Contatcted out of blue by Drake Hall re peppercorn rent, any help?

Golborne

We too have had dealings with Landmark Collections/Drake Hall Ltd. Apart from demands over ground rent and who to make payment to and proof of insurance, we have also had letters stating that we breached the terms of the lease by installing a satellite dish on the side of the house. It does state in the lease that the satellite dish must be installed on the rear of the properly only. As our property is a three-storey building, sky did inform us that they would have to erect a large pole on the rear of the property with the satellite dish attached to the pole. We thought that that would look unsightly and decided to have the dish attached to the side of the house which is not visible to the main road. As we live in a small cul-de-sac it is not visible from any of the main roads in the area. The first letter in 2008 from Drake Hall Ltd asked us to remove the "offending article" or to remedy this we would have to make payment of £75 for consent and this would be for two years. We then received a letter from Drake Hall stating that all future payments should be made to Landmark Collections Ltd (same address as Drake Hall Ltd but just as hard to contact) but this time the payment from 2010 would be for £75 plus VAT making a total of £88 for the next two years.
Has anyone else had any dealings with these very dubious companies/company. It is very hard contacting them with no telephone number on the Drake Hall letterhead and a recorded message number on the Landmark Collections Ltd letterhead. There is no signature on any letters. When you ask for any receipts for any monies paid you don't receive any. We have still not received any consent documents after our first payment of £75 in 2008. They reply by e-mail and only briefly and never giving an explanation as to how they come to the figure of £75 + VAT. No figure is stated in the lease when referring to breaches.
We would be most grateful if anyone can help.

clutton_2

you need only pay what is in the lease... read a copy of it very carefully.. some of these leasehold firms add on charges which they are not entitled to..

trig567

I had additional admin charges applied to my ground rent by Landmark Collections (Drake Hall) so I contacted lease-advice(dot)org. They were very helpful with regard to explaining my legal position. I highly recommend getting in touch with them if need be.

clutton_2

i have a ground rent of £1.2s.6d per year.... my freeholder wrote asking me for £115 for late payment... i quoted the clause in the lease, sent them a cheque for £1.12p - and never got an increased invoice ever again....

but you have to read the lease....