Service Charge Dispute letter

Fire_Fox

"Thank you for your somewhat belated response to my letter of 26 June 2008. I cannot agree that the service charges levied at xxx House are “transparent and open to scrutiny” - my letter about the fire escape has taken CKD Galbraith a record eleven months to answer. I still await a copy of the caretaker’s service contract requested repeatedly since December 2006.

The threats of “a visit from the bailiffs” (telephone 04/09/08) and a “debt collection agency” (your letter 13/05/09) would be considered intimidation by many people. I find it absolutely ludicrous, given that

• your contractors have repeatedly failed to carry out their duties to a “reasonable standard” (Landlord-Tenant Act 1985, section 19)
• CKD Galbraith has disregarded or misrepresented residents complaints
• your company has failed to answer residents letters and ignored our requests for documentation, and
• CKD Galbraith has made no attempt to demonstrate that service charges levied are either “reasonable” or “reasonably incurred” (Landlord-Tenant Act 1985, section 19)

Leaseholders have previously offered to utilise the LEASE mediation service; this offer remains on the table. We are also willing to be called to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal as per the Landlord-Tenant Act 1985 (section 27a), or for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors to appoint an arbitrator as per our long lease (section 13).

In order to bring some resolution to this dispute, I suggest you make a sensible offer of full and final settlement taking into consideration your colleagues mismanagement of my investment over the past five years."


[FONT=&quot]Is this rude enough?
[/FONT]

cattie

Sounds pretty polite to me considering.:)

Great letter, short & to the point, cuts to the chase. Hope it brings swift results.

theartfullodger

Go for it Foxy!!

These b***ards need people like you to stand up to them!

Cheers!

Lodger

penguine

Have you considered going to the LVT for appointment of a new manager on the grounds that current one is not carrying out their duties properly?

Fire_Fox

Thanks everyone. The current managing agents are a sister company of the current owners: very cosy! It's would be a pain in the rear to get other leaseholders involved as there are only fifteen flats, several are empty and most of the remainder are let (nice tenants but language barrier).

Haven't paid in two and a half years, one neighbour hasn't paid in around two years. Despite the current managing agents being pretty much sick to the back teeth of me they continue to disregard the Landlord-Tenant Act ... fine by me as my case grows stronger by the day. I'm mystified as to whether they are genuinely ignorant of the law and incapable of answering a straight question, or if they have simply underestimated my tenacity and research skills! :cool:

Currently awaiting the present caretaker being paid to take over as freeholder, so I assume the current threats are their last ditch attempt to bully me into paying. Intend to form a positive relationship with the new freeholder, pay my service charges and get the place licked into shape. I have no intention of paying my 'arrears' to the incumbents - they will have to take me to a tribunal, and when they do I will ask for a large refund to all the other overcharged leaseholders. :rotfl:

bumpoowee

cattie wrote: »

Sounds pretty polite to me considering.:)

Great letter, short & to the point, cuts to the chase. Hope it brings swift results.

I agree, good letter.

penguine

You only need one eligible tenant to approach the LVT for appointment of a manager. You then get to choose a different managing company (you don't have to do the management yourself).

Currently awaiting the present caretaker being paid to take over as freeholder, so I assume the current threats are their last ditch attempt to bully me into paying.

A bit confused by this, is the caretaker buying the freehold or taking over the management of it? Because if they're buying it the tenants should have right of first refusal.

Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered in previous posts, just wanted to make sure you weren't overlooking any of your options.

Fire_Fox

penguine wrote: »

You only need one eligible tenant to approach the LVT for appointment of a manager. You then get to choose a different managing company (you don't have to do the management yourself).

A bit confused by this, is the caretaker buying the freehold or taking over the management of it? Because if they're buying it the tenants should have right of first refusal.

Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered in previous posts, just wanted to make sure you weren't overlooking any of your options.

Don't apologise - I completely appreciate the input! If you tell me something I know I feel safer in my research, if it's new I am learning ... win, win! :T

If I have read the legal paperwork correctly, the caretaker is being paid to take over the freehold!! The current owners are not making a profit from the flats and have sold off the shops separately. The leaseholders have had offer of first refusal, but we needed to locate and contact the majority of the leaseholders within a few weeks - it just wasn't practical. I thought it would cause more problems that it solved, as I can't reasonably ask someone to take us on but refuse to pay the debts. :rolleyes:

I wasn't totally happy when I first found out the new owner was to be the caretaker, as the maintenance leaves a lot to be desired. Because I have never succeeded in extracting a service contract from the managing agents (they have hinted it doesn't exist on paper! ) I don't know whether the caretaker is or isn't doing his duties correctly ... There is also the possibility he is on the fiddle, as we were invoiced two grand for lightbulbs on one accounting year.

On the flip side, the caretaker knows the building and is on site at least once a week, which is a big step up from our managing agents in Scotland! I have had an informal chat with him and he seems keen to redecorate, replace the carpets and bring in his own cleaners. :cool: I have assured him we'd pay service charges and give him a chance to sort the place out.

Not sure how the service charge arrears are affected by the change of ownership. We previously had some managing agents see the place with a view to taking over the place, but they indicated they were not willing to take on the debt. Since it appears the new owner is being paid to take the freehold over, I assume the current managing agents will have to write off the debt ....