The gardener in our block was recently replaced, so I contacted him and he told me that he was not prepared to pay the managing agent 10% of his bill. I went to see the new gardener and asked if he pays 10% to the managing agent. He admitted that he does and said that it’s the industry norm. Is that true?
Most definitely not. The way you describe it, a hidden payment was being demanded by the managing agent for awarding a service contract to be paid for from Trust monies (S.42 – 1987 Act). A few managing agents have a contract in which their fee is calculated, in whole or in part, by reference to a percentage of costs, but such payment and its calculation is shown on the invoice and separately charged to the service charge account; it is not collected direct from the service supplier. As of 1 July 2011, the Bribery Act came into effect. What you describe seems to fit within the statutory definition of bribery. You need to establish how your managing agent calculates his fees, confirm in writing to the gardeners what they told you about their 10% payment and, in the first instance, take the matter up with the senior person at the firm of the managing agent. Depending on their reply, assuming you receive one, you may wish to take the matter further.
