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b1000
Posts: 8 Forumite
Basically I've been late in paying the ground rent on my flat. It's £200 and was due in January. I put the cheque in the post last week. However, I've since been contacted by a solicitors (SLC in this case) demanding just shy of £600, threatening court action, with an enclosed 'arrears schedule' that they want signing (in order to 'agree' with the sum claimed). The breakdown of this schedule is as follows:
Ground Rent
200
Admin Charge - Late Payment
49.20
Admin Charge - Solicitors Referral - 99.60
Land Registry Charge
12.00
Legal Costs
185.00
VAT
37.00
TOTAL
584.08
Is this right? Is it legally enforceable? Anything I can do? I understand a slight extra charge for late payment and fully accept it's my own fault, but trebling the debt for a bit of paperwork, to me, is completely immoral, if not corrupt!
Any help would be much appreciated!
Ground Rent
200
Admin Charge - Late Payment
49.20
Admin Charge - Solicitors Referral - 99.60
Land Registry Charge
12.00
Legal Costs
185.00
VAT
37.00
TOTAL
584.08
Is this right? Is it legally enforceable? Anything I can do? I understand a slight extra charge for late payment and fully accept it's my own fault, but trebling the debt for a bit of paperwork, to me, is completely immoral, if not corrupt!
Any help would be much appreciated!
0
Comments
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Have you had any correspondence since the original demand warning that it may go to solicitors? As I see it, they are out of order in that they are not seeking to mitigate the costs - I doubt a court would uphold anything after the first admin fee. And I am puzzled by the Land Registry fee.You might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'0
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Never ignore a bill - pay it challenge it or discuss it.
The answer is whether your lease allows these charge to be recoverable.
Pull out your lease and look for any reference to legal costs, as short of a court award the only way to recover a cost if your leases allows them to.
A decision here points out most of the issues
http://www.lease-advice.org/decisions/8587pdf/7001-8000/7635.pdfStop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
Have you had any correspondence since the original demand warning that it may go to solicitors? As I see it, they are out of order in that they are not seeking to mitigate the costs - I doubt a court would uphold anything after the first admin fee. And I am puzzled by the Land Registry fee.
The latter is a restriction on the title preventing a sale or re financing.
Why is it out of order?
-they have a lease that says GR is paid at set amount every year whether demanded or not.
-that there are protections means that they must now bill AND send a notice setting out the amount and by when it should be paid.
so how could someone not be clear about what was due and when?
These charges are outrageous and prey on the foolhardy who must realise they are dealing with very hard nosed landlords. But they are not clampers, there is set amount due on a set date each year. Pay it and there is really "no problem".
Any one reading with ground rent to pay, go open a savings account and put a monthly amount in or buy and ISA or similar if it is due in March April or JuneStop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
I did not say 'it', I said 'they'. They have jumped to law and to fee escalation too quickly. Yes, money is due, but the approach to recovery is unduly precipitate.propertyman wrote: »
Why is it out of order?You might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'0 -
I did not say 'it', I said 'they'. They have jumped to law and to fee escalation too quickly. Yes, money is due, but the approach to recovery is unduly precipitate.
It or they, the same applies, why is the legal action ( it) that they have taken out of order?
There is a multi year contract that says pay a fixed x on a fixed y date, they have a bill and a notice with clear payment dates. In many respects then the bill IS a reminder.
Why ( financial or mitigating circumstances aside) is a lessee then not out of order ignoring their obligation?
The point I am making is simple one. A lot of people looking for help in these cases are those that created the issue in the first place by assuming or ignoring, and not acting asking or reacting. I have and do help as the other thread shows but the most important advice or help that I can giove is in #3Stop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
No one, least of all me is saying that the OP is not out of order.propertyman wrote: »Why ( financial or mitigating circumstances aside) is a lessee then not out of order ignoring their obligation?
But that does not justify draconian and punitive additions to the bill. AFAICS, the items claimed - given that the payment is about 1 month overdue, do not comply with CPRYou might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'0 -
As mentioned in the original post, I'll be the first to admit it's my own fault for forgetting to get it paid on time. I just think those charges are pretty !!!!ing disgusting and it depresses me to think we have to live in a world where people can do things like that! 0
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I had a similar situation last year, where I was two weeks late paying 3 lots of ground rent. I had tried to pay it online, but the online system wouldn't work, then I forgot, and so sent them a cheque a few weeks late. This was after they sent me a reminder with admin fees that were 50% of the ground rent. I laughed, and sent a cheque for the original amount, minus the admin fees. The cheque was duely returned with a letter stating that it wasn't acceptable as I owed the extra admin fees. I sent the cheque back telling them to take a running jump. Anyhow...
To cut a long story short that cheque went backwards and forwards for 3 months, then went to their solicitors and came back to me again but now the charges had escalated from about £400 to £1500 with solicitors fees. How I laughed (again). Cue one extremely stroppy letter from me to the solicitors, plus one from my own conveyancing solicitor, a 3 month silence from the ground rent people and their solicitors, then a sudden letter from them saying that they would accept the cheque and drop the charges.
So if you are prepared to stand your ground and have a battle, you can win. My ground rent company are notorious for being swines, which was partly why I was determined not to pay their ridiculous charges.
Needless to say this year I was very careful to pay my ground rent charges early.
And yes I know, it was partly my own fault for being forgetful. Please don't throw things at me.0 -
No one, least of all me is saying that the OP is not out of order.
But that does not justify draconian and punitive additions to the bill. AFAICS, the items claimed - given that the payment is about 1 month overdue, do not comply with CPR
Well the likelihood is that it does as long as the LBA is sent- I have every reason to believe that the firms involved have this down to a fine art. They aren't caught out by a schoolboy error of non compliance. :rotfl:
Besides as to one month overdue, put it into context that you can have up to 999 years notice that it is going to be due!Stop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
The most it can be overdue is 8 weeks. I doubt they have advised the OP of the likely future costs, given the what we have been told. This looks like a grubby try on. My bet is that nothing has been registered with the Land Registry as of the date of the letter - might be worth OP checking that point - in which case the £12 is not due nor any of the legals to spend that £12.propertyman wrote: »Well the likelihood is that it does as long as the LBA is sent- I have every reason to believe that the firms involved have this down to a fine art. They aren't caught out by a schoolboy error of non compliance. :rotfl:You might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'0
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