Chargeback against homebuilder? Or S75?

lsl86

Thanks everyone for your replies so far.

Technically I don't think I've paid a deposit on the house. I've paid a reservation fee, which they've been careful throughout not to call a deposit. That was £1k. The one I'm more concerned about is the countertop, which was £4320.

The total cost of the house is £409,995, and the deposit is 10% payable on exchange, so that would be £40,999.50, which I haven't paid yet as we haven't exchanged contracts.

I paid for both things with separate credit card transactions - hopefully this makes it easier to distinguish them. One was specifically for the reservation fee, and one was specifically for the countertop.

Bellway looked into P/X, but wouldn't proceed because the house I'm selling is ex-council.

GrumpyDil

When you paid the fee for the countertop you should have received and signed an order form which would have contained the relevant T's and C's. You need to go and read that form, or get a copy, to see exactly what your options are. 

MEM62

lsl86 said:

The 2-week time limit definitely wasn't in any paperwork.

What you may have is a deadline for completion, which you would now be struggling to meet. 
A two-week deadline to find a buyer is meaningless anyway as one buyer may be able to complete quickly and another will take significantly longer.  The builder will push because he wants his cash and they are less tolerant of being messed about by the various buyers and sellers in a chain.  The people we bought from a few years back were buying a new-build and the pressure that the builder put them under was ridiculous.  However, despite not making the several 'final deadlines' that the builder dictated, they still ended up with the house.  In many cases, it's just a pressure tactic.            

lsl86

@MEM62 that's good to know, thanks! We are getting a lot of pressure from the builder, and the idea of losing all the money we've already put in is causing a ton of stress for my wife and I. We've got a viewing on our house today, so hopefully something comes of that and I can avoid confrontation with Bellway. I just wanted to know what my options were if it comes to that.

eddddy

Your rights are based 100% on the contract(s) that you agreed to when you paid £4320.

I strongly suspect that their standard contract says words to the effect of... if you don't proceed with buying the house, you don't get the £4320 back and you don't get the worktop.

But you say you were never given a copy of their contract terms, and never told those terms. If that's genuinely the case (and you could convince a court that was the case), a court would look at "What would a reasonable person expect in these circumstances?".

i.e. Would a reasonable person expect to lose their £4320, if they didn't proceed with buying the house?

I don't know whether a credit card company would use the same approach as a court when considering a chargeback - or whether they would be harsher or softer. But if the credit card company decide to action the chargeback, the developer might still decide to take you to court and sue you for the £4320. 

lsl86

Well, that sucks.
I've been through the pack of documents that Bellway gave me, and there's nothing there about the countertop or any T&Cs regarding it. I'll have to request a copy of any relevant documentation from Bellway, but I don't want to poke the bear just yet as ideally I'll keep them on-side for as long as possible, in case I can find a buyer. If they do decide to withdraw from the agreement and refuse to sell me the house, then I'll request a copy of any "contract" they think I might be bound by.

[Deleted User]

eddddy said:

Your rights are based 100% on the contract(s) that you agreed to when you paid £4320.

I strongly suspect that their standard contract says words to the effect of... if you don't proceed with buying the house, you don't get the £4320 back and you don't get the worktop.

But you say you were never given a copy of their contract terms, and never told those terms. If that's genuinely the case (and you could convince a court that was the case), a court would look at "What would a reasonable person expect in these circumstances?".

i.e. Would a reasonable person expect to lose their £4320, if they didn't proceed with buying the house?

I don't know whether a credit card company would use the same approach as a court when considering a chargeback - or whether they would be harsher or softer. But if the credit card company decide to action the chargeback, the developer might still decide to take you to court and sue you for the £4320. 

The builder can't financially benefit from the cancellation and any amounts retained must fairly reflect their costs only.  

There is a overarching requirement for 'Good Faith' in consumer contracts so 
'Your rights are based 100% on the contract(s) that you agreed to when you paid £4320' is factually incorrect.

As regards the countertop, you've paid for it and therefore appear to own it but as it's not a standalone item (once installed) this this complicates matters. Also, the amount maybe an 'upgrade fee' and there may be a contribution by the builder. 

lsl86

Thanks @Deleted User, that's good to know. Was getting quite worried by some of the responses here.
As I said, I'm hoping that this will end up being a non-issue, as the ideal outcome is to find a new buyer for my current house and proceed with the purchase from Bellway. However, if they do withdraw the house from me it's good to know I have some rights. They certainly would benefit from a £4.3k countertop that they could use as an incentive to lure future buyers, not to mention the £1k reservation fee that it seems they just get to keep.

lisyloo

We don't know exactly what was agreed, understood or is in the contract.
Do you have any legal cover and/or a helpline on your contents insurance?
If they are stopping the sale then I would ask for a refund and then do a chargeback/S75.
You might need to ask them for a refund to satisfy the chargeback process.

lsl86

Yeah, I think that's my best course of action here.
1. Do everything I can to find a buyer within the arbitrary time limit set by Bellway. If this happens, no need for further action.
2. Failing that, if Bellway refuse to proceed with the sale, request a refund on the countertop and reservation fee.
3. If they refuse to give a refund, request a copy of any documentation or contract that they think binds me into paying them this money with no refund possible / consumer rights waived etc.
4. Initiate a chargeback/S75, on the basis that they've taken payment for something and then prevented me from having it, resulting in a financial benefit for them, as they will resell it / use it as an incentive for someone else.