Hillier & Wilson

We take your allegations very seriously and I don't think you understood that your buyer was a cash buyer at no time was he getting a mortgage; the cash was in the bank. He was having a condition report because you had an older house (NOT A MORTGAGE VALUATION) You misunderstood the meaning and assumed he was now applying for a mortgage. You insisted on doing your own viewings because you felt you knew the house better than we did, as you had worked for an agent previously you felt you were the best person for the job. We decided this was probably for the best as it was very difficult to show someone round the property with the vendor conducting the viewing, there was no point in us being there. I had asked you on more than one occasion to let us accompany your viewings but you would not allow this to happen. Your buyer pulled out of buying the property because you had no building regs or planning permission on the loft room. I think you could see from the photograph on your brochure that a ladder leaning up in to the loft means we did not mislead anyone. I also would like to comment on your father coming in to our office to complain about your buyer withdrawing his offer, he used extremely threatening behaviour and abusive language towards us and then brought up the subject of a bad experience he had previously. He thought this was with us and it turned out that he was in the wrong estate agents office. As for Max leaving your door open he left it as he found it as he thought you were coming back.

We take your allegations very seriously and I don't think you understood that your buyer was a cash buyer at no time was he getting a mortgage; the cash was in the bank. He was having a condition report because you had an older house (NOT A MORTGAGE VALUATION) You misunderstood the meaning and assumed he was now applying for a mortgage. You insisted on doing your own viewings because you felt you knew the house better than we did, as you had worked for an agent previously you felt you were the best person for the job. We decided this was probably for the best as it was very difficult to show someone round the property with the vendor conducting the viewing, there was no point in us being there. I had asked you on more than one occasion to let us accompany your viewings but you would not allow this to happen. Your buyer pulled out of buying the property because you had no building regs or planning permission on the loft room. I think you could see from the photograph on your brochure that a ladder leaning up in to the loft means we did not mislead anyone. I also would like to comment on your father coming in to our office to complain about your buyer withdrawing his offer, he used extremely threatening behaviour and abusive language towards us and then brought up the subject of a bad experience he had previously. He thought this was with us and it turned out that he was in the wrong estate agents office. As for Max leaving your door open he left it as he found it as he thought you were coming back.

Unfortunately the last comment put on here by ‘neveragain’ is somewhat incorrect and perhaps even libellous! I would like to put our side of the story across in order to correct some of these seriously misleading comments. I find some of the accusations made extremely misleading and unfair and we take any allegations very seriously. It needs to be said that I don't think you understood that your buyer was a cash buyer and at no time was he getting a mortgage; the cash was in the bank. He was having a condition report because you had an older house (NOT A MORTGAGE VALUATION) You misunderstood the meaning and assumed he was now applying for a mortgage. You insisted on doing your own viewings because you felt you knew the house better than we did, as you had worked for an agent previously you felt you were the best person for the job. We decided that this was probably for the best as it was very difficult to show someone round the property with the vendor conducting the viewing, there was simply no point in us being there as discussed and agreed by you prior to commencement of any viewings. Lorraine had asked you on more than one occasion to let us accompany your viewings but you would not allow this to happen so it is very unfair to then leave comments about having to do the viewings yourself. Your buyer pulled out of buying the property because you had no building regs or planning permission on the loft room. I think you could see from the photograph on your brochure that a ladder leaning up into the loft means we did not mislead anyone and we made it clear to any purchasers that the loft conversion did not have planning permission. I also would like to comment on your father coming in to our office to complain about your buyer withdrawing his offer, he used extremely threatening behaviour and abusive language towards us and then brought up the subject of a bad experience he had previously. He thought this was with us and it turned out that he was in the wrong estate agents office. As for Max leaving your door open he left it as he found it as you informed him that you were popping out but would be coming back in a few minutes.

My comments are in no way inaccurate, this is the service you provided to us. During our initial discussions I did suggest doing viewings as my husband felt uncomfortable with letting strangers in to our home, although we discussed this further and felt it best that we would let you do your job as this was part of the service to which we confirmed this with Hillier and Wilson. Some viewings were conducted by yourselves however it was your staff that asked if I could do the viewings that I did, I NEVER insisted and like the other occasions I would have left as I did on the first occasion with Max, as having viewed properties I know how this can make people feel uncomfortable. Perhaps this again highlights the lack of communication within your branch and that you don't actually know how your staff are dealing with your customers. I was led to believe that our buyers were obtaining a buy to let mortgage as this is information that was provided to the estate agents we were buying through via a member of your staff, to which I probably still have the documentation to confirm. When I spoke to a member of your staff I was told that you can have a mortgage and still be a cash buyer!! I think your response clearly highlights how you did not relay the information to our buyer and felt that photographic evidence was enough for them to draw their own conclusions, as why would our buyer pull out of the purchase because the loft room did not have planning permission unless they believed that it did initially? Again this would suggest that you did not ensure the information we provided to you was relayed prior to purchase. I think any potential customer reading your last note stating that you feel it is standard practice for a member of your staff to leave someone's house unlocked (located in the centre of town) with all their personal belongings, very disturbing. It was extremely bad practice no matter what the excuse and this alone will I'm sure be enough to make many people think twice before they trust their home in your hands. As for the matter of my father, I was unaware of this situation and I am obviously unable to take any responsibility for his behaviour. His behaviour was totally unnecessary and I do not approve but in his defence I would suggest this was because of your appalling service, resulting in us living in a caravan in another county with our two year old daughter in the middle of November. I have decided to be far more dignified and express my disgust through these channels.

My comments are in no way inaccurate, this is the service you provided to us. During our initial discussions I did suggest doing viewings as my husband felt uncomfortable with letting strangers in to our home, although we discussed this further and felt it best that we would let you do your job as this was part of the service, which we confirmed with Hillier and Wilson. Some viewings were conducted by yourselves however it was your staff that asked if I could do the viewings that I did, I NEVER insisted and like the other occasions I would have left as I did on the first occasion, as having viewed properties I know how this can make people feel uncomfortable. Perhaps this again highlights the lack of communication within your branch and that you don't actually know how your staff are dealing with your customers. I was led to believe that our buyers were obtaining a buy to let mortgage as this is information that was provided to the estate agents we were buying through via a member of your staff, to which I probably still have the documentation to confirm. When I spoke to a member of your staff I was told that you can have a mortgage and still be a cash buyer!! I think your response clearly highlights how you did not relay the information to our buyer and felt that photographic evidence was enough for them to draw their own conclusions, as why would our buyer pull out of the purchase because the loft room did not have planning permission unless they believed that it did initially? Again this would suggest that you did not ensure this important information we provided to you was relayed prior to purchase. I think any potential customer reading your last note stating that you feel it is standard practice for a member of your staff to leave someone's house unlocked (located in the centre of town) with all their personal belongings, very disturbing. It was extremely bad practice no matter what the excuse and this alone will I'm sure be enough to make many people think twice before they trust their home in your hands. As for the matter of my father, I was unaware of this situation and I am obviously unable to take any responsibility for his behaviour. His behaviour was totally unnecessary and I do not approve but in his defence I would suggest this was because of your appalling service, resulting in us living in a caravan in another county with our two year old daughter in the middle of November. I have decided to be far more dignified and express my disgust through these channels.

This will be my last comment to you and I hope it will be the end of the matter. I have on your file a Property Misdescriptions Act questionnaire which was filled out by you at the time of being instructed to sell the house. You said there was no planning permission for the loft (which we described on your brochure as loft space). We would never tell anyone you had all the documents from the council in order to call it a bedroom. We understand moving house is one of the most stressful times, your personal circumstances made this even more so. Your buyer wanted £10,000 off the price just when you were just about to exchange, this was beyond our control and we did not see this was about to happen. I am truly sorry the buyer caused so much upset but I can promise you we did all we could to keep the sale together. My staff do know the difference between cash in the bank and a mortgage and do not take offers until fully trained on how to do so. We have sold more than 700 houses in 7 years and have many great reviews from vendors and buyers alike which are never prompted by ourselves. I hope now that you have settled in your new home you will be happy and put the whole incident behind you.

I would like to point out that my original post was purely to express my negative experience, which I am entitled to do so on this website. I do however not appreciate being called a liar and your continued arrogance has prompted the further responses. To aid my defence I have also taken the time to provide the previously mentioned documentation as I feel you have forced me to defend myself. The sale falling through was extremely disappointing but I can assure you we had already decided prior to this point that we would not be recommending your services!

In addition to the above response, the document I attached was not the one I was originally looking for, please find additional information to support my claim. It is a very detailed account of our buyer's situation which as stated previously was obtained through Hillier and Wilson staff. This was however only one of the many issues that prompted my original post and as far as I am concerned the matter is now closed! I feel I have provided adequate evidence to support my claims and having lived through the awful experience once, I do not wish to relive it any further.

Your documents were sent to you from the estate agent in you were buying through in Devon. I can't understand were or why they have confirmed incorrect information. It certainly did not come from this office. I have copied you and the general public in on an email from a local solicitor received today who was acting for your buyer confirming he was indeed a cash buyer. SEE BELOW From: Lorraine [mailto:lorraine@hillierandwilson.co.uk] Sent: 13 March 2014 13:43 To: Simon Pook Subject: Mr Houghton Dear Simon Can you confirm if Mr Houghton was getting a mortgage to purchase 14 Denmark Road? He is no longer buying this property but I would like you to confirm what I was told by Mr Houghton at the time the sale was going through. Kind regards Lorraine Lorraine Wilson Hillier&Wilson From: Simon Pook [mailto:simon.pook@clmlaw.co.uk] Sent: 13 March 2014 13:51 To: 'Lorraine' Subject: RE: Mr Houghton Hi Lorraine, My recollection is that he was a cash buyer Simon S A Pook Chartered Legal Executive, Associate Charles Lucas & Marshall 28 Bartholomew Street Newbury Berkshire RG14 5EU Tel: 01635 521212 Fax: 01635 37784

You've release this ladies address to the general public? is that not a breach of Data Protection? I would certainly steer clear on that alone