WhatsApp Chat: Katerina ↔ Al Sarpong

Hi, I am drawing to your attention that the building pipe issue which needed to be fixed 18 months ago has resurfaced again, and I attach pictures. Both Ed (your tenant) and Eleanor from the flat around the corner have raised this with me, but as before this appears to be the responsibility of the freehold. I understand you are out of the country but that should not stop you from hiring someone to get this urgent matter fixed. Seeing as though Ed doesn't appear to want to contact you (very strange!), I am asking you to get this resolved ASAP. I myself am currently dealing with serious illness and don't have time to chase this matter around so appreciate your cooperation on this urgently please. Thanks.

Hi, Seeing as though you and Ed are blindsiding me over the fixing of this pipe on the back wall, can I just let you know I'm not impressed with your lack of courtesy. This is not what I'd expect from a freehold owner. Water has previously leaked from that pipe onto my walls as I informed you 18 months. It's stopped doing it now, only because the pipe is broken away from the wall and the guttering! I am seriously ill with back trouble and bedridden, so I'll be asking my gf Karen to visit Eleanor's place on behalf of myself when the builders arrive to inspect so they are aware of the damage previously done, and we what we want done going forward. If not fixed correctly, it will damage my walls from a decorative point of view and affect the property value. I would kindly ask you please to keep me in the loop on this matter, so it is done in a manner that suits all 3 flats, and not just 2. Thank you in advance.

Please can I have a response to this message without fail - this is serious!

Hi Katerina, Thanks for your note, which is the first communication I have had from you or indeed anyone representing the freehold for many, many months. Any mischaracterisation you describe wouldn't be intentional. It would be down to your own / the freehold's lack of communication over both this and the matter with the roof. It was only last year, seven years since I moved into Number 14 that I was advised that the freehold management company that was originally set up, had since been closed down by your lawyer Stan Harris, which is clearly not acceptable. If you yourself had communicated back as requested, none of this would ever have blown up the way it has. Why have you / the freehold not made me aware of any building insurance? As you know, I've had to purchase this separately in recent years. Furthermore:- 1. I too am also going through serious hospital procedures and I made this clear to Ed a number of weeks ago. I had no idea about your own hospital treatment, as you fully know. You did not reply to the text that Ed actually asked me to send you either. It was not my duty to send that text. He should have done it himself. 2. I'm glad to hear the pipe arrangements have been made but again, no communication has been passed to me before now from you. All the comms I have come from Eleanor Henson who has nothing to do with the freehold ownership - clearly that cannot be right!? The builders haven't got in touch with me either. 3. I still question strongly that I should be paying 50% for something that is a freehold responsibility. I requested that we get an independent review of the lease, so that can be confirmed. I received no answer from you or Stan Harris regarding that proposal. Given the money spent on the roof to which you made no effort to get fixed despite my chasing plus it was an emergency quick action, I don't see why I should pay for pipe work anyway, and I have no intention of picking up any costs, especially as that wasn't demanded in May of last year with the initial fix. You and the freehold company should have shown much more gratitude that the roof matter had been addressed and there have been no issues with leakages that would have affected BOTH flats if not remedied. 4. Please be fully aware I have no wish to keep contacting you. Once that pipe is fixed correctly, I do not see that there are likely to be any further issues now. What's more you have gone from being someone that I thought I could trust in my early years of being here, to completely the opposite. Lots of things you / the freehold should have advised me on as a leaseholder here, but have utterly failed to do so. 5. If you pass on any injunction to me that ensures no fix to the damage caused to my flat, it will be robustly defended and I will make all details available within any legal process. That will be either via a lawyer or self representation. You should note that the new UK Government which came into force in July, is becoming very strict now with how freeholders operate. 6. You need to make me aware of what the formal communication channel is now. With the mysterious management company no longer in existence, I have no idea what it is now. You cannot expect me to instantly know this. Again, the communication has been lacking in this regard. I sincerely hope your hospital treatment goes well, and certainly don't wish you or Ed who until recently has been an excellent neighbour, any ill. True to form, I doubt you will be wishing me the same. But believe me, my illness is also serious. Regards Al