Anthony

I have some sympathy with you although if SGIK are your freeholder, I am slightly perplexed by your comment that you have not heard of them.

The key is to get them off yr back asap-whether that is by paying the £2k or having the CCJ set aside, only the CAB/a specialist solicitor can advise you.

Rgds
Adam-1969adam@googlemail.com

Hi Everyone, my group of flats are also trying to change management from "charge what you like, Sinclair Gardens " I have opened a Facebook account , titled "Proplamatic Property Managements Companies" if you find us on facebook please join our group and let us know your experinces and ideas.
I wont list what we have found wrong with them here, as it would take too long.
Thanks!

I echo the sentiments on here that RTM is good, a relatively inexpensive (initially) process and a good way to stop SGIK billing you twice a year for nothing!

Also regarding Chevaliers costs, I would advise waiting for them to take you to LVT before even thinking of paying them. Anyone who never answers the phone, ever, has to be a grade A swindler! He will write to you siting precedent of winning LVT's  but he doesn't win them all..... He's isn't that flipping clever or cunning and he can't even spellcheck his correspondence,  He's just a thief.

If you're a leaseholder you probably should extend your lease or enfranchise the freehold.  Fact.  If your lease is approaching 80 years, act now, you save on 'marriage value'.  Get a survey done by a local MRICS surveyor who is an expert at freehold valuations.  Shouldn't cost more than £500 total.  Then you'll have an idea of the cost, it varies from one area to the next don't get a 'desktop valuation' waste of money.

If in January you get a massive bill from SGIK/Hursts:
1.  Write to them politely, stating that the works they intend t carry out are over £250 and therefore attract section 21 notice, and that you would like to get your own quotes for work.  Stall them asking for 12 months to ascertain the necessity of the works and to get your own  quotes, ( I did this)  keep questioning them and taking a week or so to write back.  Thus avoiding their '21 days to pay or else' B.S.  In that time, get Canonbury or  http://www.leaseholddoctors.co.uk/index.html to get you Right to Manage, then start to plan, budget and talk to your neighbours about getting the Freehold!  If you are one of many flats this can be very inexpensive! If you one of few flats it's quite pricey, but the advantage is, with a few quid and some neighbourly goodwill you can maintain your own flats under your RTM company. 

Whatever you do, dont be intimidated, dont panic and dont worry! 

I don't work in property or law and am not an authority on this, but just someone who was fed up of being fleeced by these scoundrels.  It's not a particularly complex or difficult problem, SGIK are robbing you, and though it might cost you, you can stop them.

PM me if your Sinclair lease came into effect before Jan 15th, 1989.

Paid insurance money for the quarter last month. Not an email address or contact number in sight to make a claim. My flat was broken into last week through a doubler glazed window, so much for security of premises! We need to look at alternate management options as a large group.

Hi,

Really glad this has kicked off again on here!   
The main thing to remember with SGIK is to stay calm. 
They are chancers and use intimidation to steal from people, but they are easily stopped. 
For example their debt collection charge, pay them the money you actually owe them, and write an accompanying letter saying that you'll happily see them at a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal if they pursue the rest of the money and instigate a hearing otherwise you consider the matter closed.  End of story.

Regarding what can be done about SGIK?  Well, I am not sure, really.  As someone who has contacted: trading standards, the law society, my MP and the police about SGIK and their solicitor, Chevalier to no real avail.  I would advise simply to look at enfranchising your freehold.  Do not use Leasehold Doctors, they are not equipped to deal with a hostile freeholder such as SGIK.  You must use a decent solicitor and one who has specific experience of dealing with SGIK/Chevalier which is CRUCIAL. 

When I first moved into my flat, the mysterious correspondence in the awful script font used to send a shiver down my spine with their threats about debt collectors before I had the chance to run one up! It was always a total lottery about the service charges!  But... turn over the statement... you'll see they have been forced to print albeit faintly their obligation to consult you about costs over £250. 

They really should be shut down.  I have several examples of blatantly fraudulent attempts to extract money from me.  In the three years before RTM I paid them several grand in service charges and insurance premiums when they never once set foot on the property.  I would challenge their costs, and apparently every year they inspected the property for asbestos!! Without ever visiting it. 

I am in the final throes of enfranchising our freehold. Once complete I am going to put up a simple web page/blog of how we challenged service charges, won RTM and ultimately RTE'd.  And as long as have a passion for it, I'll provide a contact email so I can give advice and solace for anyone being robbed by SGIK or dear old Paul Chevalier. 

First time I came on here I was clutching a bill for £2000 to paint the outside of a semi converted into 2 flats that was half the total bill and due within 21 days. Totally unnecessary work. I was in a panic and so stressed I had been physically sick. 

Stay calm, be rational, keep in communication with them.  Use the advisory services, write to your MP, RTM, RTE!! 

Are other people still having trouble with this company? I know I am! I have sought assistance by application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal, and am hopeful of succeeding..... I would appreciate hearing experiences from others who have challenged apparently unreasonable service charges rendered by this company, and managed by Hurst Managements.

Hi guys

Sorry for digging this old post up. I just bought a flat (being a first-time buyer) and then received 2 bills from Sinclair Gardens Investments Ltd (the 2nd letter from Hurst Managements) demanding payment. There was no introductory letter or any description about the lease change over. I am quite new to this, I heard about ground rent, but I've also been charged "Excess service charge" & Administrative service charge? Is this for late payment?

How do I go about this?