HELP!!! Lease Extension - Surveyors overcharged - COVID EXCUSE

LucindaPerry

Hoping I can get some advice regarding the overcharged fees from the landlords surveyors for my lease extension. 

To summarise:
The Freeholders surveyors charged the freeholders, for a full survey (£650), which I paid for as the leaseholder. Any reference of the survey being carried out by the surveyors confirmed that a desktop survey (£400) was carried out (due to Covid-19) and therefore, the price is incorrect and I have been charged for a service that I did not receive and want to be reimbursed.

The detailed story: 
I filed for my lease extension in February, and was instructed by my solicitor to pay the upfront fees for the freeholders solicitors and surveyors, this was fine. A couple of months later, I received my counter offer from the freeholders. I was surprised that a counter offer had been sent as the freeholders surveyors had not come round to inspect/value the property. I questioned this to my solicitor, who informed me that this is because a desktop survey was carried out. When I was looking for my own surveyor for the lease extension, I know that the prices of a desktop survey are much lower than a full survey. My partner emailed the freeholders surveyors asking for a quote for a desktop and full survey and found out that they charge £400 desktop and £650 full survey. 

I queried the costs with my solicitor and said that I was not happy to pay for a full survey when I only received a desktop survey (the invoice that followed weeks later stated a desktop survey was carried out but states the price of £650). After raising numerous queries with the landlord’s solicitor regarding the overcharged fees of £250, I was forwarded an email response from the surveyors:
At no point did I advise anyone of a Desktop price. The valuation was completed during the height of theCovid19 lockdown during a period when access was not available or possible. I know the flats having inspected many others and with this flat only having sold in 2017 details were available. I can see no justification for a reduced fee as I have undertaken the work on behalf of our mutual client following receipt of the leaseholder S42 Notice of Claim.’ 

I sought advice from the leasehold advisory service, who said I should continue with the lease extension, as the 6 month deadline was approaching, then continue to query the fees. Following the surveyors formal complaints procedure, I sent an email detailing the overcharged fees, providing evidence (invoice, emails etc) and requesting a £250 reimbursement. I then received the following response: 
You are not and have never been my client and as such I am under no obligation to deal with your e-mails, letters etc.  If you have an issue I suggest you revert back to your own surveyor or your solicitor who acted. This has nothing whatsoever to do with me.  I acted for _____, for whom I have acted on a number of previous lease extensions.

I have referred the email back to my solicitor, who has informed me:
Unfortunately this is an area that I do not specialise in, therefore will not be able to deal with this for you.

I am at such a loss. The evidence is there in black and white that I have been overcharged, yet I feel like my case is not being taken into consideration by anyone! It's the principle of being overcharged 'just because' and lack of respect on their emails that gets me. Every little helps!    

ANY ADVICE WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! 

• I do not want to escalate the case to a first tier tribunal as the legal fees will cost more than what I want to claim back (£250). 
• I have contacted the leasehold advisory service again. 
• I have also contacted RICS. 
• I have drafted up a letter detailing the situation to my freeholders but am not sure if they will be of much help, as it's no money out of their pocket and they probably want to keep a positive relationship with their surveyors. 

eddddy

It sounds like your solicitor hasn't given you the best advice, which might make claiming the £250 back more difficult.  (Perhaps because you used a solicitor who admits they don't specialise in this area)


You are not required to pay the valuation fee in advance. And it sounds like you paid it without any objection. In general, tribunals expect you 'pay under protest' if a fee is unreasonable - rather than deciding months later that the fee is unreasonable.

(If you were misled about the type of valuation when you were asked to pay the fee, maybe that strengthens your case a bit. But if they just said something like "The valuation will cost £650" and you paid it without any protest, that weakens your case.)


It sounds like your situation is roughly as follows...

• The law requires you to pay your freeholder's reasonable legal and valuation fees
• You don't think the valuation fee is reasonable.
• Unless you can persuade the freeholder to reduce the fee, the only route to challenge it is at a tribunal
• Your case would be against the freeholder, not the valuer/surveyor
• The tribunal will rule on whether the fee is reasonable
• But, as I say above - the fact that you didn't say the fee was unreasonable before paying it has probably weakened your case.

The tribunal application fee is £100, and you shouldn't need to pay any other fees. If you win, the tribunal can order the freeholder to repay you the £100.

You could inform the freeholder that you intend to challenge them at tribunal over the £250 (plus £100 fee). They might then put pressure on their valuer to reduce their fee.

But valuers I've worked with know the law inside out, and they probably know that you have a weak case (because you paid without objection), so they might stand firm.

LucindaPerry

eddddy said:

It sounds like your solicitor hasn't given you the best advice, which might make claiming the £250 back more difficult.  (Perhaps because you used a solicitor who admits they don't specialise in this area)


You are not required to pay the valuation fee in advance. And it sounds like you paid it without any objection. In general, tribunals expect you 'pay under protest' if a fee is unreasonable - rather than deciding months later that the fee is unreasonable.

(If you were misled about the type of valuation when you were asked to pay the fee, maybe that strengthens your case a bit. But if they just said something like "The valuation will cost £650" and you paid it without any protest, that weakens your case.)


It sounds like your situation is roughly as follows...

• The law requires you to pay your freeholder's reasonable legal and valuation fees
• You don't think the valuation fee is reasonable.
• Unless you can persuade the freeholder to reduce the fee, the only route to challenge it is at a tribunal
• Your case would be against the freeholder, not the valuer/surveyor
• The tribunal will rule on whether the fee is reasonable
• But, as I say above - the fact that you didn't say the fee was unreasonable before paying it has probably weakened your case.

The tribunal application fee is £100, and you shouldn't need to pay any other fees. If you win, the tribunal can order the freeholder to repay you the £100.

You could inform the freeholder that you intend to challenge them at tribunal over the £250 (plus £100 fee). They might then put pressure on their valuer to reduce their fee.

But valuers I've worked with know the law inside out, and they probably know that you have a weak case (because you paid without objection), so they might stand firm.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and respond. I paid the initial fee in advanced following instructions from my solicitor, as I understood that the surveyors were going to carry out a full survey on my property so £650 seemed reasonable. The surveyors then did not carry out a full survey and instead, carried out a desktop survey (using Covid-19 as their justification). 

The reason my lease extension had taken so long to go through was because I was querying the surveyors costs, I sought advice from the leasehold advisory service, who said that I should complete my lease extension within the 6 month time frame and can continue to query the costs after completion.

I am at a loss with what to do next to challenge this - do you suggest I approach my freeholder and request they ask the surveyor for a reimbursement? I am concerned that as this will incur work on their part (and won't gain anything themselves), they won't bother. 

eddddy

LucindaPerry said:
I paid the initial fee in advanced following instructions from my solicitor, 

As I said, your solicitor shouldn't have instructed you to do that - the law doesn't require you to do that. 

(The law only allows the freeholder to ask for a deposit of 10% of your quoted premium, which is very different.)

LucindaPerry said:
 I understood that the surveyors were going to carry out a full survey on my property so £650 seemed reasonable. The surveyors then did not carry out a full survey and instead, carried out a desktop survey (using Covid-19 as their justification). 

Did somebody actually say to you that the £650 was for inspection of your flat and valuation? (If so who?)
Or did they say that the £650 was for a valuation?

LucindaPerry said:
I am at a loss with what to do next to challenge this - do you suggest I approach my freeholder and request they ask the surveyor for a reimbursement? I am concerned that as this will incur work on their part (and won't gain anything themselves), they won't bother. 

Not quite. You approach the freeholder and tell the freeholder that the freeholder has charged you an unreasonable amount for the valuation.  And you intend to challenge the fee at a tribunal, unless the freeholder refunds you.

(In the 2nd email you quote, the surveyor makes it clear that the freeholder is the surveyor's client - so the surveyor isn't really anything to do with you.)

eddddy

Just to summarise...

It's a bit of a mess (possibly because you used an inexperienced solicitor, who advised you badly). Perhaps your only real option is to...

• Tell your freeholder that you're taking them to tribunal, because the valuation fee they charged you is unreasonable
• Pay £100 tribunal fee, and submit your case to the tribunal

The tribunal will need to decide 2 things...

• Whether your tribunal claim is allowed (because of the way in which you agreed to pay the £650)
• If they decide your claim is allowed, they will then decide whether £650 is a reasonable fee for a valuation

TBH, I'm not sure that a tribunal would rule in your favour on this.