PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.
Misrepresentation, should we bother?

AJGuy
Posts: 62 Forumite
In the homeowners questionnaire the previous owners had stated that no electrical work had been carried out and we were told that the consumer unit was fitted by the owners before them and only the meters had been changed to smart meters. This was also confirmed orally at one of the viewing with the homeowner. We proceeded with the sale and the level 2 survey only brought up issues which were related with a house of that age. We completed in December 2018.
Around a month ago we found that our 32a ring main tripped whilst we were out, this then happened a week later whilst we were in but nothing was on suggesting a fault somewhere within that circuit. Whilst we started investigating the cause of this fault it came to light that the consumer unit was actually a newer metal one which came into regulations in 2016. Concerned the previous owners had told a porky in the homeowners questionnaire we put this forward to them through our solicitor. We got a response from thier solicitor saying that his clients were surprised at our message and that the consumer unit had been fitted by them but since they no longer live at the property they have discarded the certificates and they don’t remember the electrician/firm who installed it and it was done way before 2016. We then had a further inspection of the unit and date codes showed that the unit was manufactured in the 2nd week of 2016. We also found that one of circuits had been wired to bypass a MCB potentially allowing a 2.5mm cable to carry 100+ amps until the main breaker kicked in, this also bypassed the RCD, various aspects of the consumer unit also suggested that this was a DIY job.
Our solicitor believes we have a good case for misrepresentation and the way the previous owners have tried to lie at every point and possibly put our lives and property at risk is swaying me to start litigation but... and a big but, we just don’t know if we can be bothered with all the hassle! We are currently in the middle of renovating the house and we are getting married in 9 weeks, my best friend is just about 1 month from fully qualifying as an electrician and has said she will sort this out for us so we are not going to take to much of a financial hit. Our solicitors are a large firm with a very good track record and I’m pretty clued up with a few sections of law (apart from conveyancing). We also have further evidence of which the previous owners are unaware of but I cannot post this in a public forum for obvious reasons.
My questions...
How long is a case like this likely to take?
How complex is the process?
Should we bother? (Removing the personal feelings)
The previous owners are an elderly couple, my ethics are saying I should just leave it. Grr
Around a month ago we found that our 32a ring main tripped whilst we were out, this then happened a week later whilst we were in but nothing was on suggesting a fault somewhere within that circuit. Whilst we started investigating the cause of this fault it came to light that the consumer unit was actually a newer metal one which came into regulations in 2016. Concerned the previous owners had told a porky in the homeowners questionnaire we put this forward to them through our solicitor. We got a response from thier solicitor saying that his clients were surprised at our message and that the consumer unit had been fitted by them but since they no longer live at the property they have discarded the certificates and they don’t remember the electrician/firm who installed it and it was done way before 2016. We then had a further inspection of the unit and date codes showed that the unit was manufactured in the 2nd week of 2016. We also found that one of circuits had been wired to bypass a MCB potentially allowing a 2.5mm cable to carry 100+ amps until the main breaker kicked in, this also bypassed the RCD, various aspects of the consumer unit also suggested that this was a DIY job.
Our solicitor believes we have a good case for misrepresentation and the way the previous owners have tried to lie at every point and possibly put our lives and property at risk is swaying me to start litigation but... and a big but, we just don’t know if we can be bothered with all the hassle! We are currently in the middle of renovating the house and we are getting married in 9 weeks, my best friend is just about 1 month from fully qualifying as an electrician and has said she will sort this out for us so we are not going to take to much of a financial hit. Our solicitors are a large firm with a very good track record and I’m pretty clued up with a few sections of law (apart from conveyancing). We also have further evidence of which the previous owners are unaware of but I cannot post this in a public forum for obvious reasons.
My questions...
How long is a case like this likely to take?
How complex is the process?
Should we bother? (Removing the personal feelings)
The previous owners are an elderly couple, my ethics are saying I should just leave it. Grr
0
Comments
-
Not a nice thing to find but what do you hope to achieve?
Personally I would get the faults rectified and forget bout suing an elderly couple.0 -
What do I hope to achieve? Good question.
I would hope that pending litigation would make the truth come out about what exactly they have done and who has done it. This would make rectification quickly and less invasive.0 -
As for suing an elderly couple we have been slightly worn down by them. We paid asking price and gave them an extra month in the house so they could get thier next house renovated in time for Christmas. We were always polite and didn’t pester them.
During the viewings she highlighted a few times that they had new carpets throughout ready for the house going on the market. When we got the keys we noticed they left a load of furniture and a clock, we called the estate agents to double check they had actually finished moving out and told them what they had left. Got a call back to say they wanted the clock but not the furniture... dropped the clock off and not wanting to make a fuss we arranged for the furniture to be discarded ourselves. We then found they had not carpeted underneath any of items so all this new (and lovely) carpet has had to be ripped up and replaced.
They told the surveyor the stop !!!! was in a particular cupboard but the surveyor put in her report that she could not see the stop !!!! as this cupboard was full. Moving in day we found this stop !!!!... still in its sealed packaging sitting in this cupboard.
They didn’t pay the window cleaner before they left, left both the recycling and rubbish full of soiled waste including bricks and wet soil, gave the wrong meter readings to the utility company, refused to give us a forwarding address, no redirection in place, we got a knock Christmas Eve from thier family as they were unaware they had moved (they still had a key!) oh and finally the toilet was broken even though we and the surveyor checked it before the exchange.
Even though all these issues have been a pain we still love the house and still believe we paid a good price but my god we feel like we have annoyed them and they have purposely been out for us!
Oh and don’t be under the illusion they are an elderly couple with no money... the husband runs a business with a turnover of 400k+ a year and drives a car I could only dream of.0 -
My personal opinion is to just move on...
The wiring job will be fixed very shortly and if it's a renovation project carpets etc will need replacing anyway...if you are happy with the house then don't let a niggle turn into a full blown legal nightmare which costs time and effort then possibly putting a cloud of everything
I daresay more things will come to light as you go on but part and parcel of buying a house0 -
The cloud is already happening and I hate that, I think we have this vision starting litigation as a magical wand which just fixes this issue but it’s evident that’s it’s going to drag and probably the long way round solving these issues.
I think because we are first time buyers we have been caught completely off guard, even the survey seemed like a waste of time and several hundred pounds, everything it pulled up we got checked and they turned out not to be an issue and everything we have found wasn’t mentioned, including damp and the concrete kitchen floor subsiding.
We did everything by the book and yet I feel completely mugged off.
At the moment the house is like a building site and I think once the plastering starts this week I’ll fall back in love with it.0 -
I must admit I’m swaying towards just letting it go, I’ve got a lot on at the moment and don’t really have the time or extra energy to deal with a legal battle.
I just wanted to get some impartial opinions as the idea of letting it go seems like I’m letting them get away with being deceitful. I’ll let the man in the clouds deal with them instead!0 -
Personally I wouldn't bother, especially as you are renovating anyway, just get it fixed in the process.0
-
What do I hope to achieve? Good question.
I would hope that pending litigation would make the truth come out about what exactly they have done and who has done it. This would make rectification quickly and less invasive.
Why on earth would that be a more reliable (or quicker) answer than just getting your own electrician to check it?0 -
If you take away the elderly part - most people on here would be outraged.
I have seen threads on here for plenty less. One about a bloody postbox....
Op you are justified in your anger - though, litigation probly won’t solve anything0 -
OP if you didn't get an electrician to check the house, you only have yourself to blame. Just like if the boiler packed in when you moved in and you didn't do a boiler check Before exchange.
Regarding the other stuff, life is too short to quibble over carpets and clocks.
My vendor hid a bathroom leak and we had to replaster the whole kitchen ceiling and fix the leak. Comes with buying a house I'm afraid"It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"
G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 241K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.7K Life & Family
- 254.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards