The green verges of new private housing estates across the country might seem an unlikely battleground. But for homeowners at more than 70 schemes in Scotland and northern England that is what they have become.

They are engaged in an extraordinary row with Glasgow-based land management company Greenbelt. Many say they are forced to pay fees for work which is either being carried out poorly or not at all.

Paula Hoogerbrugge formed the Greenbelt action group after becoming angry at having to pay for maintenance work on open spaces in her estate in Livingston which she says was clearly not being carried out.

Like dozens of other new homeowners who have since made contact with her, she was unaware when she bought her house that there was a land management clause in the title deeds requiring her to pay Greenbelt an annual management fee to maintain the open spaces.

She, like many others, had simply assumed that the builder, in her case Bett Homes, now Gladedale, would pay a lump sum to the local authority to maintain it for life - which until recently was the traditional arrangement.

However, Greenbelt operates by taking on unwanted land such as grass verges and small woodlands from builders and has it written into the title deeds that, as it owns the land, it can charge an annual fee for managing it. Current rates range from around £40 to £250.

Mrs Hoogerbrugge said: "After months of trying to engage with the company and with the estate a mess of broken glass, builders' rubble, barren flower beds, litter-strewn woodland and knee-high grass I informed Greenbelt Group that I was cancelling my direct debit. Soon afterwards I received an invoice, which included a late payment charge."

Greenbelt's chief executive and major shareholder, Alex Middleton admitted his company was in dispute with some contractors, saying Greenbelt had been charged for work that had not been carried out.

He said the dispute with some customers has been very bitter and he said he was "disappointed" that complainers were "using the media" to make their point rather than meet in person. He described any allegations against the company as "unsubstantiated".

He said: "We are aware of some individuals who have chosen not pay, either because they can't or because they dispute the factoring arrangements.

"The irony is that we have recently sacked some of our contractors because we were not happy with their work."

After her experience, Mrs Hoogerbrugge launched a drive to find homeowners in the same position and is now in touch with more than 70 estates across the UK from Insch to Inverness and Belfast to Blantyre which are experiencing similar issues.

A survey carried out by the action group of more than 40 of these found more than half saying they had found Greenbelt difficult to deal with or had their complaints ignored.

Some allege the maintenance they pay for is "non-existent" while others suggest a pattern of contractors only turning up after long periods of persistent complaint and then disappearing for weeks. A number reported having been told by contractors that they have stopped work because Greenbelt has failed to pay them. Several contractors told The Herald that they are owed money and say there are no performance issues, but prefer not to be named.

"I had numerous contacts from elderly people who were extremely upset by the tactics employed by the company," said Mrs Hoogerbrugge. "Many reported that this was the first time in their lives that they had taken a stand and not paid a bill - and all were quite distressed by this.

"Another major complaint was the amount of time people were having to take out of family life to address problems - many told us they moved to a new estate so they could live in a clean, safe, hassle-free environment - thanks to Greenbelt Group they were experiencing the opposite."

Norman Watson is one such person. He said that the problems with Greenbelt began when he moved in to his house in Insch in Aberdeenshire almost four years ago and continue today.

"They don't come when they should and the standards of maintenance are well below what they should be. I have asked Greenbelt for a proper contract, I have asked them for a proper schedule for the work to be carried out and I have asked them to provide some feedback from the inspections they allegedly carry out, although I have not seen an inspector for at least six months. On all these issues they have knocked me back.

"This has marred my experience of living here. Once I discovered what Greenbelt was like, we set up a residents' association and I agreed to chair it, and it has been a year of constant slog against Greenbelt. It is hugely frustrating."

Mr Watson will hand in a dossier to Grampian Police later this week asking them to investigate Greenbelt's activities.

The dossier details his experiences and others in his area as well as details of parliamentary debates and media reports. Similar dossiers will be handed to Strathclyde Police, Lothian and Borders Police, Northern Constabulary and Central Scotland Police.

Ms Hoogerbrugge said that a voluntary undertaking given last year by Greenbelt to Fergus Ewing, the Minister for Community Safety, to address the concerns had failed.

Ms Hoogerbrugge explained that removing Greenbelt, no mater how poor their service, is extremely complex because the developers have transferred, or are transferring the land to it. That would mean residents having to put a factor on land owned by Greenbelt.

Mike Marriot of Menstrie recently sent a petition to Greenbelt signed by 251 of the 300 residents on his estate who want to sack the firm. "Greenbelt simply said they don't recognise this and they will carry on maintaining the land and are demanding payment. This spoils the enjoyment of our own homes," he said.

Ms Hoogerbrugge is hopeful that there will be positive developments as a result of an all-party working group at Westminster which is looking at the issues surrounding Greenbelt Group and other land maintenance companies. Her hope is that the Scottish Government will now step in "to protect homeowners locked into these monopoly contracts from further abuse and exploitation."

She said: "Then we hope there will be fundamental changes made to government policy and also to legislation in Scotland to prevent this happening again."

Company looks after 750 sites Greenbelt claims to be the only UK-wide company which owns and manages greenbelt land formed as part of new housing developments.

It says it maintains more than 750 locations across the country and its team of landscape professionals are experienced in managing environmental, horticultural, forestry, wildlife, drainage, play and leisure facilities.

In 1992 public bodies including Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Enterprise Network and Strathclyde Regional Council jointly formed The Strathclyde Greenbelt Company Ltd to own land, create income streams and undertake land management.

In 1999, it reorganised as a standalone private company to form The Greenbelt Group of Companies Ltd. There has been no public sector interest since 2004.

Its chairman is Tony Burton, OBE, of Glasgow, who is a director of 14 other companies including Which? Ltd, the consumer organisation.

The managing director is Alex Middleton, of Glasgow, who is a director of a further 10 companies including MG Contracting, which is the landscaping division of Greenbelt.