Home Information Packs

[kells343]

Oh my im SO annoyed and was wondering whether someone could possibly give me some advice.

 

On Monday 28th Feb i placed my house on the market - on Monday 3rd March - for various reasons, only 5 working days later, i took my house off the market.

 

2 weeks after this, just last week infact, i received a letter from the Estate Agents Solicitors demanding £500 for the HIP (Home Information Pack).

 

Now i agree that i should pay a proportion of this, in respect of the title deeds that were applied for (albeit at the press of a button) and for the energy effieciency man, who spent about 5 mins on Fri 29th, looking at light bulbs etc. What i dont agree with is having to pay the whole £500 for something i dont need, or want and after informing them that i was taking it off the market, why didnt they stop working on the HIP!!

 

I have written a letter to them and asked a full breakdown of when work was carried out, and recieved a phonecall from a stuck up woman telling me that as the estate agents have paid MDA (HIP people) that they want their money back from me ASAP. TO which i neither agreed or disagreed with.

 

Have since recieved another 2 letters demanding money and threatening me with legal action if i dont pay within 7 days!

 

Help!

[jowalshy]

Hi Kells. Do you have a copy of the estate agents terms and conditions? If you do, try and see if there is a "right to cancellation period" in it.

[kells343]

Hi there jowalshy

 

I have read through the T&C's and there is no right to cancel period details at all.

 

I had thought about that, is it not a legal requirement that they should have a right to cancel clause?

[jowalshy]

Yes all contracts to do with credit of some form, have to have a cooling off period, usually about 14 days. I have a feeling that Estate Agents don't come into this category and therefore once you signed the contract, you were legally bound by it.

[kells343]

As a consumer, do i not have a statutory right to a cooling off period / cancellation period?

[jowalshy]

I have found a link to "shoppers rights - selling properties". It does not really mention any cooling off period.

 

I think that these "cooling off periods" relate to credit agreements eg if you apply for a loan or credit card etc. As you signed an agreement with an Estate Agency which really isn't giving you credit, I don't think the cooling off period applies. But then again I may be wrong and if I am, someone will pop along and advise otherwise.

 

Here is the link:-

 

Shoppers Rights Articles - Estate Agents

[Helford]

I cannot see how you can have a right of canellation in view of the fact that the HIPs must have been instructed prior to the property being marketed?

 

Pretty much the same as buying a last minute holiday. How can you cancel something that you have already started to use?

 

HIP's are a total mockery, for my HIP, the chap came in by appointment to do the Energy Performance Certificate. If the chap was in the house 4 minutes that would be an exaggeration! It's only 2 years old and as such, he said that he would assume all was ok, stuck his head in the loft and asked me if I had energy saving light bulbs elsewhere! What a waste of money!

 

I appointed my HIP Company via my Solicitor and have not signed anything!

 

H

[kells343]

In the T&C's there are 2 boxes that was supposed to be signed.

 

Box 1 - This is the box that we signed to say that we agreed to pay by deferred payment ie: when the house was sold.

 

 

Box 2 - I have read and understood the Terms and Condtions overleaf - This we did not sign. We was not even asked to sign it.

 

Apparently the horrid lady from the Estate Agents who called me, said that as from June, you can not market a property without having a HIP in place - I already tried that one as my house was marketed as soon as i instructed them and the HIP wasnt completed till at least 3 weeks after!

 

These HIP's are very vague - there are no firm rules about them, just loads of Estate Agents and Solicitors making their own set of rules up as they go along.

 

I have now only got 5 days to pay and dont know what to do. Should i pay the whole ammount and be done with it, or should i not pay and see this through? Why should we have to pay for something we dont need or want.

 

Helford - I do agree that i should pay a proportion of the total sum to them. I asked them to stop working on it 5 working days after my house went on the market - the energy effiecency man came on day 5, he couldnt of had a chance to write any kind of report. Why did 2 weeks later i receive a letter saying that my HIP was now completed and that they wanted payment. If they had stopped working on it when i asked them too - then surely i wouldnt of incurred such a large cost?

[kittycatty]

HI

I work (off sick at the mo) for a large HIP provider, when you first instruct the EA to take your property on, they would automatically submit a HIP request with their provider. Most HIP providers will have requested all searches and other documents with 2 hours of instruction.

 

Can I ask which EA you are with please?

[kells343]

HI Kitty

 

Yes, i can see what you are saying - most things are done at the touch of a button these days - but if that was the case, then why did they leave it a further 2 weeks to say that my HIP was now ready and they require payment.

 

I would rather not say which estate agents im having the issues with, i dont see the point really, i would imagine that they are all the same.

 

I think that its unfair to have your house on the market for only 5 working days and have to pay £500 for the pleasure!!

 

With no cooling off period of cancellation notice policy in place, it seems we are stuck with this awful tax, and may i add, all estate agents will tell you that no one ever requests to look at these packs!! What is the point.

[kittycatty]

I know what you are saying. HIP's are a complete waste of money.

The only reason I asked about which EA it was, was some do allow free cancellations but all that should be explained when the house was first instructed.

[kittycatty]

Kells343 Can I just ask, when you contacted the EA can you remember what they said regarding then HIP with regards to payment etc?

[kells343]

Hi Kitty

 

Yes i can remember but not entirely sure what info u need.

 

The payment was to be deferred untill the property was sold and then it would of been paid with the usual lot of payments associated with selling a house hehe.

 

Now that i am not selling they want the payment now. The person i spoke to on the phone said that they had already paid MDA (the HIP provider) and they want their money from me ASAP.

 

Having looked through all the paperwork i have - it doesnt say anywhere how much i owe - just that i owe a *sum* plus a £50 deferment fee + VAT. I have a sum of £468 in my mind - but cant remember where i got that from.

 

Would it be worth me calling MDA and finding out exactly when they were told it was no longer needed?

[kittycatty]

Hi

 

Usually with deferred payments you only pay when the property sells / or a certain length of time has past or if you withdraw the house from the market.

 

I would contact MDA and find out exactly when the searches etc were requested and when the cancellation request went through.

 

Most of the EA's we deal with do have it written into the contract that if you cancel with xx days they reserve the right to charge £xxx for the completed portions of the HIP.

[kittycatty]

The sum of £468.00 could be the charge of the deferred HIP payment if property sold.

[kells343]

Ok - spoke to MDA

 

This is the time frame

 

Sat 23rd - House valued and we signed HIP agreement for deferred payment.

 

Wed 27th - Order was placed with MDA

 

Fri 29th - Home Efficiency guy came round to do assesment

 

Mon 3rd Mar - I took house off market and asked to stop HIP.

 

MDA say that if the EA had informed them within 2 business days of the order being placed then they could of cancelled it at no cost. But because th eMonday is 3 business days, i have to pay the full cost of the HIP.

 

So it seems i gotta pay up

[kittycatty]

You could try and neg with MDA as you were only outside the timescale. Also ask them and or the EA for the real cost as £500.00 sound very steep. Who is chasing for the money??

[kells343]

MDA wont negotiate. As far as they are concerned, they have provided what was requested form them - they were the third party and it is not their fault.

 

The blame lies with the stupid EA who didnt cancel it with MDA but as i have signed a contract, there is nothing i can do.

 

Im just writing a letter to the EA requesting an ammount - its hilarious, i have had 3 demands for money from them, but not one of them says how much i owe.

 

Im so annoyed i feel like writing a stinking letter - but on the other hand if i play my cards right, they may negotiate a settlement. Not quite sure how to word a negotiation letter as im too annoyed and wanna tell them to shove it up there /bleeep!!!

[kittycatty]

Were you made aware of their cancellations policy with regards to the HIP should you remove the property from the market. If you weren't you could argue that way.

Also as I believe if you pay for the HIP it is yours so even if they make you pay for it make sure you get the original.

[kells343]

No iwas not informed of any cancellation/lack of cancellation policy - and the HIP is only valid for a period of time - 9 months i think. After which i need to get a new one, if i decide to sell.

 

I dont know what to do - whether to argue my case, and not pay - or just to pay and be done with it.

 

Which ever i choose, ill end up losing lol

[kittycatty]

You could argue that you were not properly informed about such circumstances such as yours. You will need to check the small print on the contract just in case there's something there re cancellations.

If not ask to speak or write (recorded delivery) to the branch manager and state your case, worse case senario is that you will have to pay but it's worth a go.

[MDAadvantage]

Hi,

 

Maybe i can be of any assistance in your query. I am working for MDA Advantage so i will be able to assist you in your queries.

 

I have not read all the posts on here, however i am willing to assist you in rectifing the issue you are having.

 

PS I am not giving my name due to security reasons as i am not supposed to release information in regards to the company.

 

Signed

A........

[kells343]

Hello A......

 

Thanks for your response...I dont think it is MDA that is at fault here, more the EA's, who failed to inform you of a cancellation on my behalf. I have today sent off a letter to the EA accounts team, who have been very unhelpful and as a business, i feel, could of done more to avoid a huge cost for me.

 

However, if you are willing to answer a few questions for me, then i would appreciate it - although i feel i will end up having to pay anyway.

 

Could you confirm the cancellation policy that MDA has with EA's at all?

 

Could you confirm the exact cost to MDA for a HIP? ( I would like to know how much extra the EA is charging me )

 

Lastly, if your cancellation policy is 2 business days, what would happen if someone cancelled first thing on the 3rd business day? Is there ANYTHING you could do to avoid charging the full ammount?

 

Thanks everyone for your time and trouble - its very much appreciated

 

 

Kells

[MDAadvantage]

Hi Kells343,

 

Firsty, MDA only have a cancellation policy with Countrywide Estate Agents, this includes 50% of the UK property market as countrywide own a number of different companies.

 

The cancellation policy is that MDA must receive an email from the EA confirming that they want to cancel the HIP. This email must be sent within 2 working days of the initial order of the HIP.

 

Once MDA receive the email we archive the HIP which can be unarchived at any point with a email request.

 

Unfortunately you have delayed this by 1 working day, which i know it is stupid however this is the agreement between countrywide and MDA. All hips cancelled outside of the timescale must be paid for in full by the ESTATE AGENT.

 

The estate agent will attempt to recover the funds of the vendor (you in this case). If the EA is unable to get the funds of the vendor this will then be passed to their bad debt team.

 

Secondly, the cost of each HIP varies due to where the property is and the local authorities and water companies as they all charge MDA differently. The rough cost to countrywide estate agents is between £180 and £280.

 

Do you know the system ID for the HIP or if you dont mind could you give me your postcode and i will be able to check on you HIP and maybe able to advise you on what steps to take.

 

Some personal advise if all fails is get them to complete the HIP for you as the EPC in the HIP is valid for 12 months and the searches in the HIP are valid for 3 months but can be relied upon for 6 months.

 

Therefore if you decide to sell your property in the future you will be able to use the same HIP and avoid costs as you will not need a new one.

 

Do you know if countrywide have actually sent the email into MDA and if so on which date?

 

I will check all information in regards to you pack in the morning for you and advise you of the best possible solution and hopefuly try and avoid costs for you.

 

Regards

A.............

[alexander]

I agree the HIP is a complete waste of time. I don't understand how you can blame the estate agent. You chose to put your house on the market and therefore under goverment legislation you have to have a HIP ordered to commence marketing.

 

The Estate agent acted under your instruction, estate agents will offer the services of a HIP provider but i would be amazed if it was in their terms of business you had to use their recommendation.

 

It's the goverment that bought this stupid thing in and if anyone is to blame its them.

 

At least you did not change your mind about selling a few weeks later when any potential buyer could have spent thousands on solicitors and surveyors.