Anchor - De Havilland Way

My wife and I have lived in this is a small development of 25 leasehold properties, mostly bungalows, plus a flat for a resident manager for almost 6 years. The location for us is perfect. Anchor's brochures painted a brilliant picture of a caring organisation with helpful estate managers. Our leases state that the lessor (now Anchor Hanover - AH) will provide a resident manager. When we moved in, the manager's working hours were 22 per week, and all was fine. When a new manager was appointed after our original one retired and the AH merger was going through, service started to decline. Then, in March 2020, the new manager left site just before the first Covid lockdown. Since then, AH have failed to provide a site manager, only providing very limited limited presence on site (max 4 hours per week mainly spent in the office, and often only a 1 hour walk round). AH have continued to charge for a resident site manager for the whole of the financial year 2020-21. This charge was 12,354 for the whole year, 12 months, (equivalent to 494 per property; 41 per month). This has continued into the current year at an increased rate. Even allowing for the cost of the brief visits to site, residents have now (in July 2021) been charged in excess of 550 for service which AHG have failed to provide - a service which our leases say they should provide. According to AH accounting system, the overcharge for Year 2020-21 will be refunded gradually in year 2022-23, completing in March 2023, after audited accounts have confirmed the overcharge. AH have still not provided a resident manager but continue to charge for one. Overcharge for the current year will not be fully repaid until March 2024. AH are not prepared to consider a cash refund of the overcharge for Year 2020-21 or to reduce the charge for Year 2021-22 until a replacement manager is in post. Many of the residents of this development are in their mid to late 70s, with several in their 90s. At 88 I am a comparative youngster! Many feel unable to continue a long drawn out complaint with a huge "charitable not for profit company", the largest in the country in the field of retirement housing and care homes, with a team of lawyers and heavy management layers, and with a CEO who earns about 450,000 a year. Charity clearly remains at home! Statistically many of the elderly residents will never see the very delayed payback which AH appear to think is in order. The rest would much rather have the money to save or spend now, rather than leaving it hidden somewhere in AH accounting system. After about 1 year of complaining about the situation (much of it with a totally rubbish Customer Services Department) I have a file about 2 cm thick of copies of letters and emails. Today, I received a final rejection of my complaint from the Customer Relations Manager. My complaint was made by me personally, but on behalf of the many who do not feel able to complain. I quote from AH letter dated 9 July 2021: "We are confident that we have acted appropriately and there is nothing we can add to this." So take note - AH think it is quite in order to not comply with their obligations under the lease, and also knowingly continue to charge for a service the lease requires them to provide, but which they have not provided.
Jul 10th, 2021

Nov 8th, 2016