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Need some advice on a property I was about to complete on in 4 weeks time and had to pull out due to the driveway elevation not being clearly explained even though we asked in the sale meeting what the differences are between the 2 plots side by side (as at the time we had the option of either) one has now got a flat drive and the one we were purchasing has a slope drive.
We had to pull out and in a result lost loads of our time and our chain of buyers.
I have also lost over £2k due to their lack of sales experience. I have recently received correspondence regarding my complaint which is posted in the comments below. Basic denying fault/misold and going on to say everything was done correctly.
I sent them a formal complaint nearly 2 weeks ago which was,
Dear Barratt,
I am making a formal complaint against Barratt Developments PLC. My complaint is that I have
been mis-sold by your sales representative at the Chilmington site in regard to plot 10
elevations.
I contacted your office in May of this year to purchase one of your new builds on this
development. After viewing the show home’s I was extremely excited to purchase one of your
homes for my family as we felt we were outgrowing the current home we are in and need extra
space.
We came to the office and looked at the properties available and found one of the 3 bed town
houses would accommodate for our needs perfectly!
After deciding this was something we would like to proceed with, looking at figures etc we came and had a meeting with Michael Barnes your sales representative. At the time there were several plots of town houses available. We were lucky that 3 of the end terraces were available at the time. We discussed that one end terrace, plot 12, would share a driveway with plot 11 so this was not of our interest. The two others were plot 9 and 10. We asked if these plots had any differences, to help us with our final decision. Michael said the plots were identical, but the floor plan would be a mirror image. Plot 9’s stairs would be on the left and plot 10 would be on the right. We did then ask about the elevation of the ground (to help with the choice of plot 9 or 10) he then looked at the drawing’s and confirmed the ground would be pretty much level. To us at this point we was lead to believe that the two properties were the same so we decided on plot 10.
Very happy with our choice we started the ball rolling and paid the reservation fee of £500 to secure the property that we thought had everything we needed with no risks or concerns.
I have since been organising all of the expenses for this move to proceed. I have paid out £1926 to date. I have paid out for non-refundable mortgage fees, solicitor upfront fees, conveyancing, RICS surveyor and help to buy fee to commence with our redemption.
I met the site manager on the Wednesday 11th September and walked around plot 7 to get a general feel of the build as this was the one closest to completion that I could enter for H&S reasons.
The groundwork to the front of the plots was still formed of rubble and earth but generally looked all level. A few weeks later I had visited the site to view the progress and the driveway was block paved and vegetation was planted. I have attached photos of the build of what we thought our driveway was becoming but a few weeks later it was all torn up and reconstructed as described below.
When we drove by last week to check on further progress but to our dismay when we saw the property we was shocked to see the drive way on plot 10 (the one we have been working so hard to secure and move to) had an extremely sloping drive to the carport and a wall
constructed against Plot 9’s levelled drive!
We are not prepared to move to a house where our possessions are at risk. We were not made aware of this at any point of the sale or any form of discussion regarding drainage, risk or flood prevention to protect the property/vehicles of a sloping driveway. The driveway and carport will also suffer from debris, litter and dead leaves on a regular basis.
We was hugely mislead during the construction of these plots, the driveways were all level and block paved. 5 weeks before completion the whole front of the plots has been reconstructed.
We would have NOT chosen plot 10 if we had been told initially. We are now greatly out of pocket as we are not prepared to move to a property that we have no confidence in. We should have been made aware what was being reconstructed but has not been brought to our attention
during the construction phase.
This is a critical issue and should have been disclosed when being sold to us, not for us to have discovered 4 weeks upon completion 3 months after commencing to purchase the property.
I have worked so hard to make this move possible and paid out hard earnt money to make this
happen. I do not have disposable cash for errors made by Barratt.
Why was this not brought to my attention way back in our first appointment or during the
construction?
I have had no choice but to pull out from the sale.
It is completely dishonourable to expect my family to now NOT afford to move anywhere else.
All the savings have been paid out on all the fees to purchase this property which has clearly
been Mis-sold.
In my view, Barratt should compensate me fully so I am not at loss from the misrepresentation error caused.
I understand that you are required to respond formally to my complaint. I shall follow up this letter if I do not hear back from you by Monday 11th November. In the meantime, if you need any information from me, please telephone me on the number above or email me at the address above.
We had to pull out and in a result lost loads of our time and our chain of buyers.
I have also lost over £2k due to their lack of sales experience. I have recently received correspondence regarding my complaint which is posted in the comments below. Basic denying fault/misold and going on to say everything was done correctly.
I sent them a formal complaint nearly 2 weeks ago which was,
Dear Barratt,
I am making a formal complaint against Barratt Developments PLC. My complaint is that I have
been mis-sold by your sales representative at the Chilmington site in regard to plot 10
elevations.
I contacted your office in May of this year to purchase one of your new builds on this
development. After viewing the show home’s I was extremely excited to purchase one of your
homes for my family as we felt we were outgrowing the current home we are in and need extra
space.
We came to the office and looked at the properties available and found one of the 3 bed town
houses would accommodate for our needs perfectly!
After deciding this was something we would like to proceed with, looking at figures etc we came and had a meeting with Michael Barnes your sales representative. At the time there were several plots of town houses available. We were lucky that 3 of the end terraces were available at the time. We discussed that one end terrace, plot 12, would share a driveway with plot 11 so this was not of our interest. The two others were plot 9 and 10. We asked if these plots had any differences, to help us with our final decision. Michael said the plots were identical, but the floor plan would be a mirror image. Plot 9’s stairs would be on the left and plot 10 would be on the right. We did then ask about the elevation of the ground (to help with the choice of plot 9 or 10) he then looked at the drawing’s and confirmed the ground would be pretty much level. To us at this point we was lead to believe that the two properties were the same so we decided on plot 10.
Very happy with our choice we started the ball rolling and paid the reservation fee of £500 to secure the property that we thought had everything we needed with no risks or concerns.
I have since been organising all of the expenses for this move to proceed. I have paid out £1926 to date. I have paid out for non-refundable mortgage fees, solicitor upfront fees, conveyancing, RICS surveyor and help to buy fee to commence with our redemption.
I met the site manager on the Wednesday 11th September and walked around plot 7 to get a general feel of the build as this was the one closest to completion that I could enter for H&S reasons.
The groundwork to the front of the plots was still formed of rubble and earth but generally looked all level. A few weeks later I had visited the site to view the progress and the driveway was block paved and vegetation was planted. I have attached photos of the build of what we thought our driveway was becoming but a few weeks later it was all torn up and reconstructed as described below.
When we drove by last week to check on further progress but to our dismay when we saw the property we was shocked to see the drive way on plot 10 (the one we have been working so hard to secure and move to) had an extremely sloping drive to the carport and a wall
constructed against Plot 9’s levelled drive!
We are not prepared to move to a house where our possessions are at risk. We were not made aware of this at any point of the sale or any form of discussion regarding drainage, risk or flood prevention to protect the property/vehicles of a sloping driveway. The driveway and carport will also suffer from debris, litter and dead leaves on a regular basis.
We was hugely mislead during the construction of these plots, the driveways were all level and block paved. 5 weeks before completion the whole front of the plots has been reconstructed.
We would have NOT chosen plot 10 if we had been told initially. We are now greatly out of pocket as we are not prepared to move to a property that we have no confidence in. We should have been made aware what was being reconstructed but has not been brought to our attention
during the construction phase.
This is a critical issue and should have been disclosed when being sold to us, not for us to have discovered 4 weeks upon completion 3 months after commencing to purchase the property.
I have worked so hard to make this move possible and paid out hard earnt money to make this
happen. I do not have disposable cash for errors made by Barratt.
Why was this not brought to my attention way back in our first appointment or during the
construction?
I have had no choice but to pull out from the sale.
It is completely dishonourable to expect my family to now NOT afford to move anywhere else.
All the savings have been paid out on all the fees to purchase this property which has clearly
been Mis-sold.
In my view, Barratt should compensate me fully so I am not at loss from the misrepresentation error caused.
I understand that you are required to respond formally to my complaint. I shall follow up this letter if I do not hear back from you by Monday 11th November. In the meantime, if you need any information from me, please telephone me on the number above or email me at the address above.
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