Service Charge Arrears, Debt collection initiated

AmritC93

Hi Guys,

Find myself in a pickle but trying to reassure myself that things hopefully aren't as bad as they seem, I come here seeking some advice...

I've owned and lived in a new build property since 2019. Always kept up with service charge payments in the past, despite not always agreeing with some items on the budget and inefficiencies etc.

The latter part of 2023 was particularly difficult for me as I lost my job and my mortgage had nearly doubled coming off it's fixed period. These factors combined with a few others meant I was particularly financially strained and building up a lot of debt, only servicing the higher interest obligations.

My service charge bill was issued in Q4 2023 for the period Sep 2023 - Feb 2024, which I just put aside as it wasn't an essential priority at the time. I didn't communicate my situation with the buildings management (which I admit was a mistake), but it seemed service charge management was pretty lacklustre; there was a large number of properties in the development not paying/ constantly being chased up for it, so I just thought it would be fine to leave this alone until I had a plan to pay for it.

Fast forward to February 2024 and things are back on the up, I have a job on the horizon (starting next month) and I've borrowed a small sum of money from my parents to settle existing high priority debts, including this service charge bill. The problem is, the management company have instructed a debt collection company 'Property Debt Collection Ltd' to proceed with collecting the debt, who have added on a further £550 to the service charge arrears of £1800, for referral, admin and instruction fee.

I've settled the amount with the management company and been on the phone with them to explain the situation, but they've said all they will do is inform the debt collection company that they have been remunerated, albeit a month late.

Is there a next best course of action here I can take to avoid or reduce the amount due to PDC? Some people have said to just ignore it as I've settled my debts with the management company but I don't want this to snowball out of control and according to the letter from PDC I have 30 days from receiving the letter to provide some form of response before they proceed to court. Options for response are as per Pre Action protocol for Claims; asking for proof of the debt, saying I've already paid, saying I'm seeking advice etc.