Defend a court claim

[Gandiman]

Hi

I am going to part defend this recent case against me. Any help with submitting my defence would be really useful.

Originally Posted by Gandiman
The claimant is the landlord of the leasehold property known as(and any car park space) The Defendant is the tenant.
In default of the lease terms and despite demands for payment the Defendant has failed to pay the ground rent, insurance, administration charges, interest fees and legal costs due under the lease currently £1, 682.29. The claimant claims this sum from the Defendant.
The claimant also claims interest at the rate of 8% p.a pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 on the above sum being £32.55 to date and thereafter interest at £0.21 per day until judgment or sooner payment. Alternatively contractual interest or any interest at such rate as the court deems fit. The claimant will also claim further legal costs incurred until payment in full.

Amount claimed £1714.84
Court fee £105.00
Legal representatives cost £80.00
Total amount £1899.84



Ground rent=£250 for which i have had no reminder
Insurance = £531.30 and we pay a year in advance!
Admin fees = £264.99
Legal costs=£456

I am admitting that i owe the ground rent and insurance but defending all the additional costs. I have a trail of emails regarding issues with the company and that i would be paying the amount owed and wanted some information from them before i paid! It was never forthcoming and i have been waiting for that response before i paid up.

They have replied to my Request for documents mentioned in a statement of case under CPR 31.14
and responded saying that while you assert that CPR27(2) is not effective as the claim has not yet been allocated, in light of the complexity of the case and the amount in question it is highly likely that this matter will be allocated to the small claims track.

In any event your request has been complied with and we look forward to receiving a copy of your defence in due course.

Thanks

Martin

[Gandiman]

Re: Defend a court claim

Further, please be advised that there are no invoices for interest as the same was not sought until issue of the claim and has been done so pursuant to Section 69 of the County Courts at 1984.

[R0b]

Re: Defend a court claim

Hello,

When is the defence due?
Have they now provided the documents you require?
Have you drafted any part of your defence yet? If so, could you post up what you've done so far. I would also suggest you remove the address relating to the claim in question, this is a public forum and people may use your details.

Now if you are refuting the admin fees and the legal fees, on what grounds are you disputing this? Have you checked the lease agreement and is there any provision for them to recover legal fees in the event that court action is taken (it is common for them to do so bit would like to check)?

[Gandiman]

Re: Defend a court claim

The defence is due tomorrow! They have sent a copy of the lease but not my signed agreement! Somebody else's? I dont ever recall signing a lease agreement? We are satisfied that your request for the ground rent terms is met by providing you with a copy of the lease and the demands which are sufficiently compliant with section 166 of the common hold and leasehold reform act 2002?

[Gandiman]

Re: Defend a court claim

Recovery of payment
The landlord shall have the same remedies for the recovery of all sums which may from time to time become due to the landlord hereunder as the landlord would or might have rent in arrear

Notices
Section 196 of the law development act 1925 shall apply to all notices served under the terms of the lease

THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
A person who is not a party to this agreement has no right under the contracts (rights of third parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this agreement but this does not affect any right of remedy of any third party which exists or is available apart from the Act

The Landlords named on the lease and Morris properties and the tenant are party to this agreement? Pier management, Ground rent regis ltd and Inspired property management are not named on the lease? Does this have an impact?

My defence is that i have been in dispute about payments and have offered to pay but in instalments. I have an email saying that they would respond and agree to my request but this never happened. I have never received reminders for charges from Pier Management as they claim, but all other charges are paid via direct debit and i have never missed a payment in 7 years.

[R0b]

Re: Defend a court claim

The defence is due tomorrow! They have sent a copy of the lease but not my signed agreement! Somebody else's? I dont ever recall signing a lease agreement? We are satisfied that your request for the ground rent terms is met by providing you with a copy of the lease and the demands which are sufficiently compliant with section 166 of the common hold and leasehold reform act 2002?

So if there is no lease then they can't force you to pay anything contained within those terms. Are you saying the copy of the lease sent to you has been signed by someone else or has someone else's name on it? If you are saying you never signed a lease agreement then how come you have been paying these charges as they would have been outlined in the lease? If indeed you did not sign a lease agreement then you should put this in your defence and put the claimant to proof and provide evidence that the lease was actually signed by you, rather than attaching a blank copy.

As for the ground rent they have said sufficiently compliant with s.166 of the Common Hold and Leasehold reform Act is not enough, there are prescribed terms and if not compliant then they can't enforce the ground rent until they do. but if you have already admitted you owe that then you can't backtrack now.

It would also be helpful if you can post up a draft of your defence too if you have done one.

[Gandiman]

Re: Defend a court claim

Defence

I have been in dispute before regarding issues with the site, overcharging for insurance and removal of services and CCTV etc. I have requested information in the past and they hide behind the 3 different companies that they use. The service charges are paid via direct debit and I have never missed a payment. Inspired Property Management collect these fees and on top of all their correspondence appears the name Ground Rents (Regis) Limited.
For some reason it is Piermanagement that collect the ground rent and buildings one year in advance. I have complained in the past about not receiving reminders in relation to these charges and requested a direct debit system, but they refused! I receive all correspondence from Inspire with no issues, but Piermanagement never issued reminders on the 9^th May and 27^th May as they say in their paperwork. I would like proof that they have sent these reminders to me? Recorded delivery etc?
I attach details of the emails in relation to the issues and that mis-communication is a clear issue and could have been resolved via email if they would have responded in appropriate timescales or sent out the letters dated 9^th and 27^th May as they say.
In the main correspondence I have always included Inspired and Pier so why did Pier not issue the reminders or challenges about the buildings insurance?
The last email sent to both companies on the 4^th April and I have received nothing since!






Hi credit control

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

This email is in response to the letter dated 29th January 2016 LETTER BEFORE ACTION.

You have been requesting an additional payment of £325 for outstanding balance. As in previous correspondence I have stated that I have never missed a payment in relation to your demands. I have always paid via direct debit and these additional charges are a result of your annual adjustments and nothing to do with me refusing to pay as per your requirements. I have now adjusted the quarterly payments to you to ensure your mistakes do not happen again.

I have in the past requested information from you in relation to your service charges and unfortunately some of the information requested was not forthcoming! I did request a summary of the costs which make up the service charges and the main concern was the cost for the caretaker and landscaping of the complex. The times and hours worked by the caretaker because I have never seen him/her on site? I can assure you there is no evidence of landscaping. I also requested a revised schedule due to additional properties added in place of the washer/laundry rooms, which have been to a detriment of the site. I also spoke of concerns about the many years of no CCTV of which is also included in your charges! The main breakdown I requested was a full list of all the properties with outstanding charges and how much is owed? I will not subsidise persistent non-payees.

As stated in previous emails and requests I am willing to pay the requested charges, but am still awaiting appropriate information in relation to the running of the site.

Once i receive the requested information I will propose a payment plan for payment of the debt.







Please see issues below! Once again related to constant requests for an increase in charges, but lack of action on your part to resolve numerous on-going issues.

I look forward to your response.

Good afternoon,

Unfortunately we will not be able to assist on any issues in relation to the maintenance of the property.

I have noted the account with the issues you have raised.

Good evening,

So what exactly does your role consist of?

Regards



We charge the Ground Rent and Buildings Insurance, any maintenance disputes will need to be directed to the managing agent directly.



Kind regards,

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Hi

I am writing in response to a letter dated 21 Oct 2015.

As in previous correspondence to you I highlighted that I had never missed a payment to you since I purchased the property and that all regular direct debits have been met. I requested specific information in relation to the site, but this was never forthcoming and as a result the payment as not been made. I also requested a payment plan for the £275 outstanding, but you never provided me with one? I once refused to pay, but as the amount accumulated over a number of years through no fault of my own, then I am prepared to pay the balance, but in instalments that are affordable to me.

I would also like to highlight that the 2016 statement of anticipated service charges are £179.95 per quarter, but I have been paying £187.92 and will continue to do so to help reduce the arrears on the account.

I also have concerns about another increase in buildings insurance? £531.30
Can you advise on another increase and why competitive quotes are not being obtained to help reduce costs? I have emailed all owners in relation to this latest increase.

I would like any additional charges added to this account removed as I offered a payment plan, but you failed to respond or provide me with a reasonable response?

I look forward to you your response.

[R0b]

Re: Defend a court claim

I would suggest you remove personal information from your post, this is a public forum and you don't want that on here!

Are you able to post up the the particulars of claim or the claim form - again personal info removed?

Have they instructed solicitors to act on their behalf?

It would also be helpful to see a copy of the terms of the lease too, so I can see what they may or may not be entitled to.

[Gandiman]

Re: Defend a court claim

The claimant is the landlord of the leasehold property known as (and any car park space) The Defendant is the tenant.
In default of the lease terms and despite demands for payment the Defendant has failed to pay the ground rent, insurance, administration charges, interest fees and legal costs due under the lease currently £1, 682.29. The claimant claims this sum from the Defendant.
The claimant also claims interest at the rate of 8% p.a pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 on the above sum being £32.55 to date and thereafter interest at £0.21 per day until judgment or sooner payment. Alternatively contractual interest or any interest at such rate as the court deems fit. The claimant will also claim further legal costs incurred until payment in full.

Amount claimed £1714.84
Court fee £105.00
Legal representatives cost £80.00
Total amount £1899.84

Yes solicitors have been instructed and i responded on moneyclaim and now my defence is due