Compensation for having to spend time trying to resolve issues caused by another party

Threestep

Hi all, I've recently joined the forum and wondered whether forum members know whether there is an hourly rate that I could use to request compensation for having to spend time trying to resolve issues caused by another party (in my case, in trying to buy a new-build property from a housing developer)?  Unfortunately, the as-yet unresolved issues have taken many hours over many months and, as such, I am considering making a "without prejudice" offer to the developer to try to settle the matter so wanted to pitch the offer realistically, based on the hours I have had to spend chasing a satisfactory resolution.  This would be in addition to requesting repayment of deposit, etc moneys that have been paid to the developer in good faith (and which, as yet, they are refusing to refund) since they have now sold the property to another party despite me having a signed Reservation Agreement with the developer.  Has compensation based on an hourly rate been established in case law, the courts, etc before?  Any suggestions or advice would be gratefully received.

Hoenir

Suggest you seek the advice of a solicitor before expanding further costly time. Financial damages need to be quantifiable.  Substantiating how precisely time was spent can be extremely challenging after the event.

Threestep

Hi, thanks for your note and appreciate that financial damages need to be quantifiable.  I can, broadly, substantiate how time was spent on the issue since I have kept notes in my calendar to support this.  Regarding seeking the advice of a Solicitor, my Conveyancing Solicitor has confirmed that he will support me as I go along but he advised that he is not a litigation Solicitor.  However, before commencing litigation, I wanted to see if I could achieve a less costly resolution (also, I understand this is expected by the courts should the dispute reach that stage).  

So, returning to my original request, do any forum members know whether compensation based on an hourly rate has been established in case law, the courts, etc before?  Any suggestions or advice would be gratefully received.

eskbanker

The Financial Ombudsman Service addresses this issue for complaints within its remit:

When we look at inconvenience and a customer's lost time, we may ask for evidence of how much time the customer spent sorting things out. We'd consider, for example, any lost wages (for instance, if they had to take a day off unpaid as a result of a business's error) when calculating the financial losses. But when deciding compensation for the inconvenience of unnecessary time spent in resolving an issue, we wouldn't use someone's hourly rate. We don't make awards based on units of time, and everyone's time is equally precious regardless of what a customer earns. Instead we decide fair compensation by looking at the overall impact the business's mistake had on the customer. 

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/resolving-complaint/understanding-compensation/compensation-for-distress-or-inconvenience

This is a different process from a court but is generally more consumer-friendly so I doubt that a court would consider a compensation figure calculated from a notional hourly rate, and might not even factor in anything beyond tangible financial losses - there's nothing stopping you from seeking anything you want when negotiating with a business but best go in with your eyes open in terms of what's actually legally enforceable, i.e. don't assume you have any right to compensation at all unless you have a contract that specifies this.

Threestep

Thanks eskbanker, that's useful to know; thanks for taking the time to reply.  I'll take that on board in considering next steps to achieve resolution of the issue.