Last summer we moved house from a Taylor Wimpey home we had lived in since it was built. Our entire move was beset by disasters, but while most were eventually resolved, one problem continues. The property company that manages our old house – a firm called FirstPort – won’t accept that we have moved out.
As part of the move we had to pay £200 for a management pack to transfer our property to the new owners. This we duly did. Soon after we had moved in to our new house I cancelled the direct debit to FirstPort for our service charges.
I have written and phoned to confirm we have moved. Despite this I continue to get emails from the company, and have received the invoice for this year’s bill.
I rang again, and was told that we would be removed. The property transfer team got in touch to tell me that the buyers’ solicitors needed to send over some paperwork. I got in touch but FirstPort staff claim they still haven’t received it. They’ve also said they will not accept a Land Registry title change as proof we have moved.
The buyers of our house completed the forms and are happy for the costs to shift to them, but FirstPort is refusing to engage with any method of sorting this out. Please help.
AB, near Reading
FirstPort says it offers “award-winning property management built around your home” but it also seems to have rather too many unhappy customers who are struggling to get someone to sort out admin problems. The online reviews of this firm show you are by no means alone in trying to get your management bills moved to the new occupier.
Happily, the firm’s press team quickly got on the case and the transfer has now been recorded on its system. Hopefully that will be the last interaction you will have, and it should bring to end what sounded like a nightmare house move, with this just one of several other unrelated problems.
A FirstPort spokesperson says: “We are sorry for the initial delay in resolving this, while we received and verified the relevant documentation from external parties. We look after 310,000 homes across England, Wales and Scotland, and while the majority of our reviews are positive, we continue to work hard to improve our service for all our residents.”
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