Issues with buyer of house

eve824

In September last year we completed our house sale and purchase and moved. Sold our own house for £15k below asking and had a bidding war at the end between two parties. Highest bidder won.
Buyer did not have a survey done and did two brief viewings.
Cleaned the house on the day of moving, said our teary goodbyes and moved into our lovely new house.
2 months later our buyers emailed through solicitor with a long list of problems wanting compensation. We left loads of rubbish there, boiler was broken, radiator broken, left holes in wall, oven so dirty he had to replace it etc. Nearly £2k of compensation wanted. Solicitor advised they had no claim and sent a reply back on our behalf. We thought that would be the end of it.

Fast forward several months the buyer has now sent me a Money Claim online claiming for the cost of everything. He didn't have my residential address - he asked for it via estate agents but I refused due to his conduct on day of completion (culminating in the estate agents telling me to meet them in a local supermarket car park to hand the  keys over for my own safety due to his threatening behavior stood in the EA office). So he has sent it to my work address. Good job Money Claim sent me an email as our offices are closed at the moment due to Covid so I would never have received a letter. He has also addressed claim to just me however both mine and my partners names were on the house sale contract.

Chances on the case being thrown out of court? I really don't want to expend any further energy / time on this attending court to dispute it, having to take annual leave from work to go etc. He doesn't have a good reputation from solicitors, estate agents nor someone I know who knows him....and I think he genuinely believes he has been wronged by us in some way.... I understand he has no case and I even spoke to his solicitor who confirmed that they had told him he had no case to which he got angry at them as he didn't like what they told him. Sounded like they were glad to see the back of him!

Comms69

Well the chances depend on what you do about it.

Ignoring it will mean he wins by default. So you will have to attend. 

Have you acknowledged the claim?

csgohan4

see if your house insurance has legal cover to help you fight it

eve824

We have a full defence written out and plan to dispute in full. Just haven't submitted it yet. Have several weeks to do so no immediate rush.
House insurance we do have legal cover but it doesn't cover small claims court representation sadly. We are checking with them anyway as the Policy schedule is a little confusing but I am not holding out much hope.
I was just wondering if the court takes a look at both sides and would dismiss the claim if there was no case so as not to waste time?

davidmcn

eve824 said:

I was just wondering if the court takes a look at both sides and would dismiss the claim if there was no case so as not to waste time?

They ought to if there doesn't appear to be even any legal basis for the claim set out. What does it actually say?

Splatfoot

Did you leave rubbish there?

csgohan4

caveat emptor will be the main basis of your defense likely, but looks like buyer is trying it on. Time to see these things was before exchange and certainly before completion. 

My vendor hid a leaking bathroom sink and found the kitchen ceiling plaster soaking through one morning, who's fault was it? Mine, for not checking properly, thankfully I won't be buying anymore houses. 

MovingForwards

File acknowledgment of service, your defence will then have extra time to be filed.

Phone legal expense people again, you only need help with this to defend it, you don't need them to attend the hearing if it gets that far.

Are any of the allegations correct? Being completely honest with us.

eve824

Re the rubbish we knowingly left some materials to match those used in the house, spare paint, grout, shutter louvres etc. My defence is, if he didn't want these and regarded them as rubbish then he could have given us the opportunity to collect these from him. Instead he is claiming for his own time to take them to the tip having only told us he was unhappy 2 months later.

Boiler etc was all working fine when we vacated the house.

We left holes in the walls yes from where we had pictures up. So did the old owners of our new house. We just went round with a £5 pot of filler and dealt with them..! He is claiming £500 to fill some screw holes in the walls.

To be honest I don't want this dragging out, I know I can have another 14 days if I acknowledge it but I'd rather just file my defence and get on with it. I'll wait until the house insurance legal team get back to me.

The claim just states that the house was in unsatisfactory state upon completion and he is seeking compensation for the various things, then a breakdown of the items and a cost next to each. There's not a lot of detail on it. He has tried to make us look unreasonable by refusing to give him my address / talk to him (I have never refused to talk to him - he never tried to approach us throughout the sale process everything went through EA and solicitors).

Comms69

eve824 said:

We have a full defence written out and plan to dispute in full. Just haven't submitted it yet. Have several weeks to do so no immediate rush.
House insurance we do have legal cover but it doesn't cover small claims court representation sadly. We are checking with them anyway as the Policy schedule is a little confusing but I am not holding out much hope.
I was just wondering if the court takes a look at both sides and would dismiss the claim if there was no case so as not to waste time?

But have to acknowledged it? 

No courts dont dismiss cases. I can make a claim against you, and if you fail to respond i win and you have to pay me. 

Comms69

eve824 said:

Re the rubbish we knowingly left some materials to match those used in the house, spare paint, grout, shutter louvres etc. My defence is, if he didn't want these and regarded them as rubbish then he could have given us the opportunity to collect these from him. Instead he is claiming for his own time to take them to the tip having only told us he was unhappy 2 months later.

Boiler etc was all working fine when we vacated the house.

We left holes in the walls yes from where we had pictures up. So did the old owners of our new house. We just went round with a £5 pot of filler and dealt with them..! He is claiming £500 to fill some screw holes in the walls.

To be honest I don't want this dragging out, I know I can have another 14 days if I acknowledge it but I'd rather just file my defence and get on with it. I'll wait until the house insurance legal team get back to me.

The claim just states that the house was in unsatisfactory state upon completion and he is seeking compensation for the various things, then a breakdown of the items and a cost next to each. There's not a lot of detail on it. He has tried to make us look unreasonable by refusing to give him my address / talk to him (I have never refused to talk to him - he never tried to approach us throughout the sale process everything went through EA and solicitors).

Ok that's not a defence, that's an admission! 

Your defence is, as others pointed out CAVEAT EMPTOR. Assuming you listed the things you left on the forms, there is no claim to be had.