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My company rents a unit from a commercial landlord. We have run up some arrears, which have been resolved amicably with my contact at the landlord's office, with the majority of this repaid and a payment plan agreed for the balance. I was told at the time that this would negate the need to get their debt collectors involved.
A couple of weeks later I received a "notice of outstanding arrears" from a firm of bailiffs claiming for the already repaid debt, and also claiming costs of £50 plus VAT, which is stated to include a £20 +VAT "administration charge" "in accordance with Late Payment legislation (The Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013)"
I wrote back and said that this matter had been resolved directly with the landlord prior to their claim and therefore I did not recognise their claim and would not be paying them.
Yesterday I received a further communication from the bailiffs confirming that the original debt had been resolved, but claiming their "fee" of £30 + VAT and an "administration cost" of £20 + VAT, total £60 .
Are these fees
a) legal??
and
b) enforceable??
I understood from the Citizens Advice website that there was an agreed scale of charges that bailiffs were supposed to charge, starting with £75 compliance fee
Thanks
A couple of weeks later I received a "notice of outstanding arrears" from a firm of bailiffs claiming for the already repaid debt, and also claiming costs of £50 plus VAT, which is stated to include a £20 +VAT "administration charge" "in accordance with Late Payment legislation (The Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013)"
I wrote back and said that this matter had been resolved directly with the landlord prior to their claim and therefore I did not recognise their claim and would not be paying them.
Yesterday I received a further communication from the bailiffs confirming that the original debt had been resolved, but claiming their "fee" of £30 + VAT and an "administration cost" of £20 + VAT, total £60 .
Are these fees
a) legal??
and
b) enforceable??
I understood from the Citizens Advice website that there was an agreed scale of charges that bailiffs were supposed to charge, starting with £75 compliance fee
Thanks
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