I'm now being sued by the purchaser

Okrib

I am absolutely astonished by this and have read the entire thread in an ever increasing state of incredulity.

I worked as an agent in London for over 5 years and experienced several occasions when things on the TA6 turned out not to be true, both on old properties and indeed on newly refurbished properties. Given that it could take several weeks or months to secure a buyer, and the TA6 was often filled out when the seller instructed the agent, the possibilities for things to change are clear.

I had one particular case when the vendor was selling a newly refurbished flat, including a newly installed boiler. The boiler was working while the flat was initially on the market. After a few months a buyer was found, it was summer and the heating was switched off. Exchange took place in September. The buyer had had a valuation, not a full survey. No issues were found. Guess what – when the buyer tried to turn the heating on in November, there was an error message on the boiler…

Cue lots of calls / angry emails about misrepresentation, demanding a new boiler or fix. The vendor maintained that the heating was working when he filled in the TA6, but did offer to send in a heating engineer. The owner accepted. Unfortunately the problem was unable to be fixed, it was actually quite a serious problem. The buyer ended up having to pay for the repair, and then I believe claimed it back from the boiler company.

I am amazed at the front of this individual, and they don’t have a leg to stand on as far as I am concerned. There is enough doubt that the problem could have been caused by their meddling, the OP has tried to resolve the issue repeatedly through goodwill and this has been refused. My gut tells me that the problem was caused by the buyer messing about with the system.

Doozergirl

Any update?

ikcdab

Here's an update. We went to a hearing at the end of January. I realised at the last moment that this wasn't the actual trial but an allocations hearing. We filed in and the judge asked some questions about witnesses etc which after a bit of discussion was sorted out.
The judge then suggested that as we had half an hour of time left that we try for some mediation. The judge set the scene by saying that this could be a complex case as it involved conveyancing law. It would certainly take a complete day. Both sides would need access to the conveyancing files and would need to call and pay for their witnesses. Although the judge was impartial she rapidly saw holes in the complainants case.
The complainant had demanded £5k which included £1200 for pain and suffering. The judge rejected this out of hand and said it wouldn't be paid.
The complainant then demanded £3k in settlement. We offered £500 which was rejected. To cut a long story short we ended up agreeing to pay £1500 in full and final settlement. Bearing in mind the complainant had to.fund her own court fees she has ended up with less than £1k in her pocket. And she looked pretty unhappy after agreeing to this.
Whilst I am aggrieved at having to pay anything and knowing I was in the right, this has put an end to the matter. If we had persisted we could very well have ended up paying more than that in costs for ourselves with an uncertain outcome.
I have gained inasmuch as she originally demanded £2k off the asking price and I have given her less than that. And if I had known the boiler had to be replaced it would have cost me that anyway. So whilst I feel hacked off, it's now over and done with and a lesson learnt all round.
PLEASE no comments such as "you should have done this" or "you should have done that". It's over now and I don't have to worry about it again.
What I will say is that I was exceptionally well prepared in stark contrast to the complainant which is due to the advice received here. Thanks to all who contributed.

Doozergirl

Well done. I learned that being prepared is incredibly important (to my favour) and you did well to be.

What is important is that you are okay with the result. I think you were more than fair and come out with your heads held high.

Most important is thst there are no more sleepless nights.

densol_2

Thank you for the update. You took a sensible pragmatic approach and settled sensibly. It certainly must be a big relief not to have this hanging over you anymore

Lioness_Twinkletoes

ikcdab wrote: »

Here's an update. We went to a hearing at the end of January. I realised at the last moment that this wasn't the actual trial but an allocations hearing. We filed in and the judge asked some questions about witnesses etc which after a bit of discussion was sorted out.
The judge then suggested that as we had half an hour of time left that we try for some mediation. The judge set the scene by saying that this could be a complex case as it involved conveyancing law. It would certainly take a complete day. Both sides would need access to the conveyancing files and would need to call and pay for their witnesses. Although the judge was impartial she rapidly saw holes in the complainants case.
The complainant had demanded £5k which included £1200 for pain and suffering. The judge rejected this out of hand and said it wouldn't be paid.
The complainant then demanded £3k in settlement. We offered £500 which was rejected. To cut a long story short we ended up agreeing to pay £1500 in full and final settlement. Bearing in mind the complainant had to.fund her own court fees she has ended up with less than £1k in her pocket. And she looked pretty unhappy after agreeing to this.
Whilst I am aggrieved at having to pay anything and knowing I was in the right, this has put an end to the matter. If we had persisted we could very well have ended up paying more than that in costs for ourselves with an uncertain outcome.
I have gained inasmuch as she originally demanded £2k off the asking price and I have given her less than that. And if I had known the boiler had to be replaced it would have cost me that anyway. So whilst I feel hacked off, it's now over and done with and a lesson learnt all round.
PLEASE no comments such as "you should have done this" or "you should have done that". It's over now and I don't have to worry about it again.
What I will say is that I was exceptionally well prepared in stark contrast to the complainant which is due to the advice received here. Thanks to all who contributed.

A good result - well done.

Ithaca

ikcdab wrote: »

Whilst I am aggrieved at having to pay anything and knowing I was in the right, this has put an end to the matter. If we had persisted we could very well have ended up paying more than that in costs for ourselves with an uncertain outcome.

This is the key bit... sometimes it's just not worth dragging out the fight if victory will cost you more than walking away, and at least this way you know it's done and dusted.

csgohan4

I hope the buyer gets what they deserve

Miss_Samantha

ikcdab wrote: »

Whilst I am aggrieved at having to pay anything and knowing I was in the right

Not clear according to this very long thread...

I think you were lucky that (it seems) she did not use a lawyer.

knightstyle

Thanks for the update. I think you did the right thing, now you can put this behind you and have a well deserved holiday!