Is it reasonable to store a pram in a cycle shed

Soldato
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For those who are unaware of the absolute craziness that is the OP's life - please ask me about how he bought a BMW by mistake, or the mansion he had built but then got divorced and got someone else (?) pregnant, for starters! - then you are missing out on a veritable feast of goodness. Misplacing a pram worth a grand is pretty small beer :(
lol this. Did I miss his email to them?

Shouldn't have bought a leasehold flat…
 
Soldato
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Near Cheltenham
Yeah, one think I've learnt is always start talking politely to people, save the nuclear option for when it's needed..

As for Prams, I always have a huge LOL at family members who spend loads on a Pram that a) only just fits in the boot of their car and displaces all the shopping, and b)is to impractical to store in the house.

The money aspect isn't so much of an issue IMO, we bought a M&P full system, but on my list of 'must haves'
- Umbrella fold, must fit in the boot with space for shopping around it
- Must be light enough for the Mrs to comfortably lift from the car to the house

The better systems (IMO) have a decent umbrella fold light chassis to which you clip the car seat, or the buggy seat (which folds flat for a PRAM like function)
 
Soldato
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16 Aug 2009
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If its anything like this place "the management" used to be really hot on not allowing bikes/prams/buggies/other junk to left blocking hallways and understairs, in recent times though while its still the official status they don't give a monkeys anymore and crap is regularly left blocking halls/stairways sometimes have to push buggies etc out of the way to get to my door. The only thing they pay any attention to is collecting their ever increasing "maintenence" fees and ground rent on time (and imposing a hefty "admin fee" if its late)
 
Soldato
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As for Prams, I always have a huge LOL at family members who spend loads on a Pram that a) only just fits in the boot of their car and displaces all the shopping, and b)is to impractical to store in the house.
Usually that's what you end up with if you can't afford the higher end ones. Cheaply made safety features that only pass the tests because they're built like Russian outhouses rather than svelte Silver Cross sports buggies.
 

NVP

NVP

Soldato
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6 Sep 2007
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For those who are unaware of the absolute craziness that is the OP's life - please ask me about how he bought a BMW by mistake, or the mansion he had built but then got divorced and got someone else (?) pregnant, for starters! - then you are missing out on a veritable feast of goodness. Misplacing a pram worth a grand is pretty small beer :(
Don't forget not filing his timesheets when working locum... for like a year :rolleyes:

I'm convinced he got his degree from a cereal box.
qft
 
Caporegime
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24 Oct 2012
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Godalming
"Dear mr managing agent,

Upon looking for our pram in the basement bike store I noticed that it had gone missing. Are you able to shed any light on this please? If so, would you be able to return it?

Thanks,
Cereal Box Degree Man"


Not so hard is it?
 
Associate
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5 Oct 2011
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Manchester
Right sorry for the delay, when we first got pregnant I was also shocked how much a pram costs. It's not just a pram, you need a pram, a sleep thing for the first 6 months, a travel car seat, rain cover and all sorts of other junk, It's a rip-off.

Anyway. I sent an email to the estate manager last night, I basically said you have stolen my pram from the bike shed (its not a shed its a 70m2 underground room), I informed him that he has 24h to return it or I will 1 go to the police and 2 start legal proceedings against them.

I got this back



lol

but they did agree to find me pram and give it back to me :D

To be fair it just shows how useless the management company are if that's their response. Regardless of the tone of your initial email they're clearly a joke.
 
Caporegime
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29 Jan 2008
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58,912
Is the management company (or rather agents) appointed by you, the leaseholders, and with leaseholder oversight i.e. as directors of the manager company that appoints the agents or is it appointed by the freeholder?

If it’s the former case then find out which of your neighbours have oversight and have a word or turn up to the AGM etc..

mid it’s the latter then you might want to change that situation with your neighbours - with no oversight the freeholder won’t give a **** about any day to day decisions and who is checking the accounts/spending etc...?

Certainly shouldn’t be removing property without notice/warnings and frankly, if the stores are 75%, empty then it should perhaps be something the resident directors just say “Ok for now but if others do it and it fills up with prams/pushchairs then we’ll have to stop it”. Either way personal property shouldn’t vanish with no warning.

I live in a flat with a balcony, we're not allowed to dry our laundry on the balcony on a clothes horse. You have to do it inside, which means either using a dryer which is bad for the environment, or hanging them up indoors which is bad for humidity/damp/mould problems, or you have a window open and that's bad in the winter for your heating.

And it's policed, the day I moved in, I washed some old teatowels, hung them up to dry on the balcony, got a letter through my door the next day saying I'm not allowed to do that and I'll get fined if I do it again. Can't wait to move to my own Freehold property and not be restricted to absolutely stupid rules.

check your lease - it’s not uncommon for them to make up fines, if it isn’t in the lease then they need to justify it. They can’t just fine you say £50 or whatever. Granted if you carry on doing it they can perhaps take some action but if you just do it once or twice and they send you some fine then tell them to jog on - request them to explain where that fine is covered in the least or else they can do one.
 
Soldato
OP
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17 Oct 2002
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London
It’s a new build and they where appointed by the freeholder but we have setup a residence Committee to start fighting back now which I joined a couple of weeks ago.

we pay £5k+ On average in management fees and they don’t even respond to emails or calls about simple things.

They have taken to issuing parking tickets to genuine visitors, someone parks in a visitor space, they then go up to get a permit from the flat owner and by the time they come back down there is a £100 fine on the window.
 
Caporegime
Joined
24 Oct 2012
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25,057
Location
Godalming
It’s a new build and they where appointed by the freeholder but we have setup a residence Committee to start fighting back now which I joined a couple of weeks ago.

we pay £5k+ On average in management fees and they don’t even respond to emails or calls about simple things.

They have taken to issuing parking tickets to genuine visitors, someone parks in a visitor space, they then go up to get a permit from the flat owner and by the time they come back down there is a £100 fine on the window.

These associations always attract a certain type of person, a Karen if you will.

Read this for some inspiration.

http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
13,352
Location
London
I'm struggling to understand why people would even consider buying a house if other people have a say in what you can, and cannot, do in your own home.

It’s down to practicality and affordability really.
We can both walk to work from here, There are lots of parks we are right in front of the river and can walk for miles. There is a never ending supply of cafés and restaurants to visit.

But the Downside is a house is £1.5 to £2.5 million So instead we live in a flat Which is more affordable.

But Yes at some point I will have to move out to the suburbs again.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Mar 2004
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15,768
Location
Fareham
Is it incorrectly accusing them of thieving it if they actually did it? I don't think it is. I always say you catch more flies with honey though, so I'd not have sent an accusatory email like you did.

In regards to whether it's acceptable to store non-bikes in the bike storage area, I'd say it isn't. Because if you allow one exceptional thing, where do you stop? Your block of residents may not care though, so I can't speak for them.

We have a similar thing where I live, although it's a managed/estate road instead of a block of flats. Rules are rules, but they are there to stop people taking the mickey, and to keep the area at least reasonably respectable.
 
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