This may not seem the worst of the Firstport scams. Indeed it is not! In this case we are talking of a scam costing developments around 19 pounds per month.
However, replicated over the entire Firstport managed portfolio it soon adds up.
Every little helps to a company labouring under the burden of high debts. So each development has access to a telephone, which can be used for general use by a house manager (supposedly for work purposes but frequently used for personal calls and charged to residents). It is of course vital that telephone communications are maintained due to the nature of the developments. About Peverel has obtained evidence that developments are being charged extra for a priority repair if the telephone system goes down.
These developments have emergency care via Appello (formerly known as Cirrus and involved in the price fixing scandal and shown to be negligent in failing to pass vital information on during the Gibson Court fire)
Firstport (who own them) routinely appoint Appello to carry out careline duties. They even make a point of not obtaining competitive tenders in this regard on their website.
Aside from the fact that many other companies offer a similar service at less cost , frequently after a development has carried out a Right To Manage and rid themselves of Firstport, Appello have done a deal with the new management company at an up to 50% reduction in charges. If the emergency line goes down, residents are already paying for a priority repair as part of the "enhanced" fees they are paying to Appello.If on the other hand it is the general phone line that has gone down, due to the nature of the development the telephone operating company will treat any fault as a priority repair issue.
As Such, About Peverel can see no justification for this extra charge.
