wall pinning.

kediler

A friend or 'aquaintance' should I say, has a house in London, Kent.

He wanted to sell the house but was told by the surveyor? that the walls needed pinning. He could not put the house up for sale until the required work was done. Apparently the work has been calculated at approixmatley £30'000+ and he has to pay this.

Now there is one snag. I do not trust this guy. He is the boyfriend of a friend of mine and I have my suspicions about him. He also claims he's a doctor!!!

He has told his girlfriend that he needs to find the money from somewhere and I get the feeling he is hinting that she lend or give him the money for it until he pays her back. (i reckon he'll do a runner with it)

What I can not understand is why his building insurance doesnt cover the work that needs to be done (thats if there is any house in Kent, or if there are any walls that need pinning, or if he is just after £30'000 from my mate!) Surely he needs to have insurance which covers this kind of stuff??

I'm like sherlock homes at the moment.....
Any help would be good please.

maninthestreet

Pinning? Do you mean under-pinning, which is often required if a building is suffering from subsidence. As you state, this should be covered by the building insurance, assuming insurance is in place. Don't pay this person a penny towards these costs - they are his own responsilbility.

kediler

Yes, I believe it is something to do with subsidance. Apparently he has told my friend that his builders insurance does not cover it. Could this be right? I thought all insurance covered subsidance.

I so want to catch this guy out.

Thank you

Doc_N

Must, as maninthestreet says, mean underpinning. This is a standard part of pretty well all insurance policies, though there will be an excess (probably £1000) to be paid by the policyholder.

The area of Kent near London does suffer from subsidence, though - clay soil.

kediler

Thank you for your reply.

would it have been possible for him to have taken out an insurance which did not cover subsidance? Surely nobody in their right mind would buy a house knowing its in an area where subsidance is present and not take insurance out for? especially someone who claims he's a doctor!!!!

Doc_N

kediler wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.

would it have been possible for him to have taken out an insurance which did not cover subsidance? Surely nobody in their right mind would buy a house knowing its in an area where subsidance is present and not take insurance out for? especially someone who claims he's a doctor!!!!

I suppose it is possible, but it would be unusual. In areas of high subsidence the premia for buildings insurance are likely to be high, and it would be possible (but unwise) to exclude it. I'd be asking to look over the policy on some pretext or other to confirm (or remove) my suspicions.

Is he perhaps a Ph.D rather than a medical doctor?

maninthestreet

Are we to take seriously the claim by this person that he is a (medical?) doctor? Or is this an indication that he is prone to being economical with the truth, and hence you can't trust a word he says?

kediler

He claims he is a paediatrician - that is a doctor right? He claims he worked at a local GP as a doctor but when I checked it out the receptionist had never heard of him!

I'm on this guy's case big time. Fortunatley, my friend is no longer with him but his lies have got the better of her and she wants to learn the truth. He has upset her terribly.

Thanks for the replies

maninthestreet

A paediatrician is doctor that specialises in children's medicine, and they would tend to be a consultant at a hospital, rather than a local GP. The fact that the receptionist knew nothing about him speaks volumes. Sounds like he is a Walter Mitty type character, prone to flights of fantasy.

Doc_N

This might help you - check to see if he's registered as a doctor:

https://webcache.gmc-uk.org/ods/home.do

pinkshoes

Surely a mortgage company wouldn't lend on a house in an area which is prone to subsidence unless insurance was in place?!?!

Your friend should get the insurance details and phone them herself. NEVER loan money to people, or if you have to, get the borrower to pay for a legal contract between the two of you, shoud the friendship/relationship break down.