Outrageous solicitors charges for late payment

b1000

Apologies if this is the wrong forum (it's the closest one I could find)

Basically I've been late in paying the ground rent on my flat. It's £200 and was due in January. I put the cheque in the post last week. However, I've since been contacted by a solicitors (SLC in this case) demanding just shy of £600, threatening court action, with an enclosed 'arrears schedule' that they want signing (in order to 'agree' with the sum claimed). The breakdown of this schedule is as follows:

Ground Rent

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200
Admin Charge - Late Payment

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49.20
Admin Charge - Solicitors Referral - 99.60
Land Registry Charge

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12.00
Legal Costs

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185.00
VAT

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37.00
TOTAL

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584.08

Is this right? Is it legally enforceable? Anything I can do? I understand a slight extra charge for late payment and fully accept it's my own fault, but trebling the debt for a bit of paperwork, to me, is completely immoral, if not corrupt!

Any help would be much appreciated!

ValHaller

The housing forum is a better match for this problem. If you do repost, come back here and say that you have reposted.

b1000

Okay, thanks for the heads-up. Reposted in Housing forum.