White Goods And Carpets Not Being Provided

Dechko

All,

First time poster.... I've recently put down a £1000 reservation fee on a property in Lincolnshire. At the time of putting down the fee the estate agent informed me that carpets and white goods were included and even handed me a copy of the particulars which stated the same. I also noticed that this was mentioned on the internet particulars of the property.

Being quite pro-active, I took a drive over to the property a few weeks later and asked the builder what colour of carpets were going in, and which white goods would be provided. He said that neither were included. I informed the estate agents about this, and they told me to "leave it with them".

After 3 weeks I was informed by the Estate Agents that the builder would not be providing the carpets or white goods as I was receiving £2000 deposit paid from the builder. I noted the fact that no-one on the development had paid the 125k asking price so this would affect everyone.

The estate agents then said the best they could do would be to get a quote from a local carpeteer (if that's even a word) and pass on the wholesale savings to the purchasers. I have currently left this issue with my solicitors but am rather concerned. As you can probably imagine, if I'd known that getting £2000 deposit paid would have affected the white goods/carpets part of the deal, I wouldn't have gone for it! I haven't exchanged contracts or completed yet, so I still have "some" room for manouevre.

Apologies for the length of this posting, but if anyone has any helpful advice with regards to this issue, I would be very grateful.

Doozergirl

The Property Misdescriptions Act covers this. If the details clearly say that white goods and carpets are included then teh liability actually lies with the Estate Agent. They should not be advertising things that are not included, hence you'll often find wording like 'space for washing machine' etc.

I'd push this further, telling the agent that as they are advertising it as such, you will have to speak to Trading Standards and also (find out which it is, normally on their website or in the wondwo of their office) the Regulatory body that they subscribe to. Even disclaimers don't actually free agents from the PMA, so it is worth kicking up if you were told they were included and the details say as much.

We've gone halves with an agent in the past where they've included items that we hadn't intended to sell as part of the deal, I also know of someone that somehow claimed £1000 from an agent (goodwill gesture :rolleyes:) for getting the number of sockets wrong.

Dechko

Just the sort of thing that I'm looking for! I'm just a bit concerned as to where I stood legally on this issue, seen as I'm close to the exchange of contracts date.

Funnily enough, the remaining properties are now being advertised on rightmove at a higher price but with the original part about the carpets and white goods being omitted.

chickmug

If taking up with TS bear in mind if the agents has any common sense they will have got the 'Sale Details' signed off by the builder so you may find the builder is the one who should be in the frame.

So don't just assume you are only tackling the agent as the builder may be the one in trouble with TS.

asharon

Often with new builds what you get depends upon the price you pay. Unles swhen you made the offer and stated to include white goods and carpets...

One way to look at it is that for the £2,000 you saved you can buy the white goods and get carpets for the property anyway and it most likely would be cheaper than using the builders who would add on a fee from them anyway.

Dechko

Thanks Chickmug, the first thing that the Estate Agents said was that they had agreed on the particulars with the builder, so I would imagine that it would have been straightforward. It's certainly one of the two parties trying to wriggle out of it, if not both!

Asharon, thanks for the input, however the Estate Agents actually mentioned that I was getting a good deal with the white goods/carpets as I handed over my reservation fee. As I said earlier, all of the people who have put down the fee have had an "incentive" of one form or another and no-one was told that they would not be included if we'd taken this incentive. My point is that I should not be having to pay for them if they were included initially. As I've told my solicitor, that's tantamount to me putting down an offer on a 4 bedroom house after agreeing an incentive, and then moving in and finding out I've only got 3! :rotfl:

Thanks once again, for all your input. This is all good stuff that I can discuss with the solicitor. I'm just holding steady whilst she deals with the seller's solicitor...

Dechko

UPDATE:

I have received a reply from the seller's solicitors who have said:-

"Carpets and white goods are not included in the sale price. The price of the property has been discounted to such an extent that it would simply prove uneconomical for our clients to include these extras. Your clients will not (sic) appreciate the fact that they have not met our clients' asking price".

So looks like I'm in this one for the long haul.....

theartfullodger

in your shoes I'd tell them to "go forth & multiply" and I'll 'ave me £1k back thanks.. and you know lots of local councillors, MPs, MEPs, websites etc etc.. or would they like to reconsider their position...

Bleedin' a***oles!!

Cheers!

Lodger

Dechko

Hehehe, I'm not "quite" at that point at the moment. I really do like the house and this issue really isn't enough for me to pull out of the sale, although I've not told THEM that. Frankly I'm doing it out of principle, moneysaving (hurray!) and sheer bloody mindedness. I've sent an email to the solicitors basically outlining the fact that as they hadn't told me when I handed over my money, and during my 3 subsequent visits that if it's not sorted to my satisfaction, then I'll be going to the property ombudsman and Trading Standards. It's their move....

DVardysShadow

asharon wrote: »

Often with new builds what you get depends upon the price you pay.

Yes.

Unles swhen you made the offer and stated to include white goods and carpets...

Property was offered with these, so offer is assumed by default to include these

One way to look at it is that for the £2,000 you saved you can buy the white goods and get carpets for the property anyway and it most likely would be cheaper than using the builders who would add on a fee from them anyway.

ie you can look at rolling over and accepting it. Builder should have been upfront that the £2000 precluded any white goods and carpet. They were not up front. OP does not feel like rolling over and accepting it, and I think that is the right way of looking at it.

Dechko

DvardysShadow,

That's pretty much the size of it. To be honest the more I think of it, the more I'm getting annoyed about it. Add to that the fact that I think that there might be some people on the development who might be getting a nasty shock when they move in and finding no carpets or a cooker and I'm more convinced that rolling over would be the worst thing to do....