Service Charge Arrears CCJ Claim

callinginthetroops

and i need to say again I have the money to pay fortunatly now, that is not an issue

chopper78

They are not entitled to court costs relating to the claim erroneously served against the wrong person. That is their !!!! up and so the management company are liable. Your father simply needs to submit a defence against the claim form sent to him stating he is not the title older of the property and he has no relationship with the claimant and so therefore the claimant has no legitimate claim. If they decide to pursue the real you, it needs to be an entirely new claim, and they cannot include the legal costs in the original claim, it isn't your fault they are incompetent.

G_M

moromir wrote: »

Whether its service charge, gym membership, or water bills, its no different, you have contracted yourself to make the payment. They are under no obligation to write and remind you of this, if they do, depending on the lease/ terms and conditions, they can charge you for the priviledge.

Do you not have a monthly budget? X for service charge, Y for gym membership, Z for water bill? Why were you not wondering why you had more money in your bank account each month than you should taking into consideration those expected outgoings?

......

Back to the original question - how much in added fees are we talking?

I have to agree. I check my online bank account at least weekly, and look at what's gone in/out. OK - not everyone does that. But most banks send a monthly statement and if they don't any sensible person would check monthly.

Has the service charge been paid or not? If not, why not? (and the gym, water company....)

When you have bills to pay, you make sure you pay them.

I'm not saying the Mgmt Co has acted corrctly, but certainly nor have you. And if the Mgmt Co did not chase up unpaid fees, then next years fees for those who DO pay would be much higher to make up for the shortfall. And chasing non-payers costs them money, which ALSO has to come from..... next year's service charge to everyone.

clutton_2

just pay the bill.. then they cant take anyone to court.....

tbs624

OP - as the others have said, you should have been aware that you owed this money and sorted it out properly.

Whilst it must indeed have been upsetting for your father to receive the letters , it would surely occur to most folk who have a family member sharing their full name that from time to time errors may get made. Your sister and your father must have known the letter was in fact intended for you, rather than your father, and could have protected him by writing immediately to the sender to say so and to make it clear that you did not live at that address.

However, if the solicitors have now been made fully aware that this debt has nothing to do with your father and won't back off over erroneous charges then you may want to have a look here:

Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act

S40 Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors.

1. A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract he-
   
   • harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency, or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;
   • falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it;
   • falsely represents himself to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment; or
   • utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character, or purporting to have some official character which he know it has not.
2. A person may be guilty of an offence by virtue of sub-section (1) (a) above if he concerts with others in the taking of such actions as is described in that paragraph, notwithstanding that his own course of conduct does not by itself amount to harassment.”

The max fine for this is a piddling 400 quid IIRC but the solicitor/management company may like to balance the possibility of such a cost against those fees.

Essentially , your own ostrich behaviour seems to have caused the problem in the first place ( and then been exacerbated by your sister/father not acting promptly) but once you had made it clear to the management co/their solicitor that they had made an error in laying the debt at your father's door they should back off and sort the matter in a professional manner.