estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

[josh]

In 2010 we were trying to sell a house, on 18/05 we signed aHIPS agreement, on 20/05 they were terminated by the government, accordingly wecancelled on 20/05.

The estate agencyhave now passed this to their inhouse debt collectors who sent us a draftwarning claim form from Northampton county courticon, stating we owe then299+vat or if it goes to court 768, where they will seek further costs.

As we have cancelledthey state, the cancellation is not possible (3 years later) as we had agreedto wave our right to the 7 day cooling period by our initialling the clause,(which we did not initial)

They prepared theform for us, signed it 17/05/10 then we signed it 18/05/10, then cancelled20/05/10

Can they ask for apayment for something which is terminated, and then cancelled within the 7 dayscooling off period (they say ye they can).

The original formsigned was by a joint party me and my brother but the court claim is in my nameonly as they say only I am liable??

Would I defend thisclaim as a vexatious claim and an abuse of the court process and are the debtcollection department allowed to issue a DRAFT court claim form, to extractmoney from us by using this as a threat to litigate?

I am a bit confusedas they are hell bent on taking this to Court in 7 days, stating they are owedthe money in full, despite the cancellation, as the cooling off period is notrelevant.

Please can I get someAdvice and how I CAN defend this claim in full as I do not have 349 to pay themlet alone 750 at this time of the year when I have done nothing wrong, we neverdid sell the property through the agents and in the end it was taken off sale,but they argue the HIPS certificates are there if we make the payment to view,and we are fully liable, whether we sold or not and regardless of theabolishing by the Government of the HIPS

[charitynjw]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

Hi josh,

If it were me, I would start by looking at the catchily-named The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumers Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008.

s15 seems to make opting out terms void.

See also Swift (trading as A Swift Move) v Robertson [2012] EWCA Civ 1074; [2013] WLR (D) 11

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

Thank you so much, I feel a little less stressed now, I will try and follow this guidance and defend on this basis, if this is ok?

[bluebottle]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

This lot sound like a right bunch of chancers. My gut-feeling is that their claim would collapse if put to strict proof. You may well be correct in your analysis that the estate agents' claim is an abuse of the legal process as well as being vexatious.

You might wish to take a look at Section 135, County Courts Act 1984 about the court form. It is a criminal offence for a person to pretend to be acting under the authority of a court. As for the "in-house debt collectors", run a check with the OFT on their website. If the name of the "in-house debt collectors" or estate agency does not appear on the register, inform OFT and your local Trading Standards immediately.

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

Thanks so much again, As always this website has eased my distress, just knowing someone I can turn to for advice is so helpful god bless all of you for your kind efforts and assistance to those of us who need your help!!

THANK YOU

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

Hi there

These are the idiots -


I have searched the OFT website and they have no records, so how do I now report them and what will happen once they are investigated? Do I need to tell them before reporting them and what consequence would this have on the Court claim they will/say they are to issue.

Thank you again
http://www2.crw.gov.uk/pr/default.aspx
I checked above on the OFT WEBSITE so is this the correct one? this shows no records for above debt agency

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

sorry they are sequence debt recovery - Leighton Buzzard

Debt Recovery

Sequence Cumbria House, 16-20 Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire, LU7 1GN

[CleverClogs]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

sorry they are sequence debt recovery - Leighton Buzzard

They're actually Sequence (UK) Limited - a damn dodgy name if ever there was such!

[enquirer]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

I recently had dealings with one of their fronts (an estate agent), and was deeply unimpressed. So much so, that I resolved to never deal with them again in the future.

[CleverClogs]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

I would start by looking at the catchily-named The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumers Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008.

s15 seems to make opting out terms void.

The buggers might aver that Schedule 3 (link) exempts the contract but, as the contract signed was for the (dubious?) services of an estate agent and was not therefore a contract for the sale of the property, they would be utterly mistaken.

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

oh that's funny did the search again and they are there now, so what is my next step, back to defence as above?

Thanks

[josh]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

they have already argued that the contract was for the sale of the property, which included a free HIPS if there services were used, they went on to say that the contract does not have cancellable rights as there are no 7 days cancellation for their contract.

So how do I defend this claim, back to the above, regulation's http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2.../contents/made or as I did cancel 2 days after signing, do I continue to argue that it was cancelled as soon as the Government scrapped HIPS.

I can put up a copy of the purported DRAFT claim form if this assists and the agreement - minus the identifications?

Please can you assist

[bluebottle]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

You might wish to send an email to the OFT's Credit Fitness Team, which licences debt collection agencies. Send your email to enquiries@oft.gov.uk and insert "Credit Fitness" in the subject box. Put Sequence's name as the title along with their OFT Licence Number. In the body of your complaint list all and any breaches of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. Make sure you forward a copy of the email to your local Trading Standards who conduct investigations on behalf of OFT.

Have fun playing "Spot the Infringements".

[enquirer]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

In 2010 we were trying to sell a house, on 18/05 we signed aHIPS agreement, on 20/05 they were terminated by the government, accordingly we cancelled on 20/05.

Does the form itself contain any information as to cooling off period?

The estate agencyhave now passed this to their inhouse debt collectors who sent us a draftwarning claim form from Northampton county courticon, stating we owe then299+vat or if it goes to court 768, where they will seek further costs.

There is no such document.

As Bluebottle points out, if they are issuing fake claim forms (or genuine forms unissued by the court), this is a serious offence. The sending of lookalike court forms is highly questionable (a test case is awaited), and not unknown. The intention is to intimidate.

'Further costs' is another one of the threats that people of this type routinely employ.

As we have cancelled they state, the cancellation is not possible (3 years later) as we had agreedto wave our right to the 7 day cooling period by our initialling the clause,(which we did not initial)

They waited 3 years before filing a claim. Is there any prior correspondence in which they demand payment, threaten further steps, and so on? If not, the court would take a very dim view of this.

If your signature was forged, this is a serious matter.

They prepared theform for us, signed it 17/05/10 then we signed it 18/05/10, then cancelled 20/05/10.

It is a fact that many estate agents get up to all sorts of tricks with contracts. Pre-ticking boxes buried in the small print for expensive and unwanted add-ons is commonplace. Both myself and several friends have personal experience of this with WH Brown, another Sequence front.

Can they ask for apayment for something which is terminated, and then cancelled within the 7 days cooling off period (they say they can).

A cooling off period is exactly what it says.

The original formsigned was by a joint party me and my brother but the court claim is in my name only as they say only I am liable?

If both sign, both are liable. If however, they have stated in writing that they do not hold your brother liable, that is all to the good.

Would I defend this claim as a vexatious claim and an abuse of the court process and are the debt collection department allowed to issue a DRAFT court claim form, to extractmoney from us by using this as a threat to litigate?

You could try for a strike-out (there is a fee for the application), but I suspect that this would not be successful. Successful strike-outs usually require that the claim be utterly ludicrous.

I am a bit confusedas they are hell bent on taking this to Court in 7 days, stating they are owed the money in full, despite the cancellation, as the cooling off period is notrelevant.

The reference to 7 days is another attempt to intimidate.

... they argue the HIPS certificates are there if we make the payment to view,and we are fully liable, whether we sold or not and regardless of theabolishing by the Government of the HIPS.

In theory, they may have a point, as you contracted for a service. The fact that the government then rendered that service redundant is irrelevant.

[bluebottle]

Re: estate agent causing serious problems over Scrapped HIPS contract

As Bluebottle points out, if they are issuing fake claim forms (or genuine forms unissued by the court), this is a serious offence. The sending of lookalike court forms is highly questionable (a test case is awaited), and not unknown. The intention is to intimidate. Some muppet did that in Devon and was sent down for 12 months. The offence of Pretending to Be Acting Under the Authority of A Court is an indictable offence and carries a maximum penalty, on conviction, of a term of imprisonment not exceeding 7 years. The offence is committed by whoever fabricated the court document(s) in question. There is no provision as to corporate liability.

They waited 3 years before filing a claim. Is there any prior correspondence in which they demand payment, threaten further steps, and so on? If not, the court would take a very dim view of this. Too damn right they will!

If your signature was forged, this is a very serious matter. Not only can it invalidate a contract, it can lead to the forger facing some very serious questions and hassle.

It is a fact that many estate agents get up to all sorts of tricks with contracts. Pre-ticking boxes buried in the small print for expensive and unwanted add-ons is commonplace. Both myself and several friends have personal experience of this with WH Brown, another Sequence front.


A cooling off period is exactly what it says.


If both sign, both are liable. If however, they have stated in writing that they do not hold your brother liable, that is all to the good.


You could try for a strike-out (there is a fee for the application), but I suspect that this would not be successful. Successful strike-outs usually require that the claim be utterly ludicrous.


The reference to 7 days is another attempt to intimidate.


In theory, they may have a point, as you contracted for a service. The fact that the government then rendered that service redundant is irrelevant.

Response in red text. What Enquirer has said, Josh, is very relevant. Bear it in mind before planning your next steps.