Transfer of maintenance contract

[Ajtanner]

Hey, this is probably a "it depends" kind of question. But here goes. If person A signs and purchases a 10 year maintenance contract to look after a ground source heat pump and pays it all up front, what happens to the contract when person A sells the property to person B? If the contractor does not repay person A for unused cover then is the contract still active? If notice about the sale is given to the provider and person B isn't asked to pay or sign anything is that enough to say the contract is assigned to person B? If the provider verbally accepts person B is the new bona fide customer and takes phone calls and sends out engineers is that also evidence that the contract is legally assigned to person B? If there is nothing in the contract about cover transfer then does that mean it belongs to person B? Now, finally, what happens if person B is really unhappy with the service that they are receiving from the contractor? Does person B have the right under the law to request cancellation of the contract and a suitable refund? Or does Person B have no legal options here? If the contract is transferable what evidence or situation would have to exist for a court to decide on favour of person B? Thanks. Andy.

[atticus]

These kinds of things are usually transferrable to a new owner of the property. Check with the supplier.

[dslippy]

The basic rule is that the benefit of a contract is assignable, but not the burden.

On the sale the buyer's solicitor should obtain an assignment of the benefit of the contract, and then in a perfect world send a copy to the contractor.

[Ajtanner]

Thank you both for your replies. I will have a look through the house sale documentation. I don't recall a specific "assignment" document being mentioned or prepared. I certainly didn't send the contractor one. But...I did verbally introduce ourselves to the new contractor and they said nothing about re-signing the contract or anything legal. They just carried on as if I was the original customer for about a 15 months. But when I started to complain about various contract breaches / generally poor service, the walls came down and suddenly I'm told: "No contract with you, no right to a refund, everything we've done so far has been out of generosity to help you out because our customer service is *that* good." It doesn't feel right that a company can doorstep some elderly folks with a poorly-written contract, keep the cash and provide little to no service over the years. So I'm trying to establish which side of the legal line I am in terms of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - whether enough has happened (via phone calls, emails, engineer visits) to say that the contract has been assigned or whether it remains with the previous owners despite the fact that they have moved out. At this late stage can I get my property solicitor to obtain this assignment you speak of?

[atticus]

you may ask your conveyancer.

The circumstances you describe suggest an acknowledgement by tge contractor of assignment.

You may also have an argument under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act. It would be useful to be able to obtain a copy of the original contract, to see what it says about assignment.

[Ajtanner]

Thank you again, I have the contract - a cover page with names, dates, costs and summary of obligations. I also have what appears to be a complete T's and C's but it is just one page and reads a bit cut n' paste - e.g. one part under "exclusions" really ought to be in the "inclusions" section. But the conditions page ends with the "Cancellation" section.

The contractor (who is a very small one-man outfit, difficult to get hold of, like to do business via phone...fewer written records that way...) has referred to its own "terms and conditions" requiring me to pay a fee (£200) to have the contract assigned to me. This feels a bit trumped up and simply designed hoover up some more cash. So, surprisingly, the contract covering something physically associated with the house has nothing about assignment to any new owners. The only specified way the contract can be cancelled is within 14 days. Is there a particular part of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act I should look at (e.g. any keywords I can search for?). Thanks for the tip.

[atticus]

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/31/section/1

It is not a long statute. Section 1 is the starting point (and not because it is first).

[Ajtanner]

Thanks Atticus, final question:

From what you've said so far I think I'm in one of two situations that I think are mutually exclusive, but it would be helpful to know which I'm closer to:

1) There is enough tacit or circumstantial evidence that the contractor has assigned the benefits of the contract to me and then tried to change their mind. Thus I can seek to cancel it under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The original Promisee is irrelevant now.

2) My solicitor did not obtain an assignment (I'm still checking though). But the Promisor and Promisee have treated me as a third party, thus (a) I have some legal rights, which I need explore; (b) the original Promisee can still request or enforce fulfilment of the contract, or cancel it under the same Consumer Act.

A few months ago the contractor basically said "goodbye" with a lot of waffle, but in an intimidating kind of way. So this is going to have to be dealt with in a small claims court. I'm just looking for the best angle and I wonder if option (2)b is the safer bet - if it exists. It's not about the money/refund, it's about the principle and the freedom to pursue an alternative service provider. Thanks. I know there can be specifics about the situation that might change everything - I'm just after the 'default' position and I can check the legalisation to see how it fits our exact situation.

[atticus]

I would say that those work in parallel, and are not mutually exclusive.