I have received a reply from Lewisham Homes about the increases in Service Charges, but the reply is far from satisfactory I think:

1) External Areas maintenance (increase 178%): "The service is currently provided by the Council who currently have a contract with Glendales" This doesn't tell me anything about the increase.

2) Management Charge (increase 78%): "Previously this was calculated as 28% of the other charges you pay, but this has not been reviewed since 1998.". So what was wrong with 28%? Also the fact that the percentage has increased, doesn't mean that the actual charge hasn't increased.

I am going to follow the complaint procedure to Stage Two, which is writing to the Head of Housing Service.