New build estate management fees

[Jim1556]

Hi all, I own a new build property on a small estate (175 ish houses), we had to sign up with a management company (for grass cutting and general tidiness) that will get handed to the residents of the estate once finished.

I've just received an email invoice from a balancing charge of 59p (I must've missed the letter) with an additional £30 late payment fee. Is this legal? It seems massively disproportionate to the outstanding 59p?

I'm away working in Africa for another 3 weeks, so can't phone them.

Any help would be appreciated.

[CraigyMc]

Jim1556 said:

Hi all, I own a new build property on a small estate (175 ish houses), we had to sign up with a management company (for grass cutting and general tidiness) that will get handed to the residents of the estate once finished.

I've just received an email invoice from a balancing charge of 59p (I must've missed the letter) with an additional £30 late payment fee. Is this legal? It seems massively disproportionate to the outstanding 59p?

I'm away working in Africa for another 3 weeks, so can't phone them.

Any help would be appreciated.

They have phones in Africa. Unless you're a miner or something.

[Grumps.]

[Jim1556]

CraigyMc said:

They have phones in Africa. Unless you're a miner or something.

But at over £2 a minute to ring the UK, that'd be silly...

[ED209]

Email them?

[Jim1556]

ED209 said:

Email them?

I was wondering where I stood from a legal point of view, as said, £30 seems hugely disproportionate to the 59p I didn't know about until a balancing charge appeared...

[IJWS15]

it is a management company, the residents pay for everything they do including writing letters to those few residents that don't pay their bills. You have probably signed an agreement accepting these terms.

The alternate approach is for them to add it to the annual management charge to all the residents will bear the cost of chasing those few (like you) that don't pay their bills on time.

Try asking your neighbours how they feel it should be dealt with!

[vaud]

Jim1556 said:

But at over £2 a minute to ring the UK, that'd be silly...

Skype?

[C5_Steve]

Jim1556 said:

Hi all, I own a new build property on a small estate (175 ish houses), we had to sign up with a management company (for grass cutting and general tidiness) that will get handed to the residents of the estate once finished.

I've just received an email invoice from a balancing charge of 59p (I must've missed the letter) with an additional £30 late payment fee. Is this legal? It seems massively disproportionate to the outstanding 59p?

I'm away working in Africa for another 3 weeks, so can't phone them.

Any help would be appreciated.

The £30 charge isn't scalable to the 59p, it's the charge for late payment and then them having to chase. So it'd be £30 whether 59p for £59, their work is the same regardless of amount.

So, legally you owe them the charge as you didn't pay when requested and as others have said it'd be in the contract one would assume (like the fee insurers charge you to change your address once the policy is issued for example).

Why not just reply to the email, apologise and ask them to waive the fee as a one off in view of the amount owed? If it's your first offence (and given the amount) someone may take pity.

(I do agree it's a bit ridiculous)

[phumy]

Jim1556 said:

Hi all, I own a new build property on a small estate (175 ish houses), we had to sign up with a management company (for grass cutting and general tidiness) that will get handed to the residents of the estate once finished.

I've just received an email invoice from a balancing charge of 59p (I must've missed the letter) with an additional £30 late payment fee. Is this legal? It seems massively disproportionate to the outstanding 59p?

I'm away working in Africa for another 3 weeks, so can't phone them.

Any help would be appreciated.

How much did you say you earned whilst working in SA?

Come on, either argue the £30 when you get home in three weeks or suck it up.

[kestral]

If it's in a contact or agreement you have made pay it.

If not just send the 59p and then see what they do.

[normalbloke]

Just keep arguing the toss for as long as you like. At least they know you won’t be able to sell the property until it’s settled.

[98elise]

Are estate charges a common thing now?

I know somone with a new build that has to pay £50 a month to a management company. Surely open spaces and verges etc get handed over to the council who then collect council tax to maintain it.

[r3g]

Jim1556 said:

Hi all, I own a new build property on a small estate (175 ish houses), we had to sign up with a management company (for grass cutting and general tidiness) that will get handed to the residents of the estate once finished.

I've just received an email invoice from a balancing charge of 59p (I must've missed the letter) with an additional £30 late payment fee. Is this legal? It seems massively disproportionate to the outstanding 59p?

I'm away working in Africa for another 3 weeks, so can't phone them.

Any help would be appreciated.

What do the terms say in the contract you signed with the management company? Nobody else can give you an answer as they are not in possession of that info.

[barryrs]

98elise said:

Are estate charges a common thing now?

I know somone with a new build that has to pay £50 a month to a management company. Surely open spaces and verges etc get handed over to the council who then collect council tax to maintain it.

Very common.

Most LA's will charge a commuted sum to take on the liability of new build open space which can vary from a few pence per m2 to a couple of thousand for play equipment.

[C5_Steve]

98elise said:

Are estate charges a common thing now?

I know somone with a new build that has to pay £50 a month to a management company. Surely open spaces and verges etc get handed over to the council who then collect council tax to maintain it.

The development I live on would love £50 a month. One of the blocks of flats are facing £298pcm each. It's unreal.

[Drawweight]

£35 a quarter here.

1/81 of the total cost which seems reasonable to me.

[John87]

We are £8 a month after we sacked the previous management company who charged triple that. It basically covers insurance as well as lawn mower fuel and maintenance for one of the local retired residents to run over it every couple of weeks. No chance of the council adopting it as in the last few years they have stopped all maintenance of land which doesn't explicitly belong to them to cut costs.

[Jim1556]

Paid it and they dropped the charge, I asked on here as they would add another £30 charge if I didn't pay by next week.

Ludicrous practice! I would add any silly miscalculations to next years bill.

As John said, once the estate is finished we'll be sacking them and taking it on ourselves.

Thanks all for the input. Case closed...

[normalbloke]

Jim1556 said:

Paid it and they dropped the charge, I asked on here as they would add another £30 charge if I didn't pay by next week.

Ludicrous practice! I would add any silly miscalculations to next years bill.

As John said, once the estate is finished we'll be sacking them and taking it on ourselves.

Thanks all for the input. Case closed...

Best of luck herding 175 ish cats together to take over the management. We have 10 residents, and that was tricky enough!