IFA's, Estate Agents, Solicitors, Water Board

Yorkie1

Good grief! You've been busy reporting lots of people to various regulatory bodies without even finding out whether they are doing anything wrong.

The solicitors, for example, have done exactly as their Code of Conduct says they have to. They are obliged to declare any referral commission. That's what they've done. Nothing more and nothing less.There is no conflict of interest and your complaint is completely unjustified. It will mean both the LEO and the solicitors have to take time out from dealing with other clients, completely unnecessarily.

Calm down and focus on what you need to do as part of your conveyancing process, rather than antagonising every element of the transaction you come into contact with.

SuzieSue

OP, your post together with the answers people have given is extremely useful to all inexperienced buyers who are likely to experience exactly the sames issues you have (apart from the part about the water meter - I don't understand why you feel that you shouldn't pay for the water you use).

kingstreet

FWIW the water bill for our metered four bedroom detached house in mid-Staffordshire is £20 a month. A lot less than it would be if the property was rated.

garythephotoman

Thanks to all replies of positive comments to my thread which I do admit showed a little naivety on my part. However, I do not think I am alone with my concerns in this homebuyer’s minefield. My intentions are solely to help make the whole process easier and more transparent for all.

To clarify on my earlier points relating to;

Mortgages/IFA’s
This all centred on the phrase ’whole of the market’. In my new enlightened opinion, it seems that it does not relate to what it implies. It caught me out and I think will do the same to others unless it is changed to state that it excludes none commission mortgages, which also seem to offer some of the best deals – only in my humble limited opinion of course.

Solicitors
I am aware that in my case the solicitors did not technically do anything wrong and were following their codes of practice when they informed me of the commission set up partnership. I am just complaining of the principle that they can have a business interest with the vendors’ estate agents who referred me to them. This does not come across as being squeaky clean to me. I know we are only talking about possible rare and relatively minor circumstances here, but suppose I require my solicitor to ‘motivate’ the vendors estate agent due to some negligent act….. Could I trust the solicitors to enforce these issues quickly and efficiently with my interests being their prime concerns? In my opinion, even if they do, there is still the fact that they are receiving business from the EA which I would suggest that they will want to keep open and not jeopardise. Incidentally my new solicitors say that they no longer operate this practice, partly due to some of the stigma it creates.


Estate Agents
Quite simply – If solicitors have to inform me about this business relationship, why can it not apply to EA’s as well? In my case it just created suspicion that they were in it for the backhander, irrespective of the efficiency of the conveyancing solicitors.
Some other problems I encountered were......... Questions that I asked to be relayed to the vendor were not passed on………….. No EPC supplied…… Confirmation of my accepted offer was sent to me showing that I had put an offer on the vendors moving on address…….. They chased me up for the mortgage in principal documents which had been emailed and received by them a week earlier. Ok, they are all relatively minor points on their on own and have now been sorted, but it did give me the impression that there may be a bumpy ride ahead… hence my reason for wanting solicitors that were not connected in any way to them.


Water Meters
I have no objection to paying for what you use and endorse all energy saving schemes. What I do object to is the fact that I will be paying more for the same usage with a meter and that I do not have the option to have it removed, as others can it certain circumstances. That said and following my complaint I have been notified by the water authority that they have a ‘sure’ scheme which I may be entitled to and involves having a capped rate on the maximum charge, which is a step in the right direction.



To Summarise;
Yes, my original post did show naivety and there’s possibly still a bit more in the above so I welcome any further advice. However, it is a bit of a minefield out there to the inexperienced homebuyer and with many organisations trying to exploit you for there own gain is it any wonder that I reacted like the Michael Douglas character in the film ‘falling down’.

Anyway, I’ve calmed down now and all complaints are on hold until I get the full facts…. but if that guy in Mcdonalds tells me again that my Big Mac order is going be 2 minutes and I have to wait 3… he’s havin it!!

kingstreet

garythephotoman wrote: »

Mortgages/IFAs
This all centred on the phrase ’whole of the market’. In my new enlightened opinion, it seems that it does not relate to what it implies. It caught me out and I think will do the same to others unless it is changed to state that it excludes none commission mortgages, which also seem to offer some of the best deals – only in my humble limited opinion of course

You won't find many of us giving independent mortgage advice argue with your point.

Certain parts of the industry are effectively allowed to misrepresent what they do. These are the national firms, particularly large estate agency chains who recommend only commission paying deals AND charge a fee AND get survey business from their preferred lenders AND get kickbacks from their legal ties AND sell only a single-tied insurance provider's products.

As mentioned, independent mortgage advice means you pay a fee, get the best deal and if that deal does pay a commission, you get paid that commission and it can sometimes leave you better off because the commission rebate is more than the fee you paid.

Trying to get your average borrower to buy into this concept isn't easy as there are plenty of "fee-free whole market" sources out there making out they are the same.