Pulled out before exchange - invoiced for costs!!

Mahsroh

jtm8866 wrote: »

For some reason, my solicitor came across to me that he is already treating this as a court claim.

That's just a standard solicitor response! Wouldn't read anything into that.

Red-Squirrel_2

Why are you using the services of the litigation solicitor? How much is that going to cost you?

steampowered

jtm8866 wrote: »

However, they also strongly recommended to ask the question: "What steps has the developer taken to mitigate the loss - such as tried to sell the house with the installed tiles/kitchen worktop, if it is already installed (or) return the tiles/kitchen worktop back to the supplier if some or all the tiles are not installed...".

This is a perfectly sensible question to ask, but I think it is premature. Personally I'd sit tight until I'd received a formal letter from the developer.

It sounds like all you've had so far are ambiguous emails from an estate agent. The estate agent is not authorised to represent the developer in a legal dispute!

You don't know whether the developer is going to take this forward or not. If the developer does decide to take it forward, you don't know the legal basis of their claim yet.

Who would you ask the question to anyway? It is pointless asking the estate agent - they are not authorised to give you an answer, they are not the developer's solicitors. You'd have to ask the developer directly, and if you haven't been in touch with the developer directly I don't think you should start now.

I am worried that asking this question will indirectly mean that I am accepting the loss, if any.

This is not something to be worried about. It is perfectly normal to raise different alternative arguments in court proceedings.

For example, you could argue that you weren't in breach of contract so aren't liable for anything. You could also argue that, in case the court decides that you were in breach of contract, the claimant still shouldn't be awarded the full amount it is requesting (e.g. because its failed to mitigate its loss).

jtm8866

steampowered wrote: »

This is a perfectly sensible question to ask, but I think it is premature. Personally I'd sit tight until I'd received a formal letter from the developer.

It sounds like all you've had so far are ambiguous emails from an estate agent. The estate agent is not authorised to represent the developer in a legal dispute!

You don't know whether the developer is going to take this forward or not. If the developer does decide to take it forward, you don't know the legal basis of their claim yet.

Who would you ask the question to anyway? It is pointless asking the estate agent - they are not authorised to give you an answer, they are not the developer's solicitors. You'd have to ask the developer directly, and if you haven't been in touch with the developer directly I don't think you should start now.


This is not something to be worried about. It is perfectly normal to raise different alternative arguments in court proceedings.

For example, you could argue that you weren't in breach of contract so aren't liable for anything. You could also argue that, in case the court decides that you were in breach of contract, the claimant still shouldn't be awarded the full amount it is requesting (e.g. because its failed to mitigate its loss).

The invoice for £4k was sent to me by the developer, not the estate agent. Here is the letter from the developer.

"Further to your email below; please find attached your invoice in relation to our costs pursuant to your withdrawal from the purchase of Plot xxxx.

We are holding £500 on deposit. Please arrange for payment of the outstanding sum of to be paid to our account by return. Account details are included on the invoice."

The invoice attached has cost breakdown as:
Tiles £ 1,164.91
Tile fitting cost £ 1,077.12
Worktop cost £ 417
Worktop fitting cost £ 275
Removal cost £ 586.81
Sub-Total £ 3,520.84
VAT £ 704.17

Total Amount Outstanding £ 4,225.01"

Although estate agent was harassing me with non-sensical emails, they have stopped doing this a week ago saying that they are going to ask the developers' solicitors to get the money reimbursed from me. The letter I received with attached invoice was from the developer itself but not their solicitor.

jtm8866

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Why are you using the services of the litigation solicitor? How much is that going to cost you?

I am not, I only asked for their suggestion over phone and instructed them not to represent me in this case.

steampowered

jtm8866 wrote: »

The invoice for £4k was sent to me by the developer, not the estate agent. Here is the letter from the developer.

Although estate agent was harassing me with non-sensical emails, they have stopped doing this a week ago saying that they are going to ask the developers' solicitors to get the money reimbursed from me. The letter I received with attached invoice was from the developer itself but not their solicitor.

I see. Although the invoice has come from the developer, they still haven't provided any explanation of the legal basis on which they are claiming money from you.

I would reply simply explaining that you haven't exchanged contracts and have not agreed to pay this money. Tell them that, if they believe this money is owed, they need to explain the legal basis on which they are claiming money and provide a copy of the contract they are relying on.

It is for the Claimant to articulate their case, so personally I wouldn't get into a discussion about a second-level point such as mitigation of loss until the developer has provided at least some basic details.

jtm8866

steampowered wrote: »

I see. Although the invoice has come from the developer, they still haven't provided any explanation of the legal basis on which they are claiming money from you.

I would reply simply explaining that you haven't exchanged contracts and have not agreed to pay this money. Tell them that, if they believe this money is owed, they need to explain the legal basis on which they are claiming money and provide a copy of the contract they are relying on.

It is for the Claimant to articulate their case, so personally I wouldn't get into a discussion about a second-level point such as mitigation of loss until the developer has provided at least some basic details.

Yea, you are spot on.
The only explanation they have given is, " ...invoice in relation to our costs pursuant to your withdrawal from the purchase of Plot".
Not good enough.
I will draft a response today and we'll see what happens.
Thanks:beer:

Senseicads

Although I feel that by doing nothing you are accepting that you have lost your £500 refundable deposit? it'd be nice to get that back too

hammy1988

Are you with Linden Homes? We were definitely told that if we paid for extras, then charges would occur if we pulled out and they had been installed. We also were shown the Architect plans a week or so after putting down our £500 reservation fee.

Maybe we were lucky and had a sales rep who made it clear, and I scrutinised all my paperwork, you really should have clarified if you were unsure.

Sounds like you really did pull out last minute, one of the benefits of having a new build is that you can choose your styles and fixtures and fittings. The developer only has the choice now of selling the house you were interested in with everything you chose at a reduced price for a potential buyer, or rip it all out and start over.

Both ways they have lost money.

*readding something I just remembered. You only were given leaveway on the fees incurred if your help to buy or mortgage fell through.

pinkshoes

My parents viewed a new build that actually had a higher price due to a higher spec of kitchen etc...

I very much doubt that they will remove them unless they are hideous!

I'd be pushing for the £500 to be returned too. Less a readvertising cost obviously...