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Service Charge Dispute
rodg857
Posts: 1 Newbie
I have a Service Charge dispute with the management company, KWB, that manage the services for our apartment block.
In September 2018 we received an balancing charge invoice for £185. This was not expected as we have been paying off our service charge fees in full every year. The date of the invoice was September 2018 but the period in which the charge occurred was dated "31/12/2016". Because the date of the invoice is over 18 months old, am I liable for this charge (Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985)? I had no indication within 18 months that any additional charge would be due until September 2018 when I received the invoice.
When I received the invoice I also received a service charge certificate for 2014-16. The service charge total for 2014 was £456, however when we moved into the apartment in October 2014 we paid our solicitor the service charge to cover us until the end of that year, which was £159. This is approximately a £300 difference which seems a bit odd!
Our service charge fee for 2015-16 was approx £760 each year, however the service charge certificate states £673 for 2015 and £745 for 2016.
We have had several issues with the management company in question (KWB), mostly involving the amount of money owed and they have not been very helpful and half the time they ignore mine, and our solicitor's emails.
When questioned about the additional costs all they said is that they were for "extras" but would not go into more details.
The most frustrating part is that we are due to move house soon so to avoid any delay in the process we have had to pay the amount so that they can send the LPE1 form required by our solicitor. They would not send the form until our account is clear even if there is a dispute.
They know that we have challenged them on the extra payment, would this be something I would be able to claim back retrospectively.
In September 2018 we received an balancing charge invoice for £185. This was not expected as we have been paying off our service charge fees in full every year. The date of the invoice was September 2018 but the period in which the charge occurred was dated "31/12/2016". Because the date of the invoice is over 18 months old, am I liable for this charge (Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985)? I had no indication within 18 months that any additional charge would be due until September 2018 when I received the invoice.
When I received the invoice I also received a service charge certificate for 2014-16. The service charge total for 2014 was £456, however when we moved into the apartment in October 2014 we paid our solicitor the service charge to cover us until the end of that year, which was £159. This is approximately a £300 difference which seems a bit odd!
Our service charge fee for 2015-16 was approx £760 each year, however the service charge certificate states £673 for 2015 and £745 for 2016.
We have had several issues with the management company in question (KWB), mostly involving the amount of money owed and they have not been very helpful and half the time they ignore mine, and our solicitor's emails.
When questioned about the additional costs all they said is that they were for "extras" but would not go into more details.
The most frustrating part is that we are due to move house soon so to avoid any delay in the process we have had to pay the amount so that they can send the LPE1 form required by our solicitor. They would not send the form until our account is clear even if there is a dispute.
They know that we have challenged them on the extra payment, would this be something I would be able to claim back retrospectively.
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