已有超过六个月没有热水和供暖的居民表示，他们突然被告知，如果不在一天内一次性支付服务费，还将面临额外高达1000英镑的“债务追讨费”，否则可能会失去自己的住房。
Residents who have had no hot water or heating for more than six months say they were told "out of nowhere" that they could lose their homes if they did not pay a lump sum in service charges within a day, along with an additional "debt collection fee" of up to £1,000.
伦敦南部克罗伊登的阿德勒姆法院（Admiral Court）约有19名租赁业主自3月4日起因“可能存在危险的泄漏”而断供天然气。
About 19 leaseholders at Admiral Court in Croydon, south London, have been without a gas supply since 4 March because of "potentially dangerous leaks".
英国广播公司（BBC）近日报道称，居民们陷入了关于谁应负责支付维修费用的层层官僚主义困境。
BBC recently reported that residents had been caught up in layers of bureaucracy over who is responsible for paying for the remedial works.
在该报道之后，其中一栋私人租赁楼内的一些居民收到了格兰杰福德资产管理公司（Grangeford Asset Management）的电子邮件。该公司代表产权人Groundinvest (101) Limited，邮件要求居民一次性支付全年服务费，尽管居民此前已签订按月支付的协议。BBC已联系该公司，但未获回应。
Following this reporting, some residents in one of the private leasehold blocks received an email from Grangeford Asset Management - which represents the freeholder Groundinvest (101) Limited - demanding payment of the full year's service charge in one go, despite residents having monthly payment agreements. The company has been approached by the BBC but has not responded.
格兰杰福德给予租赁业主不到一天的时间支付全额款项，并警告称，否则“房东将启动止赎程序以收回您的房产”。
Grangeford gave leaseholders less than a day to pay the full amount, with the warning that otherwise "the landlord will begin forfeiture proceedings to repossess your property".
该公司告知居民，要求一次性支付的理由是“未按[租赁]条款和条件支付服务费”。居民表示，还额外增加了“债务追讨费”。
The company has told residents that the basis for demanding the lump sum is the "non-payment of service charge as per the terms and conditions of [the] lease". Residents say additional costs have also been added as "debt collection fees".
31岁的乔治·艾恩斯沃斯（George Ainsworth）和他的妻子过去六个月一直用桶装热水洗澡，热水是用电水壶烧的。他的妻子正在从重大手术中恢复。
George Ainsworth, 31, and his wife, who is recovering from major surgery, have been washing out of a bathtub using a bucket filled with hot water from kettles for the past six months.
他说，当时他正带妻子去医院做手术，却在垃圾邮件箱里看到一封邮件，要求他在当天结束前支付3918英镑，并威胁称如果不支付，他们将失去这套一居室公寓。
He said he was taking his wife to hospital for her operation when he saw an email in his junk inbox requesting that £3,918 be paid by the end of the day, with a threat that he could lose their one-bedroom flat if he did not.
“他们给了我们六个小时来付款，”他说。“我们一直按照与管理代理人的约定，按月支付服务费，结果自由持有人突然接管了服务费的追讨，并要求一次性付清全部费用，还要额外加收1000英镑的手续费。”BBC看到的来自Grangeford的信件称，这笔在多起案例中合计1000英镑的差额“与违反租约的费用有关……是在账户出现欠款之后产生的，再加上债务追讨费”。乔治认为，就他而言，这笔钱是“编造出来的”。
"They gave us six hours to pay it," he said. "We've just been paying our service charges monthly, as we agreed with the managing agents, and out of nowhere the freeholder's just taken over on recovering service charge and demanded it all in one go with a £1,000 fee on top." Correspondence seen by the BBC from Grangeford says the difference, which totals £1,000 in multiple cases, "relates to the breach of lease costs... following the account falling into arrears, together with the debt collection fee". George believes that sum is "made up, as far as I'm concerned".
拉塞尔·康威是Oliver Fisher Solicitors的高级合伙人，该律所专门从事收回房产方面的法律业务。
Russell Conway is a senior partner at Oliver Fisher Solicitors, which specialises in repossession law.
他告诉BBC：“收回租赁房产极其复杂，如果存在争议，很容易耗时长达一年。“几天内就威胁收回房产，简直荒谬至极。
He told the BBC: "Repossession of a leasehold property is exceptionally complex and could easily take up to a year if contested. "Threats of repossession in a few days is fanciful in the extreme.
“他们至少首先得发出一封诉讼函。管理代理人和自由持有人会尽一切努力追回服务费，但这些费用是可以提出异议的。
"They would at least have to send a letter of action in the first instance. Managing agents and freeholders will do everything they can to recover service charges, but these can be contested.
“要因服务费欠款而没收租约，自由持有人首先必须向一级法庭证明这些费用是合理且应付的。”他补充说：“坦率地说，1000英镑的追讨费用似乎高得离谱，因为很多债务追讨机构的收费要低得多。
"In order to forfeit a lease for service charge arrears, the freeholder first has to prove the charges are reasonable and due by going to the first-tier tribunal." He added: "A demand for £1,000 for collection charges seems awfully high, frankly, because a lot of debt collection agencies work on much lower charges.
“任何人面对这种费用，都应该立即提出异议。你可以在一级法庭在线提出，而且你可以对服务费的这一部分提出异议。”康威表示，服务费还可能存在其他有争议的方面，例如居民没有获得基本生活设施。
"Anyone faced with that sort of charge should immediately challenge it. You can do it online at the first-tier tribunal, and you can challenge that aspect of the service charge." Conway said there could be other disputable aspects of a service charge, for instance when residents are not receiving basic amenities.
其他居民告诉BBC，他们觉得所发生的一切等同于“霸凌手段”。他们也对这些费用提出异议，并表示自己正被进一步推入债务之中，但有些人出于恐惧已经付了钱。
Other residents have told the BBC they feel what has happened amounts to "bullying tactics". They also dispute the charges and say they are being pushed further into debt, but some have paid the money due to fear.
2019年那栋公寓楼的原始开发商——英国土地资产公司（UK Land Assets）已经进入清算程序。该公寓楼的业主现在正在对多家该公司认为与原始开发商“有关联”的公司提起诉讼，试图追回用于修复公寓问题的相关费用。
The original developer of the 2019 flat block, UK Land Assets, has gone into liquidation. The freeholder is now pursuing legal action against a number of companies it says are "associated" with the original developer, seeking to recover the cost of the remedial work.
乔治认为，在BBC此前报道一周后这些额外收费的出现，可能是为了弥补公司的法律诉讼费用。他说：“这其实只是猜测而已……但他们选择的法律途径可能成本非常高昂，因此他们正在尽快设法收回资金。他们之所以这么做，可能是因为他们知道如果这些诉讼失败也不会有什么后果。”
George believes the additional charges, sent a week after the BBC's previous coverage, could be intended to help pay for legal costs. "Kind of speculating... but the legal avenues they're pursuing are probably quite costly, so they're trying to recover funds as quickly as they can," he said. "They're trying it on. We think they know there are no repercussions if it doesn't work out for them."
与此同时，这对夫妇仍在努力解决公寓存在的问题。乔治表示：“我首先必须考虑我妻子的康复情况。显然，这是一个非常严重的情况，要在这两件事之间找到平衡点确实很困难，但我必须这么做。没有人真正明白这种事情究竟是如何发生的——那些公寓在出售时燃气管道就已经无法正常使用，这显然违反了多项相关规定。”他还提到，过去几年里公寓的服务费用几乎增加了两倍，从第一年的约1200英镑涨到了现在的3500英镑。
In the meantime, the couple continue to wash out of their bucket. George said: "I have to think first and foremost about my wife's recovery. And obviously this is a serious situation, so trying to balance the two can be challenging, but nonetheless I have to do it. "Nobody really understands how this has been able to happen. The flats were sold with gas pipes which didn't function, which violated several regulations."
“我们购买这套公寓时，一切看起来都很美好，”乔治说，“这是我们共同拥有的第一套房产。当时我们没有债务问题，也有热水供应；我们原本计划五年后卖掉这套房子，然后继续迈向下一步的置业目标。但现在看来，这个计划恐怕要推迟了。”
He added the service charge had already increased almost threefold over the past few years, from around £1,200 in the first year to £3,500. "It was all rosy when we bought the place," he said. "It was our first property together.
Admiral Court公寓楼由一个住房协会管理，该协会的居民并没有收到与乔治相同的邮件。同样，那些居住在由私人业主拥有的公寓楼中的居民也没有收到类似的邮件。负责管理这些公寓楼并收取服务费用的Warwick Estates公司表示：“他们并不参与此次决策过程。”
"We didn't have debt collectors on our back, we had hot water, we had the plan that after five years we'd sell and move up to the next step of the property ladder. "Looks like that plan is going to be delayed." One block of Admiral Court, a three-building development, is managed by a housing association, whose residents have not received the same emails as George.
“因此，我们建议您联系该房产的产权所有者以获取更详细的信息，”声明中补充道。
This is also the case for some of the people living in the two blocks that are privately owned by leaseholders.
据英国广播公司（BBC）了解，代表该房产产权所有者的 Grangeford 公司目前负责收取各种服务费用。不过，该公司尚未对 BBC 的多次采访请求作出任何回应。
Warwick Estates, which manages the blocks and usually collects the service charge, said it was "not part of the decision-making process in question here". "We would therefore refer you to the freeholder for further clarity," it added.
您可以在“Sounds”频道收听 BBC 伦敦电台的精彩节目，并在“Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk”邮箱中向我们提交您的故事创意。
The BBC understands Grangeford, which represents the freeholder, is now responsible for collecting service charges. It has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk