Wrangle between flat management firms

Homehill House in Cranfield Road is a building with 50 flats for the over 60s and is run by Peverel, which deals with daily maintenance and the living requirements of its occupants.

Peverel charges a yearly rate of around 2,000 per flat, which Sensible Property Management describes as "ridiculous", claiming it could do the job far more cheaply and provide "a much more transparent, friendly and all round better service".

It is even offering to run Homehill House for a year for free so that residents can see for themselves what that difference could mean.

Brian Sapherson of Sensible Property Management, based in Eastbourne, claims the company was invited to tender by some residents and suggest how a change in management might benefit the entire block.

In the meantime residents loyal to Peverel have signed a petition to voice their opposition and say the proposals by Sensible are causing them "anxiety and upset".

One woman contacted the Observer to say that almost all residents had signed the petition which was sent to Sensible with a request to leave them alone.

She was happy with the service provided by Peverel for which she paid 2,300 per year and said this covered all aspects of life including laundry, warden care, 24 hour Careline, building insurance, water rates, redecoration and emergency maintenance work.

The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, commented: "Most of us here are elderly, or ill, or disabled.

"We just want the safety and security we sought when we chose to live in a Peverel managed property. All of this has left us, particularly before Christmas, feeling that we weren't safe in our own flats."

Sensible Property Management invited residents to a meeting at St Mary Magdalene's Church hall but said that representatives from Peverel also then attended.

Mr Sapherson commented: "When we invited the residents of Homehill House to a meeting, Peverel insisted that they should be allowed to attend; and as we have only fair and proper intentions we allowed them in.

"We put it to Peverel at the meeting that their service charge demands seem extortive and to justify what they were charging, but Peverel's representatives refused to make a comment.

"We would like to throw the gauntlet down to Peverel and have a fair and open debate in the lounge of Homehill house and allow the residents to have a free and fair vote."

He added: "We are very surprised by the petition and the comments in the mystery letter.

"The fact is that we were invited to provide some information by some residents (who have been looking to setup a residents committee), as we manage Magdalen Court which is nearby."

Tim Richardson, area manager for the south east at Peverel Retirement, commented: "The majority of our residents are very happy with the service Peverel Retirement provides at Homehill House. When recently approached by another property management company residents organised a petition which was signed by 40 of a total of 44 residents in support of the services Peverel Retirement provides, and to demonstrate they want Peverel Retirement to continue managing their properties at Homehill House.

"Peverel Retirement's management fees were ranked the ninth least expensive of 27 companies who participated in Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) Industry Fees Benchmarking Survey (2008).

"The competitor who has recently approached residents does not offer a comparable service, meaning price comparisons are irrelevant. Overall the small savings made by moving management away from Peverel Retirement are far outweighed by a significant drop in the service we provide on important items such as CarelineUK '“ the industry leading social alarm monitoring system.

"This operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist and support 125,000 social alarm connections and 500,000 out of hours customers. It is supported by a robust infrastructure and dedicated disaster recovery centre.

"It is important to note that very few of our residential developments have appointed a different management company since the beginning of 2008."

Do you know anyone who lives in Homehill House? Do you have a view on the tussle? Leave your comment below.