Hi all, I recently remortgaged my flat, all completed in November. I have share of freehold, and we pay service charge to the managing agent.
Last week I received an email from the freeholder chairman saying they had received a payment of £350 from my solicitors in November and they didn't know what it was for (the freeholder admin person at the time had left).
It turns out that when my solicitor requested the standard confirmation of my lease from the freeholder, the previous admin person had told them I had 'arrears' (no further definition) of £350 that needed to be paid. The solicitor paid it to the freeholder. The first I knew of any of this was the email I received last week from the new freeholder admin asking what it the £350 payment to them had been for.
It turns out that because I pay my service charge to the managing agent by monthly standing order, the £350 amount just happened to be showing as outstanding at the date of the solicitor's enquiry. However it was then paid as usual by the monthly standing order and in fact I ended the year in credit.
The £350 should never have been paid, let alone to the freeholder rather than the managing agent.
I've asked my solicitor how on earth they could be dishing out my funds to people who say it's owed without confirming with me first. They said it was on the completion statement and we should have queried it then. However the completion statement simply shows a line saying 'arrears' which I understandably presumed to be relating to something I'd given permission for, eg money owed to the previous mortgage that was being paid off with the new one, or to them.
Were they allowed to just make a payment from my funds to my freeholder on their say so, without checking with me first and getting my permission? Surely they should only pay for direct disbursements and my service charge payments are my responsibility?