Flat owners' anger over 'mystery' service charges

Residents living in a block of flats in Sheffield have accused the company which manages the building of a lack of transparency over "mystery" service charges.

Despite paying an annual maintenance fee, people living at Millsands, at West Bar, say First Port property management has charged some residents additional fees of £2,000, labelling it an "end-of-year adjustment".

It comes after many residents expressed dissatisfaction with the management service, amid ongoing concerns about security gates and faulty lifts.

A spokesperson for First Port said the firm understood homeowners' concerns but had explained to them the extra fee "was largely due to external costs beyond our control".

Lawrence White has been living in the Millsands complex since 2014. He is in the process of setting up a residents' committee, to decide how to "handle the charges collectively".

"I received this mystery bill last week. I'm not sure what to do because individually you feel vulnerable," he said.

Mr White said there was an "ongoing problem" with the front gates to the complex which posed a "security risk".

He said: "They are charging us all this money, but the front gates are constantly broken. We've had problems with parcels being stolen."

Peter Wright has lived in the flats since 2006 and had been paying the yearly service charge through monthly direct debit payments - before unexpectedly receiving a bill for just under £2,500 this year.

"Suddenly I got an extra bill asking for 'end-of-year adjustments', whatever that is," he said.

"I'm supposed to pay this by 15 February, but there's no transparency about what it's for."

Heather Anson said the lift in her building was often broken, and sometimes took weeks to be repaired, causing her "lots of anxiety".

"You never know when it will work," she said.

"I have a condition which means I can lose muscle stress and fall - walking up stairs is treacherous for me."

"I shouldn't have to disclose that I have a disability. They have a responsibility to respect the fact that people with vulnerabilities could live here," she added.

The concerns of the Millsands' residents in Sheffield are also shared by First Port customers elsewhere in the UK.

Sheffield Central MP Abtisam Mohamed is one of a number of MPs who has co-signed an open letter to the managing director of First Port, inviting him to come to parliament to discuss his "company's conduct" and the actions he intends to take to "address the consistent complaints".

In a post on social media platform X, Mohamed described the company's service charges as "opaque", and the services provided as "completely inadequate".

A spokesperson for First Port told the BBC some of the additional charge was to cover the "unexpected rise in electricity costs" as well as "extensive maintenance works" across the Millsands development.

First Port also claimed "mandatory fire-door inspections" had led to extra costs.

"Whilst we have done all that we can to repair any faults with the lifts and gates quickly, due to the age of the equipment, we are now looking at longer-term solutions," the spokesperson said.

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