First Port Property Management - Refusing refund of credit, poor service

tom1975

Hi there,

I recently bought a property and am having issues with the property management firm, First Port.

I paid them for the first year and ended up with a credit on my account. They are refusing to refund and instead say the credit will be used in June to offset against charges for the next financial year, beginning in June. Can they keep what is essentially my money? I have requested a refund and they are refusing.

Secondly, the service is very poor so far. We have been waiting for over a month for them to fix the one light on our parking area. It's very dark and there are trip hazards (e.g. a passage way step that can't be seen in the dark). The first phoned in request was ignored and they couldn't find a record of it. Most emails go unanswered. The issue has now been logged for a couple of weeks but still nothing has been done. It seems like they really don't care at this firm. Is there any legal recourse here?

My email to the customer service supervisor outlining various issues has also been ignored. I just feel that there is no hope with this company. 

Thank you for any help/advice.

TripleH

Is it in a block of flats?

You can look to change management company but it needs to be a group effort and will take time.

The overpayment you made should be sat in a client account. You haven't paid it to the management company, it should be sat there for usexat a later date. You build up reserves so that when you get big bills you don't have to find all that money at once

GoogleMeNow

First Port used to be known as OM Peverill - look at their reviews.

To answer your question though, it is normal for monies to be kept on account rather than refunded.  Next year there may be a deficit.  Annoying but you won't convince them to do anything else.

tom1975

Thank you for the helpful info.

The property is a townhouse on a new development.

Please note that the overpayment isn't part of the reserve fund.

eddddy

tom1975 said:

Please note that the overpayment isn't part of the reserve fund.

TBH, it's completely normal, and sensible, to carry forward a service charge surplus into the next year.


I assume you mean the 'June 2020 to June 2021' accounts have just been finalised and they're showing a surplus.

Refunding that surplus to every customer would require admin time, and maybe bank charges - which you'd have to pay for.

Those costs are likely to outweigh the interest you'd earn on the money over 6 months.

eddddy

GoogleMeNow said:

First Port used to be known as OM Peverill - look at their reviews.

Just for a bit of balance - I know professional BTL landlords who have First Port properties and 'Share of Freehold' properties.

They find the First Port properties to be much less problematic. The service charges are probably higher, but everything is done professionally.

Whereas they sometimes have to waste lots of time fighting silly battles with amateur 'joint freeholders' for other properties. (You see examples of these silly battles on this board.)

user1977

tom1975 said:

Please note that the overpayment isn't part of the reserve fund.

They'll expect your account to be kept in the black so they can pay out ongoing costs without either borrowing it or having to wait for you to give them the money. Unless it's a vastly excessive credit balance, this sounds normal.

saajan_12

tom1975 said:

Hi there,

I recently bought a property and am having issues with the property management firm, First Port.

I paid them for the first year and ended up with a credit on my account. They are refusing to refund and instead say the credit will be used in June to offset against charges for the next financial year, beginning in June. Can they keep what is essentially my money? I have requested a refund and they are refusing. - how did the credit arise? eg sinking fund / estimated service charges higher than actuals after they finalised accounts / accidentally paid too much?
Also understand its annoying, but is it worth the hassle if it makes little difference to you barring £tuppence in interest.  Are you planning a sale or withholding charges in the near future?

Secondly, the service is very poor so far. We have been waiting for over a month for them to fix the one light on our parking area. It's very dark and there are trip hazards (e.g. a passage way step that can't be seen in the dark). The first phoned in request was ignored and they couldn't find a record of it. Most emails go unanswered. The issue has now been logged for a couple of weeks but still nothing has been done. It seems like they really don't care at this firm. Is there any legal recourse here? - missing the initial call could be a mistake. Since then, unless they have contractors on site all the time, they might be waiting to get a couple of jobs to do together, rather than paying for 3 man hours go buy a bulb, bring it back and replace it. 
This is one item, but are teh common areas otherwise significantly in disrepair?

My email to the customer service supervisor outlining various issues has also been ignored. I just feel that there is no hope with this company. 

Thank you for any help/advice.

Comments in line.. perhaps there are more issues not mentioned, but the two you've pointed out don't seem catastrophic.