Being sued by buyer for failed sale.

jimbog

Even if you pay the £180 the goodwill has been lost already.
Don't pay a penny, you'll regret it!

csgohan4

Don't pay anything, that good will is now being taken advantaged of. If anyone is to blame, it's the pandemic. They should seek a MCOL claim against it. 

bare in mind you lost money too. 

oldbikebloke

Leonberger said:

I’ll try and keep this short.
We sold our house pre lockdown to an investor with nothing to sell.

 

Leonberger said:

 No we did not exchange contracts.

We agreed in writing to pay £180 for the survey as a goodwill gesture. Nothing else. They sent us a letter asking for it we did not offer it upfront however now they are asking for the full amount of costs incurred.
They say as we agreed in writing to pay the costs (of the survey) we are liable for it all and they want it transferred now.

We have paid nothing yet as were waiting for their bank details to pay for the survey and to be honest we really don’t have the money. 

you did not sell your house.
you accepted an offer, that is all. No contract = no sale 
Nor are you being sued, you are being threatened with being sued. Threats can be empty...

the exact wording in your letter may imply you agreed to pay, or merely offered to pay, £180,  If an offer, has it been accepted or rejected? 

if rejected, end of discussion (they have asked for more so looks like they have rejected it) 
if accepted, pay it, but nothing else.

jimbog

Dear .......

We were disappointed to receive your letter requesting £600 to cover the cost of your survey.

Our offer to contribute £180 towards its cost was a gesture in order to maintain goodwill between us in these difficult times. Since apparently this goodwill no longer exists, we have decided to no longer make a contribution.

We will not be communicating any further with you on this matter. 

Regards
Leonberger

Beans27

Hannimal said:

While it is very unlikely you are actually liable for anything, I understand where the sellers are coming from as you being an unrealiable seller ended up costing someone else a lot of money. £1200 is a life changing amount of money for a lot of people so they are understandably upset that you weren't going to sell. Their mistake was in trusting you. I'd be upset too. But such are things in this country that you're within your rights to mess your buyers about like this and it's up for them to cover the cost of you not living up to your word. 

It is not fair on the buyers, at all. But legally, they don't have a leg to stand on. 

Are you off your rocker? You think someone should move house and put their own finances in jeopardy to suit someone else? 
OP, you haven't 'messed anyone about', circumstances sometimes change, it's called life. I would go with the suggestions of telling them to foxtrot oscar 

trex227

Beans27 said:

Hannimal said:

While it is very unlikely you are actually liable for anything, I understand where the sellers are coming from as you being an unrealiable seller ended up costing someone else a lot of money. £1200 is a life changing amount of money for a lot of people so they are understandably upset that you weren't going to sell. Their mistake was in trusting you. I'd be upset too. But such are things in this country that you're within your rights to mess your buyers about like this and it's up for them to cover the cost of you not living up to your word. 

It is not fair on the buyers, at all. But legally, they don't have a leg to stand on. 

Are you off your rocker? You think someone should move house and put their own finances in jeopardy to suit someone else? 
OP, you haven't 'messed anyone about', circumstances sometimes change, it's called life. I would go with the suggestions of telling them to foxtrot oscar 

Also the OP says the buyers are investors, so ultimately this is a business deal. Not that I have anything against investors but I would have more sympathy if the buyer were moving to be near their elderly mother/to get their kid into a school or even just they want to live in the property. If £600 is a life changing amount for the buyers either their business is not doing very well or they are not prepared for the realities of business

davidmcn

trex227 said:

Beans27 said:

Hannimal said:

While it is very unlikely you are actually liable for anything, I understand where the sellers are coming from as you being an unrealiable seller ended up costing someone else a lot of money. £1200 is a life changing amount of money for a lot of people so they are understandably upset that you weren't going to sell. Their mistake was in trusting you. I'd be upset too. But such are things in this country that you're within your rights to mess your buyers about like this and it's up for them to cover the cost of you not living up to your word. 

It is not fair on the buyers, at all. But legally, they don't have a leg to stand on. 

Are you off your rocker? You think someone should move house and put their own finances in jeopardy to suit someone else? 
OP, you haven't 'messed anyone about', circumstances sometimes change, it's called life. I would go with the suggestions of telling them to foxtrot oscar 

Also the OP says the buyers are investors, so ultimately this is a business deal. Not that I have anything against investors but I would have more sympathy if the buyer were moving to be near their elderly mother/to get their kid into a school etc. If £600 is a life changing amount for the buyers either their business is not doing very well or they are not prepared for the realities of business

Quite, this isn't going to be "life changing" or "upsetting" for them, it's just business.

Leonberger

Thank you all.

I will send a brief letter as kindly posted for me earlier in the thread telling them we won’t be paying.

I am concerned re the letter I sent but surely if it did go to court they would take the original letter sent into consideration when reading my reply. I like the suggestion of stating that it was an offer from myself and not a legally binding contract.

Stressful!

foxy-stoat

Leonberger said:

Thank you all.

I will send a brief letter as kindly posted for me earlier in the thread telling them we won’t be paying.

I am concerned re the letter I sent but surely if it did go to court they would take the original letter sent into consideration when reading my reply. I like the suggestion of stating that it was an offer from myself and not a legally binding contract.

Stressful!

It wont go to court.  Dont stress about anything.

[Deleted User]

theoretica said:

I would reply that you had been willing to gift £180 to maintain neighbourly good feelings, but as their further demands have made it plain that this would not work and good feeling is lost you are sorry but will not be giving them anything. 

I agree with this approach
you offered a gift as a goodwill gesture 
gifts are not contracts and can be withdrawn at any time