any legal type of people on

[blue matt]

right, here goes my issue

I have been cleaning windows for a management company for a few years, they pay me what i want but take ages to pay, 30 days from when they receive the invoice till they look at it, then another 30 days after that till payment, i accept this, its not great, but hey ho

anyways, they asked me to clean some flats in Oxford, its a good 90 mins drive away, so i said it was too far to clean these 3 windows ( i used google street view to look at the job ), they insisted, they know i will do them when i say i will etc etc, so the 3 windows started of at 3-4 hours travel time and £30 in fuel, so i gave them my daily rate and added a little on, just to put them of, i did not hear anything about it for a while, then a contract arrived for the job

I invoice them every other clean ( so every 6 months ), which in hindsight is foolish, i will change that to every time now

so i have cleaned them in July and Oct, i sent the invoice when i got back from Holidays in Nov with a stack of other invoices for other jobs i do for them, they were all paid at the start of Jan, all except this one, So I e.mailed to ask why, they replied to me yesterday ( after I had cleaned the site again for the Jan clean )

It turns out the management company had lost the site last summer, so I have cleaned them 3 times in total after they had lost the site

Now personally i feel the old management company should pay

BUT

the payments always came out of the " residents board account " so the old management company have said i will just need to invoice the new company and they will pay as the payment will come from that account

who legally will need to pay me ? ? ? if its the old lot, i will have to tread carefully as i wouldnt want to drop the property agent in it, as it is only £ 750 and the work i do for them per year means i wouldnt want to upset them and lost all the other work

[Vindec]

It all depends on the circumstances in which the management company lost the contract. If for example the contract was sold to a third party then all existing contracts might remain valid depending on the transfer arrangements or have they ceased trading? If it was simply a case of the management company losing the contract you should refer to your contract with them. What does it say (if anything) about termination?

[blue matt]

It all depends on the circumstances in which the management company lost the contract. If for example the contract was sold to a third party then all existing contracts might remain valid depending on the transfer arrangements or have they ceased trading? If it was simply a case of the management company losing the contract you should refer to your contract with them. What does it say (if anything) about termination?

thanks

The " residents board " just went with a different company it seems

my contract ( with the old MC ) states i will be given 30 days notice to terminate my contract

I have just spoken to the new MC, they have said that they instructed the old MC to terminate all contracts within 7 days when they took over ( they of course did not notify me ) the new lot seem polite enough but £750 is a fair chunk to pay in " goodwill " to me

[Jimmy the Jock]

thanks

The " residents board " just went with a different company it seems

my contract ( with the old MC ) states i will be given 30 days notice to terminate my contract

I have just spoken to the new MC, they have said that they instructed the old MC to terminate all contracts within 7 days when they took over ( they of course did not notify me ) the new lot seem polite enough but £750 is a fair chunk to pay in " goodwill " to me

Have the new company had their own people cleaning the windows as well?

[Vindec]

You should write to the old management company making reference to the termination clause in the contract with a further copy of your invoice. As they failed to comply with the terms of their own contract by failing to inform you of their cessation of the management function they must be liable for the work done. If they fail to pay you - and you could say in your letter something like if they fail to pay within 28 days the matter will be referred to the small claims court for judgement. Such a case might not be acceptable for this procedure so you will need to do a bit of homework first. If accepted as a valid case, and should it go that far, my guess is that the management company wouldn't bother defending the case and will lose the case by default with a judgement in your favour. Do some googling on small claims court process before you write would be my advice.

[blue matt]

Have the new company had their own people cleaning the windows as well?

they said they " have a window cleaner they use " wouldnt tell me if they have done it, though i guess they must have as its been 6 months

You should write to the old management company making reference to the termination clause in the contract with a further copy of your invoice. As they failed to comply with the terms of their own contract by failing to inform you of their cessation of the management function they must be liable for the work done. If they fail to pay you - and you could say in your letter something like if they fail to pay within 28 days the matter will be referred to the small claims court for judgement. Such a case might not be acceptable for this procedure so you will need to do a bit of homework first. If accepted as a valid case, and should it go that far, my guess is that the management company wouldn't bother defending the case and will lose the case by default with a judgement in your favour. Do some googling on small claims court process before you write would be my advice.

thanks i will have a think, as i said, if i drop the person who deals with the block in it, i guess they will not be that happy giving me other work, this year i have quoted 3 more jobs for them, I will discuss it with my mrs tonight, as it will effect her aswell if i lose all that work, might just be worth taking the knock or even saying to them to pay my fuel bill for the 3 trips and hope they see it as me offering goodwill and returning the goodwill with me getting a few more jobs

[Taunton Blue Genie]

What a pane!

[Barry Dragon]

Tell them you contract is with them. They pay and if they want to get the new owners to pay them back then they can.

Though not sure that would go down well.

[Former Labour leader]

Tell them you contract is with them. They pay and if they want to get the new owners to pay them back then they can.

Though not sure that would go down well.

Not a lawyer but been involved n enough legal stuff to know that your contract is with the management company, not the owners of the flats. They have made a cock-up, not your problem. They should pay.
Realistically you should start with polite communication, and if you can get a compromise with them it may be best, but on the face of it, your case is clear cut, so consider as a last resort the small claims court.

[blue matt]

Tell them you contract is with them. They pay and if they want to get the new owners to pay them back then they can.

Though not sure that would go down well.

thats what i though

Not a lawyer but been involved n enough legal stuff to know that your contract is with the management company, not the owners of the flats. They have made a cock-up, not your problem. They should pay.
Realistically you should start with polite communication, and if you can get a compromise with them it may be best, but on the face of it, your case is clear cut, so consider as a last resort the small claims court.

i thought that would be the case

As a update, spoke to the new MC and said i would be happy to have a goodwill gesture of £ 250 of both MC's, they have said that sounds fair enough and will speak to the old MC and see what they say

even at £ 500 i am happy, so if that is the way it goes, then so be it, at least i have kept the old MC happy and shown what a all round good guy i am LOL

[Jeff Mansfield]

right, here goes my issue

I have been cleaning windows for a management company for a few years, they pay me what i want but take ages to pay, 30 days from when they receive the invoice till they look at it, then another 30 days after that till payment, i accept this, its not great, but hey ho

anyways, they asked me to clean some flats in Oxford, its a good 90 mins drive away, so i said it was too far to clean these 3 windows ( i used google street view to look at the job ), they insisted, they know i will do them when i say i will etc etc, so the 3 windows started of at 3-4 hours travel time and £30 in fuel, so i gave them my daily rate and added a little on, just to put them of, i did not hear anything about it for a while, then a contract arrived for the job

I invoice them every other clean ( so every 6 months ), which in hindsight is foolish, i will change that to every time now



so i have cleaned them in July and Oct, i sent the invoice when i got back from Holidays in Nov with a stack of other invoices for other jobs i do for them, they were all paid at the start of Jan, all except this one, So I e.mailed to ask why, they replied to me yesterday ( after I had cleaned the site again for the Jan clean )

It turns out the management company had lost the site last summer, so I have cleaned them 3 times in total after they had lost the site

Now personally i feel the old management company should pay

BUT

the payments always came out of the " residents board account " so the old management company have said i will just need to invoice the new company and they will pay as the payment will come from that account

who legally will need to pay me ? ? ? if its the old lot, i will have to tread carefully as i wouldnt want to drop the property agent in it, as it is only £ 750 and the work i do for them per year means i wouldnt want to upset them and lost all the other work

If things don't work out and you decide you want to go to Small Claims Court, I suggest you call in at the Personal Support Unit at the Courts in Havelock St, just inside the door on the right, through security. You can call and make an appointment or just turn up. They are volunteers who assist people who are going to represent themselves in court. It's a charity, a free service, but they aren't lawyers and won't give legal advice. They will help you find your way through the system, and fill in the forms, which can be difficult. I used to work there. The court system is brutal so the PSU tries to make it more humane. The forms are not free unless you qualify for legal aid, and the fees can mount up, so you should consider whether it's worth it. If you lose you may have to pay the other party's costs. Always better to settle out of court if possible.

[TH63]

Seems like an open and shut case to me