Problem with Property Management demand for payment

glottalstop

Who is the dreadful management company - I can guess because you would not be the first to receive this kind of treatment - it would explain why this has happened and how we might advise you should respond.

First of all - the expensive external works should have been conducted under S20 procedures, you should have been notified and at least been given the opportunity to plan financially for it. If not they have acted illegally.

Secondly - it is a good step to put in writing to the property manager at the first opportunity your concerns, and state that you dispute the fees but are willing to pay all reasonable charges. Where you can do so, you should always pay the charges where they have been legally demanded. Very often a property manager is internally disconnected from the accounts system which automatically starts firing nasty fees and demands at you. They may respond with a promise to put things right, if not follow their own complaints procedure and escalate after three weeks. If they ignore you, you are entitled to point out that it is unreasonable to add fees to charges which are in dispute, and that it is against the law to harrass you still adding them or by ignoring your attempts to resolve the matter. Keep a record of all correspondence. Raise it with the industry body (ARMA ?) if your complaints are not dealt with fairly or in the specified timeframe.

Thirdly - write directly to the debt company and any solicitor who has been set upon you, stating that it is a matter in dispute with the property manager, that they are not entitled to raise third party charges and that unless they desist you will also consider them to be harrassing you. The debt collector may blank you, but it should be enough to stop a solicitor from mis-conduct. (In my case this did not stop them trying to recover fees from my mortgage company - who I had to ring straight away to demonstrate that I was not becoming a bad risk - fortunately it was confirmed they had no right to try and apply third party fees).

In the end I got my unfair fees dismissed, but it sounds like you have got much more to complain about. If works or costs are being mis-managed you might indeed need to pursue this with the LVT. Have a look at LEASE (www.lease-advice.org) which is the government body to explain your options and will guide you how to proceed before you get expensive solicitors involved.

Jenniefour

Not sure if OP is saying that they dispute the charges and works have been carried out in a manner that is not in accordance with proper procedures, I read it as a lack of available funds on OP's part at the time the invoices were received.

arunadasi

Jenniefour wrote: »

Not sure if OP is saying that they dispute the charges and works have been carried out in a manner that is not in accordance with proper procedures, I read it as a lack of available funds on OP's part at the time the invoices were received.

Sorry, I missed the last couple of posts. This is right; I just did not have the funds in June, and of course I should have corresponded with them at the time, to ask for a few months respite.

Anyway, here is an update.
I wrote to the Property Management company and sent them a cheque for the correct amount, minus charges for Debt Management, explaining the situation. I didn't here back from them for a while, nor was the cheque cashed. Then I got another letter from debt management, quite threatening, saying that they were contacting my mortgage company yada yada yada. I just didn't feel like fighting so I said I was willing to pay the entire amount, including their fee, but I wanted first to have the cheque I'd sent returned to me.

Heard nothing, so I called Property Managenment, ready at last to discuss the matter. (I have a bit of a telephone phobia, so that was a big step!) To my surprise they said they had cashed the cheque and it would do off my account in a few days.

Today I got letters from Property Management AND Debt Management; the latter says the matter has been laid to rest, the former explained something about a mix-up in-house, and that they are paying the Debt Management charges.

Wheee! Santa came early!
Thanks to all who chipped in.