Complain about management company...is this possible?!

Chick

Hello all,

I live in a block of flats with a management company (MC) who we all pay ground rent & maintenence fees to.
This is nothing major- it's just there are a few things that need to be sorted out regarding the lighting in our building. However, trying to request/complain to them to get things done is getting us nowhere.

The phone rings out endlessly to their offices, if someone answers they assure that the relevant person will call back (funnily enough nobody does). I've started just to communicate via email/letter so that I have written records, but even with email it takes a week/fortnight to get a reply. Starting to really p*ss me off!

So, the question is- is there some higher body we can complain to? or am I being completely naive in that thinking that the company should be forced to do anything even though we've paid ground rate & maintenance fees.

Before I moved into the flat I was sceptical about management companies (not having lived in a flat before) but now it just confirms my suspicions!

I know they are obviously busy trying to flog new properties to new customers, but surely they should spend some time trying to sort out the problems of people who have already bought their properties? are all MCs like this?

Or is this just 'welcome to the world of property development & MCs'?!...
It's more exasperation more than anything else...has anyone managed to complain about their MC successfully? I don't want to cause a big row with them, I just want them to do what we've all paid them for i.e. manage communal areas etc.

Thanks, Chick

EdInvestor

Who is the freeholder of the building?

This is the person or company who owns the land and the building itself and who employs the management company to collect fees and rents, do maintenance, pay insurance etc.

If all the leaerholders are up in arms about the way the management company is doing the job, perhaps they should complain to the freeholder and ask him to employ a new, better, more efficient (cheaper?) management company?

After all it's the leaseholders that pay the management company's fees.

aloiseb

i hope you don't find your freeholders don't care either - but if you do, there's always a chance of the Resident's Committee buying the freehold, isn't there? A law to allow this was just coming in when we were living in our flat with the problematic lease clauses.
It sounds like you need to help organise a Resident's Committee, anyhow - if it's lots of you, you have more teeth. Good luck!

hazeyj

You dont happen to have a share in the management company do you or is the managaing agent directly employed by the freeholder?

Xbigman

If you can't find any other way forward try complaining to your mortgage holder that the building is not being properly maintained. They have a vested interest in seeing the value of your property as high as possible and might help in some way.
Regards



X

clutton_2

sometimes management companies consist of other owners like yourself, and they sometimes work full time in ordinary jobs - have you established that this is not the case, they may just be Very busy.

tomstickland

I can sympathise with the OP, I live in a block with a moderately bad management company. They make their money by collecting the fees and then doing as little as possible. However, their website conveniently lists all the directors and a bit of work on the internet has allowed me trace most of their phone numbers, so if things ever get really bad I could make some direct phone calls to prod them a bit.

Chick

Hello to you all,
Many thanks for the replies & suggestions...well, as far as I can tell the management company is part of the company who develop, build & sell new properties over quite a large area of the midlands.

I am aware of the location of the MC & they have telephone numbers/email listed- definitely, there is nobody from within the flats involved in the MC. Also, the MC appear to have employees working for them in sales, aftersales etc.
So, I really don't why the service is so shoddy- they literally take a couple of weeks to reply to emails.

Re complaining to the mortgage holder, that is a good idea. Unfortunately, in this situation you feel a bit frustrated as you pay lots of money to the MC & they are the only ones who can get anything sorted re the property. Sometimes, I do envy those who are in properties with the freehold- leashold is such a pain in the a*se at times!

Hi Tomstickland- yes, I would describe mine as 'moderately bad'.
Although nothing major, it is annoying that we pay the fees & they literally do as little as possible.
I think the best way forward is to speak to the other residents & see what their experiences are, as I think the only way to move forward and to get things is done is by getting lots of voices involved, the MC can't keep on ignoring us then (I hope!).

Thanks, Chick

monkeybubbles

Ive been having problems with my flat management company too. I only bought my ground floor flat just under a year ago and two months after buying it our outside walls started growing this black mould that went at least a metre and half up the wall.
We spent ages trying to rectify the problem ourselves, bleaching the walls and covering it with anti mould paint but when it came to about May and we started getting our summer clothes out only to find they were covered in orange and grey mould we felt enough was enough and we simply couldnt rectify the problem ourselves.
We contacted our flat management company and the sent some mould professionals round who confirmed that they lay out of the property, condensation and the way the property was badly built was all contributing to the problem. They felt that it could be any number of factors including the damp course, bad insulation and humidity that was causing these problems. They tested the walls and found that the damp ran right the way up the outside walls and suggested to the management company that the walls needed to be stripped and replastered and humdifyers need to be put in both my bedroom and living room to counteract the humidity.
The management company then sent their 'many jobs' man round to see if a pot of antimould paint couldnt fix the job. He also felt the job was far too big to just cover up.
I then rung our flat management company today to find that they wont be doing anything to our walls because it is a condensation problem (which it is, amongst all the other problems) and that is up to us as the property owners to rectify and the other 'suggestions' made by the professionals were just 'suggestions' and if we want to pay to have these done thats up to us.
As far as we're concerned, we are doing our job as property owners - keeping the inside clean and healthy and the flat management company are not doing their job by keeping the outside (bricks, damp course) clean and healthy and this is the reason why we have so many problems.
Does anyone know who I need to speak to, to get something done about this? Do I need to go higher - if so, who?
Thanks, Bubs.

hazeyj

Have you contacted the developer as the management company cannot really help you on this I would of thought. Do you have a ten year guranatee with your apartment of any sort? Also, I would contact your building insurance to see if they can help or point you in the right direction...I would of thought that your management company would have told you this. If its poor maintainence that has caused the problem then thats another story but if its poor workmanship in the actual build then its out of their remit. Good luck.