TECHNICAL BULLETIN
ISSUE 28
APRIL 2018
WHAT IS YOUR POSITION IF YOUR CUSTOMER CANCELS THE HOME CONDITION/BUYERS SURVEY? SOLICITOR NIK CARLE FROM BROWNE JACOBSON LLP ADVISES NIK CARLE SOLICITOR, BROWNE JACOBSON LLP
to the inspection date, even if some work has been carried out, if so, can I recover costs incurred?
A survey has been booked and you’ve spent time organising the file, arranging an inspection date, completing pre-inspection checks and obtaining signed terms of engagement. However, your client has different ideas and cancels one day before the inspection because their mortgage lender insists on organising a survey. Is this ethical practice and where does it leave you?
A: “The Consumer Contracts Regulations (2013) can give clients a pretty much unqualified entitlement to cancel in this sort of scenario. It’s a 14-day cooling-off period but only if the surveyor has supplied all of the requisite pre-contract information correctly. If the materials haven’t been provided in a way that’s compliant with the regs then the client’s right to cancel can persist for a lot longer than 14 days. As to your fees already incurred, you can only hope to recover these if the client expressly requested “on a durable medium” the
We asked Nik Carle, a solicitor specialising in PI claims and risk management advice for property professionals, for advice. Here’s what Nik said: Q: Can the client cancel the report prior
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