I contacted the local branch and asked them to provide the dates that my tenants paid the rent and the dates that the funds were released to me. Remember, all I know is the tenants pay the rent in advance and the dates the money end up in my bank account.

I had a prompt reply from a person at Reeds Rains providing the dates, clearly showing the tenants had paid all the rent at least 10 days in advance at each renewal. It also showed the dates that payments had been made out to me.

The next day, today, I got an email from the usual representative at Reeds Rains, who stated that at the recent renewal the tenants had paid the first two month’s rent as single payments each month, and then 4 months in advance in the third month.

Both emails agreed on the dates that the money was passed to me.

I am now going to have to contact the local office, who would have taken the rent payment, to see who is telling the truth.
Hopefully, I will not have to resort to asking my tenants.

I am beginning to look forward to the response to my complaint, and if it will include an explanation to the inconsistency in the replies to my request.

On a positive note, Reeds Rains Property Management have now agreed that they had taken for 2 months management fees in error, and have released that money to my bank account.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

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Having written my last post about Reeds Rains Property Management, I re-read it a few times and received a few comments, making me decide to go ahead and register a complaint.
My complaint was acknowledged within the stipulated 3 days, and I was informed that the matter would be investigated and that I would have the results of that investigation within 15 working days, again in line with their procedures.

Well it certainly got the ball rolling, and the representative suddenly became far more conscientious about replying to my emails.
Unfortunately, this highlighted a further issue in that they had retained £295.20 for contractor work that had nothing to do with my property.
The representative also stated that my tenants had only paid 4 months rent, and so the management charges to be collected in February and March, as stated on their statement, were correct because there were 4 payments including the notice period.
The only problem is that the tenants had paid 6 months in advance, and Reeds Rains Property Management have paid 6 months rent into my bank account, less the management fees and the retention.
So it also reinforced the point that Reeds Rains Property Management really do not seem to know the basic details of their client’s account.
More worryingly, the representative’s incorrect conclusions were based on their investigations undertaken whilst there was a compliant in progress about the issues with Reeds Rains Property Management!!

They did agree to release the retention as soon as they saw the error. I have now written to them to convince them that they are again wrong, and to release the extra 2 month management fees that they have incorrectly taken.

I thought that to finish this post off, I would include the email that I sent to them:

Xxxx,

Thank you for releasing the retention that was incorrectly placed on my account.

I am surprised you are not aware that the current rental period was renewed from 25/10/2011, this was the period that the last tenancy period expired.
You should also have been aware that the current tenants renewed at that time, paying 6 months rent in advance, as usual, and not the 4 months that you claim.
It would seem that we are both missing “Statement Number: 6″ and/or “Statement Number: 7″, though I can confirm that two payments were made into my bank account when I chased for the rent.

Unfortunately, this means that your calculations are wrong.
Deductions have been made for management fees for February and March, as “Statement Number: 8″ details, as I pointed out in my previous email.

I have attached an Excel spreadsheet that combines the statements that I have from Reeds Rains and the payments hitting my bank account.
You should be able to see from it that Reeds Rains Management are currently holding £432, that should have been released to me back in October when the tenancy was renewed.
The £432 consists of the retention of £295.20 and 2 x management fees £86.40 x 2 = £172.80

I am sorry, but this again reflects on the inadequacies of Reeds Rains Property Management, especially in the light of that fact that I have had to undertake my own investigations to prove the conclusion of your investigations incorrect.
You should be more than aware of the income that has come from the property, the charges applied, and the resultant payments to my bank account.
On the positive side, it has provided me with the material for an update to my blog, which I hope to have written by the time that you read this.

Regards

Sean

Once we reach the conclusion of the complaint, and my business, with Reeds Rains Property Management, I will write a final post.

Read Part 1

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Happy New Year

As usual, I have been struggling with a subject matter for something to write about, so I thought that I would just wish everyone a Happy New Year.
There is no way that that is gonna make much of a read, so I started of thinking about what happened last year, and what could happen this year.

For the past few years it has become increasingly difficult to think of one or two notable events that occurred in the preceding year. That got me to wondering if it was because I am getting older and slowing, or if I am genuinely becoming a “stay at home” boring bugger.
I guess the one big event of last year was undertaking the Advanced Riders course, and passing it. The rides out were great fun, even though it did seem to become an obsession.
I also got over to Ireland, for a long weekend, to see my Dad.

So what is planned for this year?
Well, after many years of thinking about it I have joined a gym. Tis all a bit daunting, but I am planning on joining a couple of the Group Exercise Classes to smooth my way in.
One is “Body Balance”, which is a combination of Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi. That should be beneficial with out being too strenuous :)
To ensure that I do do something energetic, I am joining the “Circuit Training” class too.
After that, I will see how it goes to fill in other time.
Membership also gives me access to the swimming pool, but I may have to psych myself up to that :)

Also planned is #twitterbikemeet, which will involve a few firsts. I will be going to a proper bike rally, staying over, and camping. I am still not sure about that part, but will resist the urge to “glamp”.

Following from last years Advanced Riding, I may also progress to the Advanced Plus course that takes everything a step further.

I promise these are not New Year’s resolutions, in disguise, that will soon be forgotten.

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Contracting Reeds Rains Property Management to manage my rental property was a mistake. Not only did I end up dealing with my own tenants, but I also had to chase Reeds Rains Property Management for the rent that the tenants had paid them.

A few years back I inherited a house, with my brother. I was fortunate enough to be able to get a second mortgage to buy him out.
I then spent a year and a bit bringing the house into the 21st century. The next thing to do was to find some tenants.
I had never intending making a mass of money out of the let, as a big chunk of it would just go in taxes. The plan was to make enough money to pay the mortgage, make repairs/improvements and a little bit of pocket money.

I decided to use Reeds Rains to undertake the letting, as I have always had a very close relationship with my local branch.
I would like to make it clear that the local branch has always been really helpful, knowledgeable and prepared to do what is required to get a solution that everyone wants.

The big mistake was to decide to go for Reeds Rains’ “Full Property Management Service” who, on their website, declare “This is the hassle free option if you wish us to take complete control of letting your residential property from beginning to end.”

I am very fortunate, my tenants sign 6 monthly contracts and pay the full six months in advance.
Out of that come Reads Rains’s 8% management fee, around £85. Yes it is a lot of money, but my rental is going to be “hassle free” and I can offset a chunk of it against my income tax liability, for the rent.

This starts the first part of my rant………
You would think that if your tenant pays all the rent in advance that that would be your money?
In the worst case you would think that Reeds Rains Property Management would pay you the collected rent, but retain 6 months worth of management fees.
I must confess that I find it a bit cheeky to take all the management fees up front, it is me that is paying the management fees, and not the tenant. The rent money is between me and the tenants; the management fee is between me and Reeds Rains.
However, I was happy to let that slide because it was the “easy option”, you could say it was the “hassle free” option.

So, the first chunk of rent was paid in advance by the tenants.
It would not be long and the money would be in my account………..
Some weeks later there was still no money.
I called Reeds Rains Property Management, asking where the rent was. I was informed that none had been paid by the tenants yet.
This prompts two questions:
1. If no rent has been paid, why did they let the house to new tenants?
2. I know the rent had been paid, so where was it?
I then spoke to the branch, who spoke to Reeds Rains Property Management.
I then called Reeds Rains Property Management and they confirmed they had the money and that it would be in my account in a couple of days.
Nearly two weeks later ONE month of rent, less one month management fees, was paid into my account.
Some of you maybe thinking, “but hang on, by now surely the second month’s rent is due?”. Yes, you are correct.
This becomes a recurring theme, in that on all three instances where there have been 6 month renewals, I have received the rent late. Somewhat ironic when you consider Reeds Rains Property Management is managing the property and collecting the rent, yet they could not even pay me the rent on time, that they had already collected!!

Anyways, to cut a long story short I decided to cancel my contract with them. The contract stated that I had to give three complete months notice, a quarter of a year, half the length of one of the tenancies. In anyone’s books that is an unnecessary length of time.
I guess I should have read the contract more closely.

I did get a reply from a representative of Reeds rains stating “Would you be happy to try for 1 further month if I personally will be yours and your tenants direct point of contact at the Management Centre.”
Let me get this right. I give 3 months notice and their response is to ask for an extra month to be mine and my tenants personal point of contact. What is going to happen for the next three months?
They also wrote “…..if your tenants are late with the rent we have a credit control department whom will deal with this efficiently….” Are they not aware that my tenants pay in advance at each renewal? Is it not in the notes that I have to chase the rent, from Reeds Rains Property Management, every renewal? Have I not constantly complained about the fact during my cancellation? Did they even listen?
Maybe I could get them to chase themselves to get me the rent on time :)
It does not do a lot to en-still an urge to stay with Reeds Rains Property Management.

I duly replied, and have still not had a reply from them.
I then chased, asking for an official notification that they had received my cancellation, and the end date for it.
I still have had no reply.

My tenants did renew, again paying six months rent in advance.
As usual, after chasing, I got paid one months rent, less management fees, 2 weeks after it the rent was due.
Yet again I chased, and was assured that it would be paid. I did remind them that I was in a notice period so only take three months management fees.

Yep, you guessed it. They did finally pay me all the rent owing, and they did take management fees for the entire rental period, including 2 months that they would not be managing the property.
I have emailed asking for an explanation, and again my email seems to have been ignored.
It is also somewhat ironic that the person that offered to be my single point of contact, and make everything better, is the very same person who I am awaiting to reply to my emails.

There are many other instances of their ineptitude, but some are quite minor and would only make me look like I am being petty.
However, when you add them all up they just add to the bigger picture.

To say I am annoyed is an understatement.
Again, I state that the local office has always been helpful and tried to do what they can, but unfortunately Reeds Rains Property Management hold the purse strings and are responsible for the rent payments.
There also seems to be no coherence in their management of the contract, with both my tenants and myself complaining about them, and their seemingly endless catalogue of errors.

Timeline:
20/11/2011 – Gave three months notice
23/11/2011 – Initial response with offer of management fee reduced by 1%
23/11/2011 – Replied with reason to terminate the contract.
24/11/2011 – “1 further month” offer.
28/11/2011 – Replied, and rejected offer to “1 further month” offer.
14/12/2011 – Requested confirmation of termination and a response to my last email, and refund of management fees taken in error.
21/12/2011 – Requested complaints procedure from local office, and started to write this blog.

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#twitterbikemeet – 2012

#twitterbikemeet was the idea of Steve Ayres a very keen motorcyclist who wanted to organise a biker meeting for twitter users and bike enthusiasts from all over the UK.
Steve started by suggesting the idea via the Twitter social network website.
A group of about 4 lads where instantly taken by the idea, one person in particular, Robin Nesbitt who has and is still playing a vital role in the set up of #twitterbikemeet 2012.

Steve and Robin hope to achieve annual status for twitter bike meet so all types of bikers have a summer event to look forward too.

Included in the 3 days will be lots of entertainment such as live bands, bars, and a number of eateries, with a ride out for everyone on the second and main event day, camping and much more.

#twitterbikemeet is a totally charity based event and Steve and Robins intentions are to raise as much money as possible for the Poppy Appeal and the RBLR, they are hoping the first #twitterbikemeet is a success and bikers enjoy themselves so that they return year after year!!

Twitter Bike Meet 2012 will be held at Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove over the weekend of 22nd to 24th June 2012.

Tickets Cost £25 per Adult – Kids go free with a paying adult.

Each ticket purchased is purchased as a donation to the Twitter Bike Meet which is a not for profit organisation. All profits from the weekend will go entirely to the Poppy Appeal via the Royal British Legion Riders Branch.

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I wrote about the Mary Rose School Toy Run back in 2009.
Since then I have added the Easter runs and last years toy run.

This year I again did the Christmas Toy Run, and the biggest thing is the pride in taking part. As I said last time, it is a great excuse for a ride out, and at the same time you can make a real difference to a person’s life.
I was there with a group of guys from the Royal British Legion Riders Branch (RBLR)

This year it again set of from Wickham and took the usual route to the School.

Whilst waiting at Wickham I had one couple come and ask me what it was all about. Was it a meet or were we doing something? On explaining we were taking toys to a school for pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities you could see the respect for what we were doing.

On the flip side, a woman came out of her house and asked two bikers to move their bikes as they were blocking a gate “that is in use 24 hours a day”, “my husband is a flight controller, I can’t be having to hunt around for the owner if he gets called out”.
What we were doing did not come in to it. The fact the wait is usually only 30 minutes did not come in to it.
All she proved was what a small minded, self-centred, pig ignorant little person she was. In my humble opinion :)

190 bikes and trikes set off from Wickham Square, and everyone made it to the school.
The head mistress rode pillion this year, her first time on a motorbike.

The look on the children’s faces as we pulled in, and as they were lifted out of their wheelchairs and on to bikes of their choice, was humbling.

As usual a couple of buckets were rattled at the entrance to the school, raising very close to £700.
There were loads or Christmas pressies too.

Roll on Easter, when I will be again riding to the Mary Rose School, this time armed with a couple of Easter eggs and £10 for the bucket.

290 bikes took part

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Last Winter the front brakes on the Pan (ST1100) started binding, so I gave then a quick overhaul. All was food for a while, but one of the pots started binding again, not badly but enough to annoy.
What made it worse is that the garage is on a slight slope, so any friction when pushing back in there is very noticeable.

It was time to the job properly. The cheapest place for genuine Honda spares is David Silver Spares, so two brake caliper seal kits were duly ordered.
I had some trepidation about doing the overhaul, as I had visions of a number of issues involving the seals and the bedding of them. As it was, I needn’t have worried as it went really smoothly.

I did not intend going through the whole process, but just cover a few tips, but have decided that I will highlight all the steps:

  • Before removing the callipers, remove the pads, push pistons out disconnect the hydraulic hose.
  • Squeeze the brake lever to push the pistons as far out as possible.  Do not let them pop out.
  • If only one of the pair comes out, use a bit of wood to block it coming all the way out, the other one will then push out.
  • Now use a pair of mole-grips to lightly clamp the hydraulic house.  Do not clamp too tightly or you will damage the hose.
  • Undo the bolt holding the hose to the calliper.  Watch out for the metal washers, and ensure no fluid gets on the paintwork.
  • Remove the calliper and hold it upside down to let the hydraulic fluid pour out.
  • Use a pair of mole grips to gentle pull the pistons out.  Only grip the very outer edge of the piston and try not to scratch it.
  • Gently pry out the old seals.
  • Wipe out the barrels.
  • There is a good chance that there will be corrosion of the aluminium so the next couple of steps relate to that.
  • Gently heat the grooves with a blow torch.  Do not try to melt them, and the calliper will get hot so beware fingers.  This will turn the deposits to a powder that will come off more easily :)
  • You can then carefully dislodge the deposits with a small flat head screwdriver, or you could use a Dremel with a “chimney sweeps” brush (see photo above).
  • Thoroughly wipe out the groves and barrels again.
  • Lightly coat the new seals with brake fluid, I use silicone lubricant, and bed them in to the grooves.
  • Clean off any deposits from the pistons.   Do not scratch them.
  • Lightly coat the pistons in hydraulic fluid, or silicone lubricant, and gently slide them back into the cylinders.  Do not force it or you may damage the seals.
  • Refits the brake pads.  Make sure you put some copper grease on the faces to stop the brakes squeaking.
  • Refit the callipers
  • Refit the hydraulic hose
  • Bleed the brakes.  Do not squeeze the brake lever rapidly, as that will create tiny air bubbles in the fluid making it harder to bleed all the air out.  Make sure you top the reservoir up as you pump the fluid back into the callipers.
  • Adjust the position of the lever, as required.
  • I would recommend you bleed the brakes again after a few miles, and the fluid has been left to stand overnight.

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I had always intended in doing some reviews on here. Primarily because it is quite useful but it is also a great way to drive traffic to the site. Saying that, the site does not generate an income, so the only reason to drive traffic here is to feed my desire to be noticed ;-)

Logitech have always been one of my favourite companies for mice and webcams. They are really good at producing hardware to be used for inputting to PCs etc, and the Logitech Touch Mouse is another one of those really exciting things, and it is FREE!.

I was playing about with a PC that is attached to the TV, using a wireless keyboard with an embedded touch pad. As usual, it had been so long that the battery had gone flat and it had lost contact with the PC. That is once I had realised that the wireless dongle had fallen out of the PC.
That got me wondering if there was an app for the iPod Touch that would allow me to control the mouse. Whatever, I decided to have a search on the iTunes Store.
Blow me down backwards if I did not come across the Logitech Touch Mouse app, that uses your Wi-Fi connection to let you use the mouse and keyboard on a destination PC.
You will also need to install the Logitech Touch Mouse Server on the PC, which is downloadable from Logitech

It functions seamlessly and is quite configurable. Continue Reading »

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Why wear a Poppy?

It is the time of year when every where you look you see people wearing Poppys, nearly every shop you walk in to will have a collection box and a variety of poppies. People, including many veterans, will spend hours standing in supermarkets and on street corners with their collection boxes, but why?

As a child, I was always told that a poppy symbolised the death of a soldier. Being a child I used to think that every time I saw a poppy a soldier had died there. In a way I had been told the truth.
The use of the poppy was inspired by the World War I poem In Flanders Fields. Its opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned-up earth of soldiers’ graves in Flanders, a region of Europe that overlies parts of Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

The Armistice was signed at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, bring to an end World War 1 (1918).
The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I.

The following poem pretty much describes why we wear a poppy

A Poem – The Inquisitive Child
Why are they selling poppies, Mummy? Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love. For the men who marched away.
But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy? Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died in the fields where the poppies grow.
But why are the poppies so red, Mummy? Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child. The blood that our soldiers shed.
The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy. Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief. For the men who never came back.
But why, Mummy are you crying so? Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child. For the world is forgetting again

It is unfortunate that the political correctness of today’s society has lead to the wearing of a poppy as causing offence to others. This has led to some companies banning there employees from wearing a poppy, under the guise of it not being uniform. Continue Reading »

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