Panic, debt shock, no sign of original bills

Cashby · 20 October 2019 at 10:29AM

Ok, so no obligation to send a bill (although they had been for 13 years).
Do they also have no obligation to send a reminder because we hadn’t paid or is going straight to debt collection legally correct?

boo_star · 20 October 2019 at 10:30AM

Cashby wrote: »

Ok, so no obligation to send a bill (although they had been for 13 years).
Do they also have no obligation to send a reminder because we hadn’t paid or is going straight to debt collection legally correct?

It's sensible to deal with it in-house before going for the nuclear option but not legally required.

Willing2Learn · 20 October 2019 at 10:32AM

How much money is owed? Are you able to make an offer to the Debt Collection Agency to pay the balance due by instalments? Have you asked for a breakdown of the balance due (including any fees)? And can you get your bank statements from 2015 onward to determine exactly what years have been paid?

Cashby · 20 October 2019 at 11:06AM

On the government website & Shelter it says that a ground rent demand has to be sent. They didn’t do that every year.
I do have the demand & my bank statement for 2017 to show I paid that year.
I don’t have demands for the other years because I don’t believe they sent them.
I’m happy to pay the rent but they have sold my debt on to pdc who have added massive charges. It’s the charges I don’t think are correct.

[Deleted User] · 21 October 2019 at 10:34PM

tlc678910 wrote: »

Hi

Pperhaps CAB/ Legal advice ?

Useless advice I'm afraid. Home owners with equity do not qualify for legal aid.
CAB do not help homeowners, you are simply left to last to be seen when you are handed an income and expenses form and told not to return for at least 30 days when they will pass you you to the shoulder strugging Stepchange.

£600+ in charges handed over to PDC the worst of it was when it started the charges were £240, but £600+ was honestly a cheap at the time price to get rid when you are bring home 15-16k no agreement with my name ever produced and they do not read I&E. The worst was when I went to pay PDC it was like speaking to a debt collection centre child like cess pit that did high fives. There are no solicitors look at their wording further on "we'll hand back to our client to make the decision of court"... In the end I couldn't think who was more frustrating to deal with HML of Romford or Property Debt Collection - (they will soon be blame bouncing of each other alright with the leasehold co. happy to confirm "what do you expect of debt collectors")

When parents are gone the 'for sale' boards shall be bolted to the property (for going freehold) and I'm in the offer of a job for 19k but really can't thank any debt advice service who are totally lacking about leasehold problems. Seems if I took a zero-hours job for 8 hours per week, I'd have all the help in the world.

Ironically in the lead up HML could never get bills out on time I learnt by going through past paperwork.

;) they wouldn't allow an online account whilst a balance was outstanding although have relented now I'm paid up by saying they will allow Email statements (ooooooh)

WhenIam64 · 22 October 2019 at 6:54AM

You do not need legal aid for this one. It is a straight forward debt case which breaks into two parts.

The first is whether or not the amounts owed to the Freeholder is payable. You appear to say that some of the claim from PDCL covers a period when you did pay but haven't the information yet. The bank will have it.

The second part is the PCDL added costs. These are disputable unless they are catered for in the lease and are "reasonable".

Go and see your solicitor to get the leases check for the PCDL added costs. It will be worth the £200. If they indicate they are not "reasonable" then ask PCDL to take you to court so you can defend yourself. At the same time contact the Freeholder and ask them what they think they are owed.

It's a simple case of matching payments and checking terms. No high level legal input required - only facts and a calendar to make sure you pay on time.

Cashby · 22 October 2019 at 9:07AM

Many Thanks! Your reply has helped me calm down a great deal! And it makes the most sense.

I have written direct to my landlord. I have asked them to halt proceedings while we attempt to resolve. I have sent a cheque for the 4 out of 5 years I appear not to have paid and a bank statement that shows the year I have paid.
I have copied in the debt recovery firm.
I am off to check my lease for any costs.
I have learnt that the title deed does not have my home address on, a mistake on my conveyancing solicitors behalf from 2003 when I bought the property. So despite sending demands to my home address for many years the landlord was under no obligation to do so.
A hard life lesson!

Andyjflet · 22 October 2019 at 11:01AM

Cashby wrote: »

Just picked up a letter at my rental property from Property Debt Collection Limited. With some frightening figures on.
They have been instructed to collect my ground rent.
I have always paid this on time.
But the ground rent company, Haynes Security, have stopped writing to me at my home address so I was not aware of the debt building up.
I have the previous demands that I have paid with my home address on as the stated delivery address.
The last one for 2017.
I have several properties so I had not noticed the demands had stopped.

What recourse do I have please as they have made no attempt to contact me since 2017 at my home/delivery address?
I do not know where their letters have been going and my tenants have never passed on any letters.

It is your responsibility to pay them not them chase you, even if you moved then you knew that.

Cashby · 22 October 2019 at 1:10PM

Whilst I now know it is my responsibility to chase them I genuinely did not know before. It is apparently their responsibility to send a ground rent demand. This is what the government leasehold advisory service told me and I have read on the government website.

EssexHebridean · 22 October 2019 at 5:05PM

Check through any paperwork you had from when you bought also - a "Notice of Transfer" should have been sent to the landlord and possibly any Managing Agents - they should have had your address from this rather than from the Land Registry entries. Also bear in mind that you can have several "addresses for service" registered at the Land Reg - one of which can be an email address. It likely wouldn't have assisted in this issue but could do with anything else that arises.

Panic, debt shock, no sign of original bills

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free