| MP Calls in Office of Fair Trading to Tackle 'Unscrupulous' Debt Collectors |
| Wednesday, 24 June 2009 | |
 John Pugh, Lib Dem MP for Southport, has called upon the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate the activities of two companies demanding unfair payments from elderly Southport residents.
Dr Pugh has been contacted by several concerned residents of Sherwood Lodge (Lulworth Road, Southport), who are being hit with demands for money they do not owe. Residents of Sherwood Lodge pay a “ground rent” of £30 for their property each year, to be paid in arrears every September. Recently, the managers of the Sherwood Lodge property – Leasehold Property Management Ltd – have begun to make demands for payments during the course of the year, before the date stipulated in residents’ contracts. Many residents of Sherwood Lodge are elderly, and the demands have been causing them significant distress. Furthermore, those residents refusing to pay before September have had their cases referred to Property Debt Collection Ltd – who are threatening legal action including County Court hearings, whilst demanding that residents pay up to £273.13 for debts which they do not owe. Dr Pugh has written to both Leasehold Property Management Ltd and Property Debt Collection Ltd, asking them to explain their actions and cease their aggressive treatment of residents. Dr Pugh received a reply from Leasehold Property Management Ltd, saying they had noted his correspondence and were in the process of responding. Dr Pugh has therefore written to the OFT calling upon them to act, saying: “I, for one, am concerned at the behaviour of these two seemingly unscrupulous companies and am worried about the effect their actions will have on some of the residents. I would be most grateful if you could look into the issues raised…[and] arrange for a full investigation to be carried out.” Commenting, he said: “I am very concerned about the treatment of residents at Sherwood Lodge. It appears that residents are being pressured into paying money early, or paying money they do not owe at all. It is shameful for these companies to play on people’s fears of debt to pressurise them into parting unfairly with their money.” |