Only 9 months late – CBWRA’s response to my motion passed at the SGM in September 2023 regarding their arbitrary closure of CBW app accounts

At the CBWRA SGM in September 2023, I proposed the following motion, which was passed:

”No resident’s CBW app account should be closed without a formal and transparent process, which is in writing, and in which the evidence of breaking the rules of use is  presented to the resident concerned, they have a chance to respond and  that they are given two warnings before account closure”.

I proposed this motion not just because of the arbitrary closure of my own CBW app account without any process or evidence or right of appeal bur also because I was aware that account closure was being used as a weapon to intimidate residents who might be critical of the committee, or who stood up to bullying by committee members or their friends, and this has had a ‘chilling effect’ leading to self-censorship, an absence of any meaningful discussion on the app and widespread disengagement from the app and CBWRA generally (as we can see in the fact that they have only 140 members out of 1,150 leaseholders). Bullying by committee members has been ignored and certain residents who are critical of the committee have been systematically bullied with apparent impunity. For reasons that are unclear to me it appears that the co-chairs and committee think they have a right to operate in a criticism-free environment, where only praise is allowed and any form of questions or scrutiny inevitably result in personal attacks on the the questioner. I have a considerable database of this behaviours by committee members (and others) against myself and other going back many years and it includes some of the the most outrageous and systematic online bullying that I have ever seen in any context.

The new ‘rules’ of CBW app use (which apparently will also apply to the CBWRA Facebook group) which CBWRA propose are shown below (as circulated by CBWRA on 20.5.24). Note that these contain no reference to me or the motion passed at SGM which have forced CBWRA to produce these guidelines.

Points 2 to 5 are self-evident and are standard for any online platform. Point 4 does make me laugh given how many times CBWRA committee members/chairs have said things to residents which are not true.
Point 1 however is total nonsense. ”Be constructive”. Why should all posts be ”constructive” and who will judge that? The CBWRA committee of course. Will criticism of the CBWRA committee be considered ‘constructive’? No of course not, so basically this means a ban on criticism of CBWRA and (when they are in place) probably Urang too. It is good if people make ‘constructive’ points and intelligent discussion would be welcome as it is entirely absent on the CBW app but to insist on posts being ‘constructive’ as a rule is ridiculous. Can you imagine what Facebook or Twitter would look like if it was a rule that posts must be ‘constructive’? About 90% of the content could be considered in violation.

So I welcome these guidelines, albeit 9 months late, and I will give some credit for the fact that CBWRA are CONSULTING residents (RARE!) about the guidelines, Whether they take the feedback on board or not is another matter.

Needless to say no such guidelines were applied in the closure my app account which was simply because I pointed out that the CBWRA Chair and committee were misinforming residents by saying (up till the end of 2022) that Right to Manage was not possible and I challenged the bullying behaviour of the former Chair (who has been the subject of 4 complaints to the Police by 3 different residents) and other committee members. The ‘Co Chairs’ claim there is some legal reason why they cannot discuss the closure of my CBW app account but this is total nonsense and they know it. When asked by my solicitor to produce any evidence to support this claim they were unable to do so. It is simply censorship and sadly censorship which will continue if these rules are adopted as they stand because anytime you may wish to ask the committee a difficult question or (god forbid!) criticise them then you will be told that your post is ‘not constructive’ and if you persist then your account will be closed.

The appeals process, as described by CBWRA, is also a nonsense. There is no transparency and given their track record of dismissing complaints without any serious consideration than there is no reason to have any confidence that appeals would be heard in an impartial way, and since leaseholders cannot attend committee meetings they would have no way to know how the appeal had been heard, or to represent themselves.

Following Right to Manage, when the CBW RTM company (and its unelected directors) have responsibility for a £5 million service charge budget it will be even more important that we can have an honest and open forum for residents to express their views – good or bad, positive or negative.

I therefore encourage residents to give feedback to CBWRA (info@cbwra.com) on these proposed guidelines/rules and to support me in saying that it is not reasonable to make it a rule that posts are ‘constructive’ and this is an absurdly subjective term which the (unelected) committee can and will use to supress criticism or difficult questions which they would prefer not to answer. FREEDOM OF SPEECH is an important principle and such an arbitrary and subjective limitation on it is absurd. Residents should also have the right to be present when an appeal is heard.

***CBWRA’s proposed guidelines/rules of use.

Welcome to the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents App!

Communities thrive on mutual respect, inclusivity, and constructive engagement. When joining the CBW App community, you agree to abide by the below terms of use, designed to foster a positive environment for all:

1. **Be Constructive:** Engage in discussions thoughtfully and respectfully. Add content that contributes positively to the community. Do not use derogatory remarks, trolling, or inflammatory language.

2. **Respect Your Neighbours:** Remember, every member is a valued part of our neighbourhood. Treat others with kindness, empathy, and understanding. Personal attacks, harassment, or bullying will not be tolerated.

3. **Zero Tolerance for Discrimination:** Our community is built on diversity and inclusion. Discriminatory behaviour, including racism, sexism, homophobia, or any form of hate speech, is strictly prohibited.

4. **Uphold Integrity:** Maintain the integrity of our community by sharing accurate information and avoiding deceptive practices. Do not engage in activities that could cause harm to others, including spreading factually incorrect, unfounded or misleading information, promoting scams, or encouraging harmful behavior.

5. **Use Authentic Identity:** Transparency is key to building trust. Please use your real identity while interacting on the platform. This helps ensure genuine connections and fosters a sense of community among Chelsea Bridge Wharf residents.

**Complaints Procedure:**

Should you encounter content or behaviour that violates these terms, we encourage you to report it promptly. Here is our complaints procedure:

1. **Report:** Write to us at info@cbwra.com to flag any content or behaviour that you believe violates these terms of use. Provide specific details and evidence to support your report.

2. **Review:** We take all reports seriously. Our moderation team of Residents Association (RA) members, acting reasonably, will review the reported content or behaviour to determine whether it violates the terms of use.

3. **Action:** If the moderation team reports that the content or behaviour is found to be in violation of these terms, appropriate action will be taken. First, the app member who is alleged to have breached them will be notified and details of the violation will be shared with that member. The app member will be given the opportunity to respond. After consideration of any response (if one is received), the moderation team may, if appropriate, issue a written warning to the offending app member and also request the member to remove any content that violates the terms of use. In the event that the app member refuses to remove the content in question, they will be issued with a second warning and the content will be removed. Any app member who receives a warning may appeal the decision of the moderation team by following the appeals process at step 6.

4. **Account Suspension or Termination:** In the event the same app member receives 2 warnings for violating these terms of use, their account may be suspended or terminated. This app member may appeal the decision of the moderation team by following the appeals process at step 6.

5. **Severe violations:** In the case of severe violations of these terms of use, the moderation team reserves the right to temporarily suspend an app member’s account while the matter is being reviewed in accordance with step 3.

6. **Appeal:** Any app member who receives a warning or has their account suspended or terminated has the right to appeal the decision. Appeals should be submitted to info@cbwra.com. Appeals will be reviewed by the RA committee at the next committee meeting. The RA committee will vote on whether or not to take further action and their decision will be final. The fact that an appeal has taken place and the outcome of the appeal will be shared with members via the committee meeting minutes. The member requesting the appeal will be notified of the RA committee’s decision.

We believe that by working together and upholding these terms of use, we can maintain a welcoming and safe environment for all members of the Chelsea Bridge Wharf residents community. Thank you for your cooperation.

CBW Residents Association