Anyone had dealings with Ladybrook Securities / Ashby Breweries claiming ground rent?

guppy

Haven't had this problem, but any such charge should usually come up in the searches when you buy the property.

Also have a look here:

http://www.gos.gov.uk/gonw/PeopleSustainableCommunities/Housing/Rentcharges/

"The Rentcharges Act 1977 provides a cheap route for rentcharge payers to free themselves of the annual rentcharge through a lump sum payment."

Just ignore the late payment charge, even in the unlikely event its specified in your deeds etc., its a penalty charge and is likely illegal under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Same principle as bank charges.

Mr_Flibble199

I have had exactly the same experience with Ladybrook.

The first letter I received was a demand for late charges and they were also demanding £8.40 for the rent charge which should have been £3.25. I wrote back pointing this fact out and they replied asking for the correct amount of £3.25 and did not mention the late charges again. The correct amount should be in the original documents for your house.

As for Ladybrook I have logged a complaint with the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) regarding what I would see as unscrupulous practices and would encourage anyone who they try this same scam with to do the same.

wonderwilky

we had a letter from our mortgage company saying they had received a lettr from ladybrook stating we had not paid our ground rent and they give us 14 days to pay £2 plus £60 admin charges ,the daft thing about it is we didnt get the letter for 16 days ,after consulting a solicitor we paid the full amount ,the solicitor saying legaly they are in there rights but morally this is one of the worst cases of extorting money from people he had ever seen ,i am now aiming to see my m.p and contacting a newspaper to try and stop these companies from using loop holes in the law ..these laws need changing

BikerGeoff

I keep getting thetening letters from them asking for ground rent for I property I have not owned for ages. I sent them a letter in 2006 informing them of this but it seems it was just a wast of time. I will keep letting them wast 50p sending these threts why should I pay for their incompetence.

Janestockport

we purchased our house last march but an owner for rent charges could not be found. the seller had lived in the house for over 50 years. Soon after we started to receive demands from Ladybrook Securities. Thei correspondence looked very suspicious. No telephone or email contact details, no remittence advice or ways to pay.
I have contacted my solicitor now and also am trying to get Southampton Trading Standards to investigate. I will certainly report as per the suggestion above. I have also written to BBC Watchdog to ask if they could investigate. Southampton Citizens Advice didnt know anything but advised to contact lease advice org.

Richard_Webster

I have contacted my solicitor now and also am trying to get Southampton Trading Standards to investigate. I will certainly report as per the suggestion above. I have also written to BBC Watchdog to ask if they could investigate. Southampton Citizens Advice didnt know anything but advised to contact lease advice org.

Registered office of the company is in New Forest so you have the wrong Council unless the property is in Southampton.

propertyman

Janestockport please don't waste your time. if it is a rentcharge and not a ground rent

You simply
a: check at HMLR to see if the rentcharge has been changed to ladybrook

b: reply to them that if a is unchanged you want written confirmation from their solicitor that they are now the rentcharge owner

scam_hunter.

this company is active again adding charges, anyone who is experiencing difficulty's with them please post your comments on here too assist us. :T

no_fool.

I wondered if you know this company is a terraced house and there are five company's listed there.

Bgruncorn

Just before going on holiday, i received a letter from Ladybrook Securities, requesting unpaid ground rent for three years at £15 per year, with charges etc, the requested amount was approx £450.
When i got back from holiday, there are 2 claim forms from the county court business centre. They have the same claim No, so assume only one will require payment. The amount claimed is £130.00.
This I am prepared to pay to clear the arears. The problem being, I have no telephone no. for Ladybrook Securities, I have an address but no cheque book. Not sure what to do, only a couple of days to sort it out.Claim is dates 14th Aug 2014, have 14 days from date.
The company that used to claim the ground rent was a solicitors office, not sure how Ladybrook came to hold it but had no letters from solicitors in a few years.