Firm denies overcharging residents for heating

Residents of a retirement complex in Surrey believe they could each be owed as much as £400 for charges issued during a two-year period when the building's heating was broken.

Michael Heelas, who lives at Turville Court in Great Bookham, said Clarion Housing Group, which runs the site, repeatedly ignored warnings the system was "at the end of its life".

He claimed that tenants were overcharged for electricity and gas from late 2022 until September 2024, despite promises made by Clarion, and additionally had to continue paying costs linked to the broken system.

Clarion accepted that residents experienced disruption but said that no overpayments had been made.

Heelas said he contacted Clarion in 2022 to seek clarity about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine would impact energy costs for the building.

"Clarion told me that the heating costs would remain largely unchanged because they had a three-year fixed price contract that didn't end until April 2024," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

However, Heelas said the cost of gas and electricity for 2022/23 had "gone up significantly, by 30 or 40%".

He claimed that requests for a copy of the charges bill were ignored for 18 months and only listened to following "a threat of legal action".

Clarion did not respond to the claim but reiterated that tenants were not overcharged.

"During the energy crisis, our fixed-price contract protected residents from the peak of 2022–23 prices, but when this was renegotiated in 2024, costs unfortunately increased in line with the wider market," a spokesperson said.

"Residents pay fixed service charges set annually under their tenancy agreements, which is not adjusted against actual energy costs, so there have been no overpayments."

Heelas also claimed that residents additionally continued to pay for heating during the period when the system was broken, and for the use of electric heaters installed to mitigate the issue.

Clarion did not address the claim, but said compensation was paid to "recognise the inconvenience caused" by the broken heating system and need to use electric heaters.

A spokesperson said: "We apologise for the disruption residents experienced while this communal heating system was upgraded to meet our expected standards.

"We remain committed to working with residents to help them understand their charges and to address any concerns."

Dorking and Horley MP Chris Coghlan said the residents of Turville Court were not alone in experiencing issues with the housing association.

He said: "I have constituents in year-long battles with Clarion over serious problems with mould or maintenance.

"This can have a serious impact on their health and quality of life. Clarion continues to brush aside residents, only fixing the symptoms of issues, not the root causes."

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