Property companies... useless ****ers...

I moved into my flat in Aug 2007 and talked with the property company about setting up a DD to pay the usual extortionate fees per month, they take my details and I tell them to contact me if there are any issues....

Roll forward to last week, when I get a letter stating that I had not paid since August 2007 we are fining you and will take you to courrt, blah, blah blah.... only got a £20 charge, so thought there could have been a mis-communication as the original person was foreign and not too hot at speak english, so ring up and apologise for not getting in contact but that was the first letter they had set me and if you needed to get in contact why didnt you ring.... etc.

So the person on the other end of the phone told me that she would pass me on to the payment person, tried this and failed and told me that the payment person would ring me in the next day or 2 to sort it out. Rinse and repeat the following day and then Im busy for the thursday and Friday so dont think about it.

A letter drops through the letter box stating im now getting charged £70 for admin and if i dont contact them on monday asap, they will start CCJ against me.

Now what to do now? Sensible ideas?

Im getting the £70 removed and then Im telling them that they can have it in monthly payments like they should have been doing. I presume this is standard practice?

Oh..... and just to add that lets kick more salt in the wound.... they are reviewing the insurance as they dont think its enough and that if the house was destroyed they think that the current insurance will only cover 80%??? house goes down in value and their current insurance still dont cover it... I suppose they can do that as well when they please?

Put everything which has happened in writing and send it recorded to the MD. Advise him that if this isn't resolved you will take whatever action you deem appropriate and will seek to recover all costs from him.

Hand written letter.

This matters

For clarity, i take it when you refer to a 'property company' you're reffering to a letting or management agent? Not a property company as in the likes of British Land, but more an estate agency?

they own the freehold on my property... just to make it clear.

on a side note... is mr soovy going to DD?

i dont have internet banking and unfortunately rely on then to sort out anything out that is out of the ordinary so didnt notice the lack of dd....