In the wake of widespread national anger, amid insufficient services and ever-rising costs, the Managing Director of FirstPort, Martin King, was asked in a letter to attend a meeting with MPs in Parliament, such that the company be held to account on behalf their constituents.
FirstPort is a residential property management company, that provides management services to residential housing estates, national and regional developers, investors and freeholders, both in Sir John Whittingdale’s constituency of Maldon and across the country.
The company has attracted significant national media attention in recent months, having been the subject of infamous widespread complaints from its many dissatisfied customers. This is on account of the fact that FirstPort have consistently hiked costs for residents in spite of their abject failure to meet management obligations, and when customers attempt to seek redress and complain they are faced with “opaque customer service contact routes” and “poor communication”. Many customers have felt “trapped” and “helpless”, as fees continue to rise and they remain locked in their maintenance contracts.
In the run up to this meeting, as indeed is the case with the other MPs in attendance, Sir John had received numerous complaints from constituents residing in FirstPort managed properties, lamenting the poor service they have experienced. The complainants have largely come from the following residential areas in Sir John’s constituency: Chelmer Village, Handley Gardens, Wycke Place, Ben Cobey Avenue and Limebrook.
The meeting took place this morning (Wednesday 15th January) in Westminster and was organised by Dame Caroline Dineage, MP for Gosport. It was a chance for MPs to raise their concerns with Martin King, along with members of his Senior Management Team. Several Conservative MP’s attended the meeting, along with representatives from their offices.
MPs emphasised the well-publicised concerns about extortionate increases in Service Charges, little to no maintenance work being undertaken within estates and minimal contact from Estate Managers. The meeting saw all attending MP’s echoing broadly similar sentiments from their respective constituencies, with a number of Sir John’s constituents’ cases being put directly to FirstPort’s representatives.
FirstPort responded to questioning with a commitment to providing a better service for their residents, including greater transparency with charges, active engagement with MP’s offices and ensuring complaint services are more easily contactable.
Furthermore, FirstPort agreed to send tailored letters to all MPs in attendance, listing the properties they manage in each constituency and providing a list of local FirstPort emergency contacts. Moreover, they have committed to resolving all individual outstanding casework in cooperation with MP’s offices with whom complaints have been raised by constituents.
Additionally, FirstPort will attend a follow-up meeting with Conservative MPs towards the end of the year to monitor subsequent improvements to services.
The meeting is pictured below:
