| Committee Update, 5th February 2018 Keep Calm & Carry On |
| Ana Martin, a long serving WimPen manager, was drafted in to address the owners meeting last week following the difficult experience that President and co-Director of WimPen’s Holding Company at Las Casitas, Roger Barrow had 2 weeks previously when confronted with the inconvenient truths about Ona WimPen at Los Claveles. This is the woman who was present in Reception when Onagrup hiree manager Jesus Gomez assaulted Club President Carol Parkinson in May 2017, but claimed at the time to Carol that she had not seen it. However, she later testified that she saw Carol assault Gomez, or in other words, when your employer needs you to say that black is white, then this is what you must do and where your loyalty must lie. This information is offered to owners reading this account of what she said at the owners meeting to help you evaluate the veracity of anything Ana Martin has to say. Ana Martin: Only 3 things were taken to the Arbitrator by WimPen: founder members, the contract and …… (a 3rd item), but more things were added by the Committee which is why the process took so long. The truth is it was Ona Wimpen that kept introducing more and more issues to deliberately make it as complex and drawn out as possible for the Arbitrator, in line with its strategy to run the Committee out of money by making the case as long and expensive as possible. The Club also had to request a further hearing due to Ona WimPen’s behaviour in May 2016 when the resort reopened after the annual shutdown. This will all be revealed when the case is concluded and the confidentiality restrictions are lifted. Ana Martin: If the court decides that the members register should be returned to the Club, then it will be done, but as I say it should be for everybody to say. The truth is that Ona WimPen has no intention of complying with any Scottish court order. They will only release the register when they are forced to do so in a Spanish court, bearing in mind that they have already orchestrated a Spanish court judgement, which was deliberately concealed from the Club, to prevent the execution of the Arbitrator’s order for the Club’s legal fees to be paid. This is being addressed by the Club’s Spanish lawyer. Ana Martin: If owners go onto the Committee website why are they not able to say what they think? All the owners should get together and then decide. The truth is that the website is the owners’ website, not the Committee’s, and contrary to the misinformation being disseminated by the alternative group and Ona WimPen, owners are not restricted in what they can comment on. The same applies to the Los Claveles Tenerife Facebook group. What is true is that the way that owners conduct themselves online is subject to common rules of decency and respect. The leaders of the alternative group were not prepared to comply with these common rules and they set up their own forum. The irony is that owners who support the democratic decisions made at all AGMs and SGMs since the dispute began, and who challenge the so-called alternative committee, have been banned from this forum. Ana Martin: All the owners have to get together to decide if they want to separate the accounts, it is not up to us to decide. You need an AGM because that has not been decided. If you want another Administrator you can have another Administrator. The truth is that the Club’s solicitor has written twice without response to Ona Wimpen to separate the accounts, and the Escritura community requested this at the 2016 AGM, but Ona WimPen has steadfastly refused to do so. On the matter of having a new Administrator, both the Arbitrator and the Appeal Court Judge have verified that Club Members voted legitimately to appoint a new Administrator but Ona WimPen refuses to accept this. How can anyone work with people like this, and how can anyone suggest that they will honour anything they say? Ana Martin: Why is the committee spending on legal costs without the approval of every owner? You are spending the money without owners’ permission. The truth is that both the Arbitrator and Appeal Court Judge have verified that the Club Committee has conducted all general meetings in accordance with the Constitution which allows for the current situation where the Committee cannot reach all of the owners because Ona WimPen is deliberately preventing it from doing so. Club Members voted overwhelmingly to go to arbitration and that includes the approval to incur the legal expenses necessary for the arbitration to take place. It is completely wrong to suggest otherwise, yet Ona WimPen and the alternative group persist in doing so in a deliberate campaign of misinformation designed to divide the community and undermine the Club Committee. Ana Martin: The Club contract finished on 2nd May 2017, not 2 years ago as the committee tried to do, but we are based on the resort as “contratista funcionarios” (official contractor). We are legal in Spain to do this until it is decided another contractor or administrator is appointed. The truth is that it is illegal in Spain to administrate a resort without a contract. The Club Committee has instructed the Club Administrator, who is a Spanish lawyer, to take Ona WimPen to court for conducting an illegal administration, which could result in the MD facing charges of defrauding Club Members. Ana Martin: In answer to this question from an owner: You have your newsletter on the noticeboard. Can we have our Chairman’s letter at the side of it? – We will see. (Subsequently refused) The truth is that Ona WimPen has no authority to decide what is displayed on the community noticeboard. The owners decide this through their elected representatives. Ona WimPen is wilfully exceeding its authority and controlling what happens on the resort, as it is doing with the members register, rental policy, taking back weeks and administrating the Club without a contract. Towards the end of the meeting a particular family became verbally and physically aggressive towards another owner who had been confronting Ana Martin during the meeting. Then, after the meeting and separate from it, on the path outside Villa 15 the door opened, another male adult member of this family rushed out onto the path to confront the other owner. Fortunately he was in the company of his sister who is also an owner. The male was threatening physical harm to the other owner and was highly aggressive and agitated. As he yelled at the other owner, 6 inches from his face, he projected spray from his mouth over the other owner’s face. He was told to stop yelling and spraying. The other owner’s sister intervened to prevent the aggressive male from carrying out a physical assault, and the confrontation was brought to an end. On seeing this the head of housekeeping, who witnessed the altercation, summoned the Resort Manager. He later spoke to all parties and before the family left the resort the head of the family apologised to the other owner. The Committee is conducting its own enquiry into this incident, and encourages all owners to be respectful at all times towards other owners and to resort staff. Everyone is entitled to be treated with respect no matter what their views are. Roger Barrow’s Intervention Roger Barrow has since commented on the meeting and on the altercation. This is his account. Roger Barrow: We have received some very alarming detailed reports from some attendees regarding very aggressive confrontations at today’s meeting. We are satisfied with the authenticity of the reports from different independent owners, reception and management. Ana Martin from WimPen attended the meeting. She was met with extremely aggressive questioning from (owner’s name withheld) and a few others, and just as happened when I attended the owners meeting recently, they interrupted Ana constantly, not allowing her or other owners to speak (Owner’s name withheld) recorded the meeting, so Ana did also. The truth is that (Owner’s name withheld) and others challenged Ana Martin appropriately during the meeting by raising their hand to speak whenever she gave out misinformation. It is completely misleading to describe the questioning as aggressive. This is a deliberate attempt on Mr Barrow’s part to distort the picture and demonise committee supporters who are stout in their defence of the truth. It should also be made known that Ana Martin kept repeating the same thing over and over, and had to be asked by an owner not involved in the discussion to stop interrupting owners who were rebutting what she was saying when it was their turn to speak. Roger Barrow: Eventually Ana was able to explain why WimPen’s presence was perfectly legitimate, she explained why independent owners were permitted to use the notice board, and not the committee, who already have the facility to communicate with owners through Facebook and website. The truth is that Ona WimPen’s presence, i.e. its administration of the Club, is completely illegitimate. The Club Committee is the elected representative of Club Members and instructs the management agent, not the other way round. Ona WimPen is exceeding its authority by refusing to display printed Club Committee communications on the resort noticeboard. It is also a good example of the inappropriateness of Roger Barrow’s interference in Club affairs when he has no history or understanding of them. Roger Barrow: In response to questions, she reminded the meeting they had not seen the results of the arbitration, she had, and the club had not won every point as owners have been led to believe. She also confirmed that Mrs Parkinson is NOT banned, as long as she pays her maintenance, which to date she has not done. The truth is that Ona WimPen has infringed the confidentiality of arbitration by permitting anyone other than those directly involved in the case to see the Arbitrator’s Report. The Club Committee was very clear and specific in its report to the 2017 Club AGM about the outcome of part 1 of Arbitrator’s rulings which it was cleared by the Club’s legal advisor to report. There was no ‘led to believe’ as erroneously claimed by Mr Barrow. The truth is that Carol Parkinson was prevented from gaining access to her rented villa in September because Snr Castro, MD of WimPen Leisure Management SA ordered staff not to allow her access. All of the necessary payments to Ona WimPen and to RCI were in order, but still she was refused access which demonstrates the kind of organisation that Ona WimPen is. Roger Barrow: She reminded the meeting that all owners had a right to speak, whether they agreed with the committee or not. She also advised the meeting that a full AGM had been offered in 2016, with invites sent out by the trustees, but the chairman rejected the offer. The truth is that every owner did have the opportunity to speak at the meeting. With regard to the Trustee offering to hold an SGM for all owners in 2016, the fact is that the Trustee who is supposed to be independent, collaborated with Ona WimPen to set up a general meeting whether the Committee liked it or not, and only backed down when the Committee pointed out the illegality of their intentions, backed up with an injunction. Roger Barrow: Ana ended by telling the meeting that the ONLY way this dispute can end is with a full general meeting with all owners under an independent chairman, with every owner being given the opportunity to vote for chairman, committee and any proposal they wish to put forward. The truth is this is Ona WimPen’s latest tactic to hold onto control of the resort knowing that it is losing the arbitration case, and that it is only a matter of time before it is forced out of Club Los Claveles. Then, and only then, will owners have the freedom to make choices without being intimidated and held to ransom by a management agent. Roger Barrow: We understand an owner demanded that (Owner’s name withheld) offer her a refund of the money she had paid to the club. When he refused an aggressive confrontation took place with her husband, which then continued outside. Shortly after, Ana and JJ (Resort Manager) received an urgent call from receptionists asking for help as there was a fight outside reception. (Owner’s name withheld) and another owner had to be pulled apart and restrained. The truth is reported above (see “Towards the end of the meeting”) and from this owners will see how misleading Roger Barrow’s account is. Roger Barrow: I can’t report the whole meeting here, it would take too long, but all this begs one big question, WHY? Why are committee supporters so aggressive? Why are they unwilling to listen to a different point of view? Why has it descended to this? Do owners really want this kind of behaviour from the people who might be running the resort in future? The truth is that owners are not prepared to put up with Ona WimPen’s propaganda which has consistently been exposed for what it is, i.e. a deliberate attempt to control the resort as a first step towards their end goal of taking it over. Owners reading this report will see for themselves where the aggression is coming from. It is coming from Ona WimPen and from owners who are intolerant of their counterparts who are well informed and prepared to stand up for their resort. Roger Barrow: We urge owners to listen to the independent group, read our newsletter, read our manifesto on our website, support our non-combative approach in trying to resolve this dispute. Please, let common sense prevail.”……That’s it in its entirety. The truth is that the independent group is indistinguishable from Ona Wimpen. They are Ona WimPen’s agent and they are acting seditiously against the will of the overwhelming majority of Club Members who have consistently expressed their intention of removing Ona WimPen from the management of Club Los Claveles. The Club Committee recognises that sometimes people can become very agitated when talking about contentious issues but as stated above people are entitled to express their views. People should be listened to but should also be prepared to listen to what others have to say. The Committee recognises the right of free speech but cannot allow slander or libel to take place and reserves the right to take legal action when necessary. Club Club Los Claveles Committee |