Anyone used the Consumer Code for house builders?

HungryHippos · 12 Feb 2018 at 19:53

Having a bit of a nightmare with my new build at the moment, wondering if anyone here had successfully used the Consumer Code people to arbitrate on their behalf?

This is the website: http://www.consumercode.co.uk/ - they seem to be sort of like the ombudsman equivalent for the house building industry.

My gripe with the house builder (who shall not be named for the moment) was that I was effectively lied to about certain details of a nearby construction during purchase, and due to time pressures involved I did not check the plans myself to validate the claims the sales executive made to me.

I can of course take some blame for this, but I don't think it's right or fair that the house builder can mislead me about material things of this nature, and their version of the facts was completely different to what I later discovered.

The house builder is currently trying to deflect the blame onto the solicitors, however the solicitors used were ones recommended by the house builder (hint: never do this! lesson learnt...), and whilst the solicitors can check other local construction plans in more detail for a cost they did not specifically ask me if I wanted it, it was just a small bit of text in a long contract.

Looking at the consumer code website I can pay them a small fee to take the case on, and they can investigate it and judge if the house builder needs to make any recompense. The fee is reasonably acceptable, especially when weighed up against trying to take them to court where they can "lawyer up" far better than I can.

Slade2 · 15 Feb 2018 at 19:46

So, there is nothing wrong with your house? and you are complaining that they were building near your house?

I would imagine if you approach the consumer code people they will tell you there is no case to answer. Just had a quick look through the web site and as long as you were given relevant health and safety advise while you were perhaps living on a construction site then I don`t see what your complaint is.

Lumeycom · 16 Feb 2018 at 12:14

HungryHippos said:
, and whilst the solicitors can check other local construction plans in more detail for a cost they did not specifically ask me if I wanted it, it was just a small bit of text in a long contract.

Based on that alone I think you'll struggle. Your local planning department would have shown you any planning applications (in any stage) for free and probably online. Believing what a sales person tells you without qualifying it either independently or yourself was a massive mistake on your part I'm sorry.

HungryHippos · 16 Feb 2018 at 16:27

You're possibly right, however I don't think the sales person should be allowed to misrepresent facts to me, especially when it relates to a fairly large investment. There are other discrepancies as well on top of this, so it's not my only grievance it's just the primary one.

If the sales person had said "This construction is going on, check the plans" I would have no reason to complain at all about it, as it would be on me to verify the facts, as it went I trusted their word far too much unfortunately. I do take some of that on myself, but the advice given to me was just incorrect and it was only later that I found it out.

I may raise a case anyway, as the only downside I have is throwing away some money going after them, but it does limit my risk to the initial fee which is far better than trying to take them to court.

MikeTheNative · 16 Feb 2018 at 16:55

When you say' nearby construction' what does that mean? ' plot position of the home' is covered by that so if your house isn't in the right spot then fair enough but if there another site gone up over the road I'm not sure how you could argue that.

ci_newman · 16 Feb 2018 at 18:14

Your word against theirs = waste of time IMO

HungryHippos · 16 Feb 2018 at 18:17

MikeTheNative said:
When you say' nearby construction' what does that mean? ' plot position of the home' is covered by that so if your house isn't in the right spot then fair enough but if there another site gone up over the road I'm not sure how you could argue that.

No it's not another site popping up over the road, the construction in question is not being done by a house builder, it's an educational building which is beyond my fence line but pretty near to my property. It's not small (2 stories high) and my property overlooks it when I was advised it would not.

I am aware that houses can and do pop up anywhere, so you're never safe from new ones being built near you unless you own the land, or it's protected somehow. The construction of this building that is going up didn't have any opposition though from the house builder, and as there were no residents living there at the time neither did residents oppose the plans.

Of course I am not saying that the building should not go up, it's being built exactly as the plans dictate, it's the details of this building which I was advised on which I am disputing.

ci_newman said:
Your word against theirs = waste of time IMO

Possibly, although what they said to me was said in front of witnesses, several members of my family, plus the same thing was said to my neighbor to the left and some witnesses as well. I believe I could garner at least several reports of what was said by the sales person for the house builder.

RichL · 16 Feb 2018 at 21:34

Hard to tell without the specifics but it is really up to you and your solicitor to check nearby development work. Unless the builders changed the site plan, doubt you have any comeback. Plant some trees and forget about it.

MikeTheNative · 19 Feb 2018 at 11:43

RichL said:
Hard to tell without the specifics but it is really up to you and your solicitor to check nearby development work. Unless the builders changed the site plan, doubt you have any comeback. Plant some trees and forget about it.

It wouldn't have been included in the site plan if they don't own the land or it's not there yet. OP you can always ask but I don't think you will get anything out of this to be honest. Was it already started before you ordered the house?

HungryHippos · 19 Feb 2018 at 21:37

They may have started it before I moved in but it was behind the big old fence at the back of my garden, which has a drop behind it as well so it would have not really been off the ground or noticeable. It was probably 2-3 months after I moved in that I could see the shape of it forming, when the scaffolding started to go up. At that point I went to look into the plans and saw that what I was advised was incorrect.

You guys are probably right, but I feel it's the only possible recourse I may have at this point. I was in contact with one of the directors at the builder but they just sent me a refusal to accept any blame and have ceased responding since, which was kind of what I was expecting. I am certain they will not want me to raise a case about it though as I have a few points I can pull them up on including this one.

If this was a small ticket item I'd probably just leave it, but it's the biggest investment you can ever make. The sales people for the builder should not be offering information about things when they don't have accurate information to hand. I can certainly accept my partial blame on this, and it's a harsh lesson to learn, but I also think the sales staff have a duty to ensure any information they give customers is absolutely accurate, if there is any doubt then I would never blame them for advising me to make my own enquiries.

Lumeycom · 20 Feb 2018 at 14:22

HungryHippos said:
but I also think the sales staff have a duty to ensure any information they give customers is absolutely accurate

That's a very idealistic way of thinking. Caveat Emptor and all that. You might get somewhere but I fear you will not get the results you want. The fact that its the biggest investment you will ever make should mean that its also the biggest effort, most research etc etc you will ever make also. Sorry if it sounds harsh to you.