Birmingham leaseholders hit with 'unfair' £200k energy bill

BBC News

a day ago

Leaseholders at a luxury apartment complex say they feel "intimidated" after being hit with a historical electricity bill of more than £200,000.Centrick, which manages Latitude Apartments in Digbeth, Birmingham, told them an unpaid British Gas bill dating back to 2014 had been discovered and would need to be paid by current residents.Some have agreed to pay up while others have refused to do so without more evidence about the money owed, one resident said.Centrick said it "fully appreciated" leaseholders' concerns and would continue to keep them updated. British Gas said it was working with the property's managing agent.
Mary Wilkie, who has lived there for 10 years, said leaseholders had not been fully consulted, seen legal documents or had an official bill and she had refused to join a monthly repayment plan."With no detail, I can't work with a company that's meant to be looking after our interests," she told BBC Midlands Today.She said their overall payments in management service charges would go up by about 70% as a result of this."Quite a few people are intimidated and have handed money over already, but we're not prepared to do that without the evidence," she added.
Latitude Apartments was completed in 2009 at a cost of around £34m, made up of more than 170 luxury apartments.The management of the building has changed hands several times in recent years, after original managers SDL Bigwood ceased trading in 2022.Pannycuick Collins took over in January 2024 and sent a letter to leaseholders in December that year.It said a "second billing account" with British Gas had been identified, but it had gone unpaid and stood at £214,000.Pennycuick Collins said it no longer managed residential dwellings and told the BBC it would make no comment.
Centrick took over Latitude in April and said it was honouring a previous repayment arrangement "in good faith" and were in contact with British Gas to seek more information."We fully appreciate leaseholders' concerns regarding the historic nature of these charges," a Centrick spokesperson said:"However, we are not in a position to comment on how previous changes in occupancy were handled in relation to the debt during conveyancing."We remain committed to transparency and will continue to keep leaseholders updated, sharing any relevant information that may help resolve ongoing queries."
'We can't get answers'
May, not her real name, has owned a property at Latitude for about five years and said they had not been collectively consulted about repayment demands.She said her service charges could rise from around £600 to £1,260."It feels like they're just trying to get money from us," she added. "It's not fair and we can't get answers."It's like they're just saying that, 'We are the new management, we don't know what went on before'. "It's disgraceful. I'm shocked they can't easily show us the evidence [of the bill]."
British Gas, which no longer supplies the Latitude complex, told the BBC it "remained engaged" with the managing agent over what it described as "historical unpaid energy bills dating back to 2020".This was despite residents being told by Centrick, via a newsletter seen by the BBC, that the bills dated back to 2014. The company has been asked for clarification. Ms Wilkie accused the management companies of being disingenuous, lackadaisical and unprofessional, while questioning how the bills can be passed from one firm to another over the past nine years."Some of the residents haven't been here that long and it's simply unfair to pay," she added.A number of leaseholders told the BBC they intended to seek legal advice with a view to contesting the charges.
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