Estate agent want me to pay for HIP?

MAJORTOM

I put our house up for sale with Clarke Mews in March this year and at the time of signing the contract paid £176 for the HIP (home information pack). Obviously since then the HIP has been abolished.
We have been unable to sell our home since then and I told estate agent yesterday that we wish to come off the market.
I have 2 young girls and with xmas near didnt want a potential move arouond that time. Clarke mews have told me that they 'subsidised' the HIP by half price & that I have to pay it back as we did not sell otherwise it would have stood.
Now my wife & I really cant remember them saying way back in March that they would subsidise the HIP! Also surely it can't be fair to ask someone to pay for something which no longer exsists.
I'm obviously already gutted I paid £176 in the 1st place back in March as they got rid of the HIPs! Do I have to pay it?
I'm really not sure if I have a case to refuse?

ILW

If they produced a HIP for you then you need to pay for it, why would you think not?

MAJORTOM

I thought I had paid for it, that what I'm trying to say!
I dont remember them saying they would subsidise it.
If it had cost more I may have chosen another agent etc.
Also if the scheme is now scrapped does the fee still stand?
I dont want to chuck money away on nothing.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you don't want to pay the fee, just leave the house on the market - you are unlikely to get any viewers anyway and if you do, you can just say you are away/it is inconvenient and re-arrange the viewing for a time more suitable for you after christmas (if they are still interested by then)

giddypenguin

Read the small print - we did a similiar thing when we signed up with Connells, they made it very clear to us that if we left we'd have to make up the difference. It doesn't exist any more, but they still did the work and need to be paid.

ConfusedDep

What does the contract you signed with them say? Do you have the paperwork/invoice to do with the hip does that say anything about a reduction?

I think they should be able to provide you with a copy if you signed and agreed then fair enough you will have to pay, however if the £176 was the going rate in the area at the time and it was not made clear this was a 50% reduced rate then they may be trying it on a bit.

I paid £225 for a hip in September 2009 and this was the best I could get in this area but it really depends on the market.

If you don't have the money then perhaps go back to the estate agent and say you don't want to be moving at this time and aim to go back on the market in the new year and they may be more agreeable to a deal if they think you will be coming back to them.

googler

If they say they subsidised the payment, then if they can provide proof of this, and proof of a written agreement to this effect that you also agreed to, I'd say you owe them the balance of the HIP. If they can't support this with documentary proof then they may have to forego it. I take it you can prove you paid the £176, whether by bank statement, receipt from them or some other means?

The Govt may have removed the requirement for a HIP to be available for a house that's on the market, but this removal doesn't relieve you from the liability to pay for a HIP that you ordered and agreed to pay for. You're not paying for something which 'no longer exists' - you paid, someone produced a HIP. Whether or not that HIP is now required is a different issue.

Blacksheep1979

leave the house on the market but insist you think it's worth more now, lets say about £500k more - now how many viewers are you going to get

Colincbayley

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

leave the house on the market but insist you think it's worth more now, lets say about £500k more - now how many viewers are you going to get

Was just about to say the same thing.:beer:

vectistim

Can they provide any paperwork showing their subsidy?
Either £176 was really rather cheap for a HIP and _might_ bring in quality questions, or £352 was rather expensive for a HIP, but I know some larger agents were charging rather more than that.
In March I would have thought somewhere round about £250 would have been about the market norm.