Reclaim Service Charges?

tochun

Hi,

I have incurred legal charges for a late service charge to the managing agents for my property. I wonder whether people have an opinion on a) whether I would be able to make a claim and b) who I would claim against (the managing agents or the solicitors they have instructed).

Sequence of events as they happened:

First invoice received from the management agents for sum of £360. I was busy at the time and so did not respond immediately.

Second invoice received. I replied to this but due to an oversight, I forgot to sign and date the cheque.

A first letter from solicitor acting on behalf of managing agents informing me my cheque was unsigned and undated and charging me an extra £50.

I appealed for leniency explaining an oversight.

A second letter received from solicitor acting on behalf of managing agents informing me there is nothing they are able to do and charging me an extra £90 (this is in addition to the initial charge of £50.

Had I known that there would be an second additional charge of £90 (I did not dispute that I was wrong, just leniency since I was not provided with a chance to rectify my initial error), I would not have bothered replying to the solicitor's first email and simply bore the cost as an expensive lesson. I feel really aggrieved that my appeal for leniency has cost me an additional £90 and wonder whether I can claim it back since I was only making representation.

I see this similar to when people are provided with parking tickets but have the opportunity for representation. I am aware that my lease contains provisions for legal charges to be paid if these are incurred by the managing agent to obtain service charges. However, it does seem unfair when I am only making representation.

Unlike a bank claim, actual charges have been incurred where the charges made by a bank are not reflective of what they charge (which is the basis for the reclaim of bank charges). However, it does seem excessive.

I have since repaid the charge in full (both service and legal) to prevent further charges being incurred.

Does anyone have an opinion on my options to reclaim the second set of legal charges (£90)? I am not happy but accept my initial error for the unsigned and undated cheque and thus am happy not to dispute the first set of legal charges (£50).

Thanks in advance.

Tozer

I would dispute the legal fees on the basis that if the matter had proceeded to court, it would have been dealt with by the small claims court. However, almost certainly the lease will contain a provision whereby you must indemnify the agents for costs of enforcement. If this is the case then I do not think there is much you can do other than to argue that the charge is excessive.