OC complaint and AGM issues

On 27 December 2018 I sent an email to an OC manager. There was an automatic reply that they had closed a week before and were closed for another few weeks.

Section 13A(2) of the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 says:
"For the purposes of subsection (1), unless otherwise agreed between the originator and the addressee of the electronic communication, it is to be assumed that the electronic communication is capable of being retrieved by the addressee when it reaches the addressee's electronic address."

Based on this the email was received by the OC manager in December. Our OC FY ends on 31 December. The email was a complaint, been dragging on for ages with the OC manager attempting to avoid their mistakes being known to lot owners.

Section 159 of the OC Act states that:
(1) The owners corporation must report to the annual general meeting in relation to—
(a) the number of complaints made under this Division; and
(b) the nature of the complaints".
The AGM was held a few weeks ago and the complaint was not reported.

I also raised this in a proxy. None of the matters I wished raised were raised or minuted and again I have been defeated by the OC manager and the committee, who wish to keep their ineptness quiet.

Part 10 Dispute resolutions details how disputes are managed. Much of this relates to complaints by the OC. I cannot locate any reference to how complaints by lot owners are managed. It seems that as the OC manager has not responded to the complaint or detailed it at the AGM then there is nothing to prevent me from going to VCAT.

Advice on this point would be valued. TIA.

 

Sell the unit. Not worth the hassle.

 

You need legal advice.

A proxy doesnt raise a matter. A proxy merely votes in your absence. Advance notice must have been given for the matter to be tabled. The OC is a corporation and Corporation Act rules apply to meetings. The Corporations Act contains no provisions that require a office to be open or for a matter email a few days prior to year end will be dealt with outside a meeting.

 

You did not follow procedure it seems.

Maybe they are following the rules an you are not ?

 

Is their any requirements in Victoria that only allows one lot owner a certain amount of proxies.
I think the same laws may also apply to the OC manager.
If you really want to get things done ,its imperative that lot owners attend the AGMs.
Thats the point of having them
We have the option of tele-conferencing for the last 2 years , although we have never used it.
Is that an option .

 

A proxy appoints a person or entity to act for another. I had several issues that I wished to have raised, including the OC manager engaging a contractor that did a poor job; acting on sub-standard contractor advice that ensures that the contractor has an ongoing service contract that puts people at risk; acting contrary to best practice; and wasting OC funds. The formal complaint dealt with some of these and was on the correct form. I have been following the rules, and the OC manager is using every way within the rules to ensure that my observations are not made known to most lot owners. I'm seeking legal advice.

The timing of my complaint needs to be clarified. I sent it in late December 2018, just before the end of the OC FY. I am unsure if the fact that the OC manager was closed then and did not open until mid-January affects the date when it is deemed to be served.

 

We always get an email from our Strata managers with regards to dates that they will be closed over the Xmas/New year break and Easter break , it also gives up the numbers for emergency plumbers , sparkies and glaziers etc.
Whats the relavence of the end of the financial year for getting items raised at the AGM.

About 3 months prior to the AGM they would normally send out the paperwork for items to be raised and the cutoff date might be a month prior to the actaul meeting ,they shold then send out the agenda of items to be raised .
If you have something thats bothering you , then you turn up at the AGM.
Many dont really care , so the attendance levels can sometimes be quite low.

 

What about the "assumed" bit?

 

I do not know how the word "assumed" is interpreted.

 

I am just glad I am not wed to this BC scheme

 

can you assume when you get an instant reply that the office is unattended?

 

Of course you can, in a free world, or even one that is not free, you can assume whatever you wish. This is how lawyers are able to do so well

 

I am not assuming an instant reply. An email was sent in late December when the OC manager was unattended. I am attempting to clarify when this is deemed to have been received, December as it was sent in December or January when the OC manager returned. There was an immediate automatic reply saying that nobody was there.

Dabbler. I deny that. I was not there, did not do it and there were no witnesses. The sheep cannot talk.

 

I would think Jan as you were informed they were not there.

 

CAV have advised that the receipt was in January. I should have sent the email a few weeks earlier. No matter, I'm patient.