Mr. Matt Cleary:

As a managing agent, one is not only collecting a levy but also collecting an inflated service charge. Items within the standard budget will have increased in cost because of the risk. One is at a point where a greater service charge is being collected. The same processes apply for the levy. A certain timescale has to be given because that is the timescale in which the work has to be done. The contractor has to be paid at all costs. Bearing in mind where a member has the same timeframe in which to pay the levy as well as the service charges, arrears are considered the same as a service charge that goes into arrears. One has to go down the legal route in that regard, and there is no choice. Otherwise, as Ms Cottier said, the debt is apportioned to the rest of the members and gets used as a bad debt that everyone else has to pay for.