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Buyer Beware!
LeckieCJ
Posts: 17 Forumite
Apologies in advance for the rant....
My wife and I visited a housing developer’s site in August to view some houses. We were very impressed and we were offered a plot with a 6% reduction and an additional discount. The caveat was that we had to make an offer by close of play the following day.
The following day was bank holiday Monday, so we had no opportunity to speak to our bank manager or sort out finances and we felt very much under pressure to close the deal or forfeit the discount we had been offered. We decided that the offer was too good to decline and decided to reserve it, with the intention to discuss the matter with our financiers in the morning (Tuesday). The reservation was made at approximately 5pm on the bank holiday Monday evening, with a cheque for £500.
Unfortunately we were misled by the assisted purchase scheme we had registered with, into believing that we could purchase a new-build. Under their rules we could not, so we failed to get the extra funding we needed and the next morning (before they opened for business) we telephoned the sales office and informed them of our difficulties. We also visited the sales office that morning to discuss our withdrawal personally with their sales negotiator.
The sales negotiator then liaised with her sales manager, who had taken our deposit cheque on Monday evening. Noting our obvious distress, the sales negotiator voiced her confidence that we were likely to receive a full refund because of the minimal inconvenience caused. She was later informed that the cheque had already been banked (they must have been at the bank as the doors opened in the morning!
) but that no solicitor had been instructed. The sales negotiator assured us that our change of plan was not at all inconvenient to them because the plot already had another interested party.
Although I fully understand that the reservation document we signed was legally binding, I felt some moral justification in requesting a full refund of our down payment (or at least a more realistic administration charge) because:
a. Less than 24 hours had elapsed between signing and withdrawing from purchase – 5pm Bank Holiday Monday to start of business Tuesday morning.
b. No solicitors had been instructed.
c. Minor inconvenience had been caused as other parties had shown interest in the plot and the reservation was only in force overnight.
d. Undue pressure had been exerted on us to make a very difficult and complicated decision bearing in mind we are nervous first-time buyers (which I had made very clear in conversations with their sales negotiators).
e. The only action that could reasonably have been carried out in the time between signing and withdrawal was banking our cheque (which could have been rapidly cancelled if requested).
f. Usually, with contracts to undertake agreements, there is some ‘cooling off’ period as a safeguard to allow important financial decisions to be reconsidered in the ‘light of day’, especially when a tight deadline for closure is imposed.
After 3 anxious days of waiting we were told that our cheque had been banked, our request for a refund of £500 had been declined and that the full £275 charge for cancellation would be levied against us.
To add insult to injury, later that week we received a letter from the solicitors the developer had ‘recommended’ thanking us for instructing them to handle our conveyancing. This was surprising because we hadn’t even contacted them. The developer had already instructed them to act for us, despite telling us in the sales office that the solicitor was independent and would only deal with us.
My wife and I are typical struggling first-time buyers and need every penny we have to gain a foot on the housing ladder. I wrote down all of my woes in a letter and to date I have had no reply whatsoever - not even an acknowledgement..:mad:
Comments? Should I stop moaning and learn from my mistake?
Was I justified in my plea? Was the developer overly harsh with us? Are they so desperate for cash that they will charge £275 for an overnight reservation? Would I be justified in naming and shaming them? Anyone else had the same experience?
I have heard many tales of people losing money through the house buying process – some much more than me. It seems to be one big money making exercise for solicitors, surveyors, and EA’s. No wonder it causes so much stress. And don’t even get me started on house prices……….:mad:
My wife and I visited a housing developer’s site in August to view some houses. We were very impressed and we were offered a plot with a 6% reduction and an additional discount. The caveat was that we had to make an offer by close of play the following day.
The following day was bank holiday Monday, so we had no opportunity to speak to our bank manager or sort out finances and we felt very much under pressure to close the deal or forfeit the discount we had been offered. We decided that the offer was too good to decline and decided to reserve it, with the intention to discuss the matter with our financiers in the morning (Tuesday). The reservation was made at approximately 5pm on the bank holiday Monday evening, with a cheque for £500.
Unfortunately we were misled by the assisted purchase scheme we had registered with, into believing that we could purchase a new-build. Under their rules we could not, so we failed to get the extra funding we needed and the next morning (before they opened for business) we telephoned the sales office and informed them of our difficulties. We also visited the sales office that morning to discuss our withdrawal personally with their sales negotiator.
The sales negotiator then liaised with her sales manager, who had taken our deposit cheque on Monday evening. Noting our obvious distress, the sales negotiator voiced her confidence that we were likely to receive a full refund because of the minimal inconvenience caused. She was later informed that the cheque had already been banked (they must have been at the bank as the doors opened in the morning!
) but that no solicitor had been instructed. The sales negotiator assured us that our change of plan was not at all inconvenient to them because the plot already had another interested party.Although I fully understand that the reservation document we signed was legally binding, I felt some moral justification in requesting a full refund of our down payment (or at least a more realistic administration charge) because:
a. Less than 24 hours had elapsed between signing and withdrawing from purchase – 5pm Bank Holiday Monday to start of business Tuesday morning.
b. No solicitors had been instructed.
c. Minor inconvenience had been caused as other parties had shown interest in the plot and the reservation was only in force overnight.
d. Undue pressure had been exerted on us to make a very difficult and complicated decision bearing in mind we are nervous first-time buyers (which I had made very clear in conversations with their sales negotiators).
e. The only action that could reasonably have been carried out in the time between signing and withdrawal was banking our cheque (which could have been rapidly cancelled if requested).
f. Usually, with contracts to undertake agreements, there is some ‘cooling off’ period as a safeguard to allow important financial decisions to be reconsidered in the ‘light of day’, especially when a tight deadline for closure is imposed.
After 3 anxious days of waiting we were told that our cheque had been banked, our request for a refund of £500 had been declined and that the full £275 charge for cancellation would be levied against us.
To add insult to injury, later that week we received a letter from the solicitors the developer had ‘recommended’ thanking us for instructing them to handle our conveyancing. This was surprising because we hadn’t even contacted them. The developer had already instructed them to act for us, despite telling us in the sales office that the solicitor was independent and would only deal with us.
My wife and I are typical struggling first-time buyers and need every penny we have to gain a foot on the housing ladder. I wrote down all of my woes in a letter and to date I have had no reply whatsoever - not even an acknowledgement..:mad:
Comments? Should I stop moaning and learn from my mistake?
Was I justified in my plea? Was the developer overly harsh with us? Are they so desperate for cash that they will charge £275 for an overnight reservation? Would I be justified in naming and shaming them? Anyone else had the same experience?I have heard many tales of people losing money through the house buying process – some much more than me. It seems to be one big money making exercise for solicitors, surveyors, and EA’s. No wonder it causes so much stress. And don’t even get me started on house prices……….:mad:
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Comments
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Thanks for the advise but I would have just cancelled my cheque and dealt with the cancelling 'contract' details later.0
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Thats was my feeling too, Im would have just cancelled the cheque, I take it its too late in play to be able to do that?:beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
This Ive come to know...
So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:0 -
Another "hindsight" vote for cheque cancelling!
House prices are high because people are willing to pay them. Effectively anyone who buys a house makes it worse!Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery0 -
Sounds similar to any one who lives in a rented house fuels the BTL market!0
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Well, you should learn from your mistake, these are typical high pressure sales tactics and everyone will come up against them sometimes.
However, if they were a decent company they would have refunded in full due to little inconvenience to them. I would try and find a legal forum, if no one knows the answer here as i would think that that amount is excessive. Sorry i can't provide a more definate answer.0 -
dougk wrote:Sounds similar to any one who lives in a rented house fuels the BTL market!
It does, doesn't it. Can't fault your logic there.
:beer:Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery0 -
In that case PD if you shouldn't rent and you shouldn't buy a house ...maybe a tent would be a good idea as its getting towards winter :rotfl:0
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dougk wrote:In that case PD if you shouldn't rent and you shouldn't buy a house ...maybe a tent would be a good idea as its getting towards winter :rotfl:
I wouldn't want to risk pushing the price of tents up for everyone else!
I shall sleep naked in a park somewhere, but that's my business...Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery0 -
which park ?0
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I know this is a bit late, but for future.
If they can make you an offer today, they can make the same offer tomorrow.0
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