Seller Pulled Out of Purchase & Home Buyer Protection Insurance Claim Rejected

RHemmings

horsewithnoname said:

user1977 said:

RHemmings said:

If the estate agent won't give a formal letter, then in the OP's situation I would raise an official complaint with them through their published complaints procedure. 

Eh? What does the estate agent have to do with 

They originally said the claim was refused because the EA refused to give a letter rather than an email. 

I mis-remembered the original post as saying that the EA had refused to give a letter rather than an email. The EA did give an email, but the OP says that the insurance company requires a letter from the seller's solicitor. Sorry all. 

sheramber

While we were still waiting for the bank to approve our mortgage, the vendor decided not to wait and chose to remarket the property.

Hpw long had you been waiting for the bank to approve your mortgage?

TheJP

sheramber said:

While we were still waiting for the bank to approve our mortgage, the vendor decided not to wait and chose to remarket the property.

Hpw long had you been waiting for the bank to approve your mortgage?

A typical mortgage application to offer is around 2 weeks, something tells me that there may have been issues in getting the mortgage as no one would pull out and remarket after a couple of weeks.

chanz4

raise a fomal complaint and go the ombudsman

user1977

chanz4 said:

raise a fomal complaint and go the ombudsman

Against whom and on what grounds? It seems reasonably clear to me that the OP's policy doesn't cover the situation they're in.

fluffymuffy

NervyBuyer said:

#7 - You hadn't had a survey by that point?

Sounds like a reason these policies never pay out.

Having just had to pay for a gazumping I was a little regretful to not have insurance. 

bbluvbb

Yes, I completely understand what you're saying, and it does feel like a sneaky way to avoid paying out. Since I started the claims process, I've only been contacted by the solicitor appointed by the insurer—not by anyone from the insurance company directly. Does anyone know if this is usual? It feels like I’m being blocked from directly contacting the insurance company, which is frustrating.

So far, they just keep asking us to provide an official letter, which seems to be dragging things out even further.

user1977

I'm not sure it's "sneaky", it's just one of the (many!) causes of a transaction falling through which the policy doesn't cover. Any "official letter" is just going to clarify that you don't have a valid claim.

If you had asked us in the first place whether the insurance was worth taking out, I think the general answer would have been no.

bbluvbb

mills705 said:

bbluvbb said:

Thank you all for your suggestions. The email from the vendor didn’t state the exact reason for pulling out in the email, but we know it was because they wanted to finalise the sale as quickly as possible. While we were still waiting for the bank to approve our mortgage, the vendor decided not to wait and chose to remarket the property.

I’ve reviewed the terms and conditions, checked what’s insured, and confirmed that I meet the criteria.

We will, subject to what is not insured, the claims provisions and conditions of this policy

pay the costs and expenses following the purchase of the property failing as a result of

an insured incident shown as operative in the schedule.

Provided that:

1. the full premium has been paid.

2. the date of occurrence is during the period of insurance.

3. any claim is reported to us:

a. during the period of insurance.

b. immediately after you became aware of circumstances which may give rise to a

claim.

4. you do not deliberately and knowingly cause a delay or use unreasonable behaviour

that results in the failed purchase.

5. the purchase of the property is not subject to a contract race or sealed bids.

6. you are using a solicitor to conduct the conveyancing of the property.

7. you have not had a survey carried out on the property.

8. you have made an offer to purchase the property and that offer has been accepted by

the vendor or their agent in writing.

9. an application for any mortgage on the property has been agreed in principle.

10. the policy is issued no later than three working days from the date on which you first

instruct a solicitor.

it does not have the wording of official letter is needed from the T&Cs

Insured incidents

1. Withdrawal from the sale by the vendor because of gazumping

The vendor withdrawing from the sale following receipt and acceptance of an alternative

offer providing that the alternative offer is at least £1,000 greater than the property price.

2. Withdrawal from the sale by the vendor for other reasons

The vendor withdrawing from the sale for reasons other than set out in paragraph 1 above

and which are beyond your reasonable control.

We will not pay for any claim:

a. Where the vendor withdraws from the sale due to any delays, action or inaction

caused by you or your solicitor.

b. Where you failed to obtain a mortgage offer.

Did you have an AIP? If so then id say if you were literally in the line to be approved for your mortgage and within normal timeframes of a few weeks then the insurer is being unreasonable and should proceed with the claim payout.

You also have the reason - they want a quick sale and a mortgage buyer isnt going to be quick in moving forward as they want.  

Yes, we were required to have an AIP when viewing the property. The whole thing is so shady because the T&Cs don’t even specify what constitutes a "delay." Our offer was accepted in late September last year, and we proceeded with a solicitor and mortgage broker. Two weeks later, the agent called to say the seller had decided to put the transaction on hold. When we asked for a reason, the agent said they had no idea either so all we could do is just wait from the update from the seller and also from the banks.

Then, a day or two later, the agent called again and said the seller had decided to continue. During this time, we kept submitting the required documents to the bank for the mortgage. However, around early Nov, the seller decided to pull out completely.

eddddy

As an aside, have you checked Trustpilot, and other review sites, for reviews of this company that relate to making a claim?

Don't be misled by a flood of 5 star reviews about arranging a policy - like "the website was easy to use", "arranging the policy was very easy", "they [the salespeople selling policies] were friendly and helpful".