To Invoice or Not?

[justaboutsane]

We manage a number of properties, but we also have properties managed by other management companies. We send Statements and invoices to the landlords of the properties we manage detailing all costs in and out during the month.

The companies that manage our other properties, however do not. We have asked one particular agent repeatedly for invoices and are always denied. They do not justify ANY costs! They evicted a tenant 18months ago and it cost over £1000 in solicitors fees!!! We could have travlled to the court ourselves and stayed in a hotel and still saved several hundred pounds and yet they still refuse to issue Invoices to back up their deductions!

Is this common practise??

Before anyone asks, I doubt the company are registered with any agency and have been in business for sometime. They have managed this property for about 4 years but their customer service is appalling and they do not issue correct documentation... Their statements are full of holes and duplications!

So the question is... should we give and recieve invoices for property management fees and costs?

[Jonboy]

We have asked one particular agent repeatedly for invoices and are always denied.

how on earth do you do a tax return if you cannot justify expenditure!!

sounds well dodgy to me.

tell you a story,

i have a workman and he is really lazy at writing his invoices out, so much so that he gives me blank ones and tells me to write them. i always right them out for the correct amount and these are available to the landlord on request. he used to do this with a less reputable agent and one day he got a call from a very irate landlord demanding to know why he had charged him £3,500 for a new roof when not a single tile had been changed! needless to say this ended in court. turns out he had never worked on the property, the agent was using his invoices to scam clients left right and centre!

i would get a different agent if i was you! and soon!

[justaboutsane]

Many thanks for your reply Jonboy... we will be querying this in depth and we already have the ball rolling in this respect. He has consistently avoided the issue of Invoices and skirts the question! His customer services are appalling ... I have a city and guilds in CS and well... he would not even pass the basic training!

We are currently sourcing an agent in the Liverpool area and will be looking for reputable firms.... if anyone manages in this area please contact me, we have 2 properties ourselves in the L4 area and we are aware of another LL who has one with this agent too who will want to move!

[Paul_f]

I don't believe you're so timid. Sue them in the small claims court for all the money you've paid them as they can't vouch for it. You should win!

[justaboutsane]

:eek: Are you serious! We are talking thousands after the tenant was evicted we had the property renovated and we never received a single invoice, the monies were taken from rents received. We have been with this company 4 years... although they recently changed names and offices... this is scarey! :eek:

I just noticed in my first post I did not mention we get statements... although these are not always coherant as they often repeat information, or in one case NO information at all! Just figures at the bottom showing total monies in and out!

[MK Landlord]

I'm just staggered you have been accepting this for 4 years and 'losing' so much money! If an agent deducts money from my rent, whether for his fees or for costs incurred whatever, I would want to know exacly where the money went. Every penny. And if he couldn't explain/justify I'd do what Paul suggested - hasstle him for a reasonable period and then sue.

Oh - and I'd be changing my agent first!