£40 EPC panel was just a dream
If you're not up-to-speed with the story, read my last post on the subject: IDEA Chairman Forced to Defend £40 EPC Panel Setup.
So the lines are closed and the votes counted. I can now reveal that members voted in favour of the IDEA becoming a £40 panel... just!
- Yes: 50.72% (105)
- No: 49.28% (102)
So whilst the 'yes' voters have it, 'no' voters will be "pleased" to learn that, much like the Bobby Ewing shower scene in Dallas, the Chairman, Jim Gillespie, has rewritten the script, claiming he had "already rejected" the proposal.
In yesterday's newsletter announcing the result, he wrote:
Now the voting has closed, I can set the record straight with you all.
First and foremost I want to re-assure our entire membership that IDEA had no intension whatsoever of accepting ANY deals at £40 per EPC. Myself and the committee already rejected this proposal but we felt that:
- We had a duty of care to inform our members,
- The time was right to debate this issue as unscrupulous panels are undoubtedly responsible for driving fees down to the unsustainable levels we are seeing now.
It is for this reason and this reason only that I am delighted the "Yes" votes won this poll, for had the "No" votes won, our detractors would not believe what I have just shared with you all.
Wipe your eyes - this is neither a dream nor a (bad) April Fool's joke. This is the work of a so-called "institute" claiming to represent your interests and future. Even Gordon Brown's spin-meisters came up with a better excuse to call off the election.
Let's recap
Here's what IDEA chairman wrote when selling the proposal just a few days ago:
If the majority of the members vote in favour then we will accept the contract on this basis, if not we will decline it.
We need to make an immediate decision on this and if the members vote in favour the contract would commence straight away. Therefore, this poll will close in 5 days time.
I don't know about you but that seems fairly unequivocal to me.
You can read the seven paragraph proposal in its entirety - as posted by Mr Gillespie himself - on the Home Inspector Forum (HIF) thread, IDEAs Dillema EPCs Contract @ £40?.
Is this just a game?
The committee and members should now ask some serious questions on the capability of their chairman after this charade.
Mr Gillespie is often quick to employ the, 'bringing the institute/industry into disrepute' clause when trying to silence critics, yet this proposal, more than any other, has cut opinion right down the middle, literally, festering yet more ill-will towards the "institute" - or more specifically, its chairman.
And for what? The vote never counted for anything anyway, apparently!
Who's bringing the "institute" into disrepute?
Technically, the chairman should honour his pledge to roll with the majority vote, as pledged. The "admission" (or rather omission) that the vote was never going to carry weight, should rightfully trigger a vote of no confidence from the 'yes' camp or a mass walk-out - for this must surely place a question-mark against the validity of any future proposal.
'No' voters must find themselves in a similar position, for they have fought needlessly to prevent their own "institute" and fellow members sending a signal to market that fees of £40 is acceptable.
Transparency
In the post, Farewell to the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors, there were serious questions surrounding the lack of transparency; whether a 'yes' or 'no' voter, if this doesn't ring alarm bells, then you might also quite like the ZANU-PF party.
Good luck.
