Caught by rising service charges
Maidenhead: Resident wants answers on bills and liability
A frustrated resident has hit out at rising service charges at the Boulters Meadow housing development.
Fred Campbell bought his two-bedroom flat at the Shanly Homes complex in 2015 and was initially told he must pay £510 every six months towards maintenance and repair work.
But he said this bill has now almost tripled to £1,618 every six months.
The 57-year-old, who owns a property in Heathland Court, is also unhappy with the failure of the development’s combined heat and power system (CHP).
He told the Advertiser when residents moved in they were informed the CHP would act as a ‘highly efficient’ energy system which would keep electricity bills low.
But he said the system has been plagued by problems and has been out-of-action for years.
Fred said: “One of my questions is, what are the
estimates for our hot water? What have we been charged over the last seven years compared to what we would’ve been charged had the CHP been working?
“At the outset when I was buying the flat, the message was your shared electricity bills are going to be zero and if there’s any surplus electricity generated by the CHP that’s going to be exported to the grid and there will be some income from that extra electricity which will help offset other costs.”
Fred said he is looking to sell his property in the near future but the flat has not risen in value due to the steep increase in service charges.
He is now in a stand-off with the Boulters Meadow Residents’ Management Company, which handles any issues relating to the development, and has refused to pay service charges for two years.
The Advertiser approached Shanly Homes for comment. A spokeswoman said the company has no say on the service charges due to the running of the building being handed over to the Boulters Meadow Residents’ Management Company (BMRMC).
POD Management, which is currently managing the site on behalf of the residents’ management company, said it was appointed to the scheme in January this year when the service charge budget had already been approved by the BMRMC.
The company said it has inherited the maintenance of the heating system and couldn’t comment on the complaints made by Mr Campbell.
The Boulters Meadow Residents’ Management Company has been contacted for comment.