Advice - HIP Packs - Any loopholes?

tudore

Hi all,

Looking to pick someone's brains and hopeful for some positive answers! My mum and dad put their house on the market a couple of weeks before the HIP packs were axed, and as was standard at the time they signed a contract agreeing to pay the HIP fee of £299 + VAT if they withdrew the house from sale, otherwise the estate agents would cover the fee if they successfully sold their house.

A couple of weeks ago my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and understandably they decided that with all the uncertainity regarding his health and ability to work etc, that they would take the property off the market and reassess if or hopefully when Dad recovers.

The estate agent is now chasing them for the HIP fee, despite the abolition of the HIP packs and the circumstances under which they withdrew their house from sale. Apart from ranting and raving at the estate agents, going to local press etc, is there anything I can do to get this fee wiped out - my mum and dad will struggle to cover this after a string of unfortunate incidents involving freezers blowing up and cars breaking down and I really want to take the worry from them.

I KNOW that they signed the contract and therefore are liable for the fee but just wondered if anyone knew of any legal loopholes for getting round this.

I would really appreciate your words of wisdom.

Emma

debraladiva

I would also be interested if there's anything out there. Like your parents I too put my house on the market just weeks before the abolition and think it's totally unfair that at the end of Sept I still have to pay for this

mufi

debraladiva wrote: »

I would also be interested if there's anything out there. Like your parents I too put my house on the market just weeks before the abolition and think it's totally unfair that at the end of Sept I still have to pay for this

But the company that did the HIP completed the work as contracted. It was a lousy idea, but that's another argument (and I speak as someone who had a HIP and now has huge boundary problems which were not discovered by the searches contained therein).

Blame the government (take your pick which one).

OP - you and your parents have my deepest sympathy, but I can't see any way out of the commitment.:(

Strings

just pay the bill, it is hardly a large sum of money and not worth the hassle.

googler

As has been stated in a number of threads on this topic - there's no loophole.

Your parents asked a HIP co to provide one, they did, and the terms of payment are outlined in the contract they signed with the EA or HIP co., restated by you above.

Only possibility I can come up with is that it might be covered under any health insurance that your father has..... or it could be paid from the proceeds of such insurance, if not explicitly covered.

G_M

As stated above - no loophole.

Apart from ranting and raving at the estate agents, going to local press etc, is there anything I can do to get this fee wiped out

Rather than doing this, which will simply anger the EAs, I would detail the unfortunate circumstances you find yourself in, and ask politely if in the circumstances, and since you are now struggling financially as well as emotionally, they would accept 50% of the fee?