If you have any questions about your service
charges or don’t agree with any part of your charges, write to:
Right To Buy and Leasehold Services
Ascham Homes
Willow House
869 Forest Road
Walthamstow
London
E17 4UH
Or e-mail RTB.Lease@aschamhomes.org.uk
The Leasehold Finance Officer responsible for
your area will deal with your enquiry.
If you have any questions about the services
or repairs that have been or may be carried out to your block or
estate, contact Customer Services at Ascham Direct on 020 8496
4197. Your can also visit us at the following office:
Willow House, 869 Forest Road, Walthamstow,
London E17 3JU
After you have contacted us, if you still
think that part of your service charge is unreasonable, you can
either make an official complaint or ask us to refer the matter to
mediation with the independent Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE).
This means that someone who is entirely independent will be asked
to look into our reasons for charging you, and your reasons for
disagreeing with the charge. They will then decide who is
right, or suggest a compromise. You may be asked to pay part
of the costs of this. You can get more information about this from
the Right to Buy and Leasehold Services section or from LEASE at
www.lease-advice.org.
The LEASE Mediation Service
The LEASE Mediation Service provides a way to
settle a dispute without the need to go to court or the Leasehold
Valuation Tribunal.
If both parties agree, mediation provides an
opportunity for the two parties to discuss a problem and, together,
work out a solution, in an informal setting. Both parties meet with
a LEASE mediator who helps them to clarify the issues, to
communicate with each other and to reach an agreement.
For more information about this you can either
contact the RTB & Leasehold Services team or LEASE. (See the
list of useful phone numbers). www.lease-advice.org/medmain.htm
Leasehold Valuation Tribunals
If you feel that any of the service charges
that we ask you to pay are unreasonable, you need to explain this
to the Right to Buy and Leasehold Services section. You must
give all the reason why you feel the charge is unreasonable.
If we do not agree with you, you have the
right to apply to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. Leasehold
Valuation Tribunals have the power to decide whether service
charges are reasonable and whether you have to pay them or not.
If you want to find out more about Leasehold
Valuation Tribunals, ask the Right to Buy and Leasehold Services
section for a copy of the booklet “Applying to a Leasehold
Valuation Tribunal” or contact LEASE direct at www.lease-advice.org