Dear Residents,
We write to alert you to a serious issue of duplicated charging in your service charge accounts relating to the Security Office container at the front of Maltings Close.
📅 What Was Paid in 2022
In November 2022, NACD raised Invoice 163, which included the following line item as part of the External Works we paid £146,769 or £1,048 per leaseholder for which included:
“11.0 – Security Office – Container 100% upfront payment, other items 75% upfront”
This amount was paid in full and included in the 2022 service charge accounts. The TTMC schedule submited to the court confirms this, and TTMC’s own legal representatives accepted this in formal pleadings related to External Works 2022:
🧾 “The container was purchased direct from Cleveland Containers… the additional cost was for the cost of the conversion into an office.”
— TTMC, Tribunal Response (para. 90.9) – See excerpt below (enable images to see)
So it is beyond doubt that the container and associated conversion costs were already charged to leaseholders in 2022 as part of external works.
💸 What We Were Charged Again in 2023
Despite the above, in April 2023, TTMC (via Urang) charged the Reserve Fund again for the container:
Cleveland Containers – £15,240.00, with refunds totalling £729.96
⚠️ Net cost charged to leaseholders: £14,510.04
This was hidden in the 2023 accounts as a Reserve Fund item, with no mention that the container had already been purchased and paid for the year before.
🧱 What the Expert Survey Says
Phillip Arnold MRICS, Chartered Surveyor, surveyed the “shipping container” and the 2022 invoice and provided a damning conclusion in his February 2025 report which was submitted to the Tribunal:
“The property consists of a shipping container… crudely levelled with blocks… not in keeping with the overall development style.”
“Containers like this are widely available [already converted] for between £1,000 and £1,500 including delivery.”
“We have had sight of the original invoice and… believe the level paid was excessive.”
See the survey below (enable images to see)
⚠️ What This Means
| Year | What Was Charged | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Container & part-fit-out (Invoice 163) | £6,328 | Paid in full, expensed in 2022 accounts |
| 2023 | Container (again) from Cleveland Containers | £14,510 | Duplicated via Reserve Fund |
| Total Extracted from Leaseholders | £20,838 | Over 10x the market value |
This is not just an accounting error. This is financial mismanagement.
And we ask:
- Why is Tom Squires, who is actively consulting on Tribunal matters, signing off accounts that contradict the company’s own submissions?
- Has this second payment been improperly diverted? Where did the extra £14,510 go?
- These sums all add up – and remember Urang charged a £22k project management fee for the gates and container installation (when this should have been no more £14k) – have they pocketed this extra money under our noses?
🧾 What We’re Doing
- A formal Section 27A application is being filed to recover this cost.
- A complaint will be lodged regarding Tom Squires’ role and the contradiction between the signed accounts and legal pleadings. We will be questioning his fitness to act as a director given his role in authorising accounts that contain known errors; contradict sworn pleadings; and perpetuate a misleading financial record to the leaseholders.
- We have submitted a Section 22 disclosure demand to trace exactly what was paid, when, and to whom.
✊ What You Can Do
📨 Send your own Section 22 request using our simple template that was sent in yesterday’s update.
🗳 Join the 100 other neighbours and leaseholders already part of the MCRA to help us hold this management company to account, get rid of Urang and gain some control over how our money is being spent and managed.
This is not competent management. It is a betrayal of trust and financial mismanagement.
We will not stop until leaseholders are refunded and those responsible are held to account.
Kind regards,
Amar Lodhia
Chair – Maltings Close Residents Association
📩 chairman@maltingsclose.org
🌐 www.maltingsclose.org