Home Report - Transcription Fee

uberteeb

I have just bought a place and got a letter from the surveyor who has sent me an invoice for £60 for transcribing the Home Report onto Halifax paper which they apparently required for the mortgage.

The bill is for £60.

There is a bit in the Home Report that talks about other fees for other services.

But ultimately I have never spoken to the surveyors, I didn't instruct them, I never asked for this transcription and the transcription has already been done and the mortgage approved.

So do I need to pay for this service given I never asked for it? What would happen if I simply 'forget' about the letter?

So many additional fees in the house buying process but this one just seems ridiculous. £60 for feeding the Halifax headed paper through their printer.

kingstreet

You might need one of the Scots system specialists for this TBH.

When you applied for your mortgage, did you pay Halifax a fee for a "Scheme 1 Valuation Report?" If you did, I would expect this fee to cover the retype of the original report if the surveyor is on Halifax panel and the report is reasonably recent.

Otherwise, Halifax would have sent a surveyor of its choice to value the property at your expense and the retype would not be required.

I suggest you contact your adviser, or lender, in the first instance to establish who requested the retype.

uberteeb

kingstreet wrote: »

You might need one of the Scots system specialists for this TBH.

When you applied for your mortgage, did you pay Halifax a fee for a "Scheme 1 Valuation Report?" If you did, I would expect this fee to cover the retype of the original report if the surveyor is on Halifax panel and the report is reasonably recent.

Otherwise, Halifax would have sent a surveyor of its choice to value the property at your expense and the retype would not be required.

I suggest you contact your adviser, or lender, in the first instance to establish who requested the retype.

I'll try and contact them when I get home from work.

But the only fee I had to pay Halifax was the arrangement fee as far as I am aware. Halifax would not have had to send a surveryor to the property at my expense because the Home Report was refreshed prior to my application and was therefore valid.

Basically it seems Halifax wanted the Home Report copied on to Halifax headed paper, either they (or the seller) have contacted the surveryor and asked for this. I then received an invoice for £60 for the priveledge.

My thinking being I didn't choose the surveryor, I didn't ask them to put it onto Halifax paper, they have already put it on Halifax paper and at no point was I informed by the surveyor of this charge apart from a rather ambigous "other expenses" section in the T&C's.

I was under the impression the surbeying was done at the sellers expense.

Anyone else able to offer any advice, as the first reply correctly states, this happened in Scotland.

Thanks.

DVardysShadow

In the first instance, I suggest you write to the surveyor and state that you don't recognise the charge and that it does not relate to any instruction from yourself and that you dispute the bill in its entirety. State that if they do not agree with you, they should provide a full justification of their reasons for considering that you are liable.

kingstreet

I think you may be approaching this from the wrong angle. It may be Halifax at fault, not the surveyor.

It may well be you escape paying the full valuation fee we'd pay in England, say £280 for a £100,000 property, because there is a report which can be retyped for the Halifax.

Retyping would cement the contract between the surveyor and Halifax, should any later problems arise.

When you agreed your mortgage product, you should have received a key facts illustration around six pages long, which sets out the full details of the mortgage.

On page 3, section 8 should say "What fees must you pay?" There you'll find arrangement fee and mortgage account fee. Is there any reference to this £60 fee, under valuation or some other heading? If there's nothing there, I suggest you make a formal complaint to Halifax and ask them why you are being asked to pay a fee not confirmed in the KFI.

Emmzi

What may have happened is

1. you have a home report for your benefit and pay for it
2. but the bank need one prepared for them so they can sue in the event of a future problem

If you instructed the surveyor first then yes, there will be a second fee, as there is a second liability created

googler

'Bought' in what sense?

Offer Accepted?
Missives concluded?
You've moved in?

If you haven't moved in yet, and the surveyor has sent you, the buyer, an invoice.... how did they get your address? They would have been instructed by the seller, or the seller's agent.

If you've moved in, are you sure the invoice wasn't addressed to the previous owner?

uberteeb

googler wrote: »

'Bought' in what sense?

Offer Accepted?
Missives concluded?
You've moved in?

If you haven't moved in yet, and the surveyor has sent you, the buyer, an invoice.... how did they get your address? They would have been instructed by the seller, or the seller's agent.

If you've moved in, are you sure the invoice wasn't addressed to the previous owner?

The offer has been accepted, as a FTB I don't think missives have been concluded assuming missives are all the deeds etc being transferred.

To the poster above, the Halifax Agreement mentions a valuation fee of £345, I've been told by my mortgae advisor this does not apply as there was a Home Report.

The Home Report T&C's say - "The Surveyors are entitled to refrain from delivering the Report to anyone until the fee and other charges for it notified to the Seller have been paid. Additional fees will be charged for subsequent inspections and Reports."

Doesn't mention anything about charging the buyer anything, I've had no dealing with the surveyor apart from being sent the Home Report from the Estate Agent and then this invoice. I did not give them my name or address.

googler

Spam-happy newbie alert.

PasturesNew

I want to own the company where: File, Open, Print = £60.