Misinformed By Taylor Wimpey

[Cracker]

I am wondering if you could help and advise.
I have just moved into a new build in Hampshire and when selecting the right plot I managed to choose a property near where only "light industrial" was going to be built and this could take up to 10 years to complete.
The sales executive from Taylor Wimpey guaranteed this and I therefore bought that particular plot on this basis.

I have just found out that Taylor Wimpey have now placed a planning application with the local council to build Social Housing there instead, so now I will be walking out of my front door to look at a block of flats!!!

Is there anything I can do regarding this such as obtaining legal advice as  Taylor Wimpey mislead me into purchasing my property.

[New Home Expert]

Yes there is!
You have been mis sold and can make a claim using the Consumer Code For Home Builders. Adjudication Scheme

If you have not exchanged contracts, you could cancel and TW will have to return your Reservation fee and all expenses you have incurred.

Taylor Wimpey have also broken the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.
You should report them to the Office of Fair Trading. Taylor Wimpey could then face civil court proceedings to stop them breaching the regulations. Non-compliance can also result in criminal enforcement action. The regulations allow for fines up to £5,000 in a magistrates' court, or an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment for a conviction in the Crown Court (or Sheriff Court in Scotland). It is about time that house builders were called to account for withholding information or worse, misleading new home buyers.

On a personal level, I would rather face a residential block of flats than an industrial units and this may be taken into consideration by others too.  However, I realise your concerns lie with the fact that it is "social" housing and I fully understand this. One explanation may be that Taylor Wimpey have recently bought the land due to the demand created for new homes by Help to Buy and at the time of your purchase, what you were told may have been true at the time.

You will need to be able to PROVE what you were told by Taylor Wimpey, otherwise they can simply deny it. This is why I tell new home buyers trust no one especially in site sales offices, to audio record all conversations and get important facts in writing.

You may be able to have a claim against your solicitor who should have done proper searches and told you what they revealed. If you were forced to use a Taylor Wimpey suggested solicitor this breaches the Consumer Code and would be significant grounds for a claim.

There is far more information on the main website which I suggest you read.

[boothy13]

I have also recently moved into a TW new build site in Hampshire.

In front of my house is what I was told was common land which could not be built on under any circumstances.

I was told that a nursing home was planned to the left of my house which didn't bother me as it didn't affect the view too much.   Having now looked at the plans it seems that the nursing home is planned for directly in front of my house.   To make matters worse it is 3 storeys high!

There have been other lines fed to us about access roads etc but this is the final straw in my view.

My neighbours were also spun a similar tale and we have all been induced to buy on the basis of a misrepresentation.   We are all thinking of getting together to take Taylor Wimpey on over this.

Do I have any recourse and does anyone have any tips?

[TaylorWimpeyDidThis]

Taylor Wimpey are notorious for this...

Sadly the local planning committees and councillors are weak and often powerless to act - The local authority will be receiving significant chunks of cash from central government for each new home built and Taylor Wimpey will also be "donating" money for the local authority to use for other projects - so essentially Taylor Wimpey are "buying" the power and control to do what they want.

To add insult to injury even if the local authority refused planning permission, Taylor Wimpey can appeal at ministerial level to have the local decision overturned. Ministers have made it clear that the financial recovery is resting on the shoulders of the house-building industry and therefore have a disincentive to refuse appeals from the national housebuilders - it is one big self-licking lollipop.

On another development in Hampshire, Taylor Wimpey are literally re-writing the rules as they go along - A community centre that is over a year late, sports facilities well overdue, roads and infrastructure left unfinished. These are all contractual commitments upon which the planning consent for the houses was granted! They have changed the planning layout to include more housing units, squeezing more in, changing the number of storeys to social housing units - the list goes on and on. These are all changes from the plans that were available to home-buyers when going through the conveyancing process. It makes a mockery of local democracy and common sense - where almost anything seems to have a "price".

On one part of the development there are high voltage powerlines and pylons over the properties - the sales team are telling potential buyers that there are plans to bury the cables underground, under the houses, once the development is complete....they will tell people anything for a sale!

You have some options: 1. Accept it; whilst your view might be impacted, at least you won't have too much noise or rowdy parties from the nursing home 2. Sell your house on the market before your neighbours do 3. Hunker down and fight nail and tooth - it will potentially mean getting all your neighbours and councillors on side and sharing legal costs.  Sadly this may also mean going public and highlighting the issue, which may impact on your ability to sell your house! Taylor Wimpey know this too!

NHE is absolutely right - unless you can prove what you were told, Taylor Wimpey will deny it. You simply cannot trust them, from the sales and site team right up to their chief executive - they are a bonus driven company who do not care about their customers once you've handed over your money.

Taylor Wimpey: "we don't care, because we don't have to"

Good luck

[New Home Expert]

Boothy13.
As per my previous reply, you can take action if you have been misinformed using the Consumer Code For Home Builders.  But.you need proof of what you were told, either in writing or audio recordings.  Failing this, a copy of the plans you saw at the time you reserved would go along way to proving your case in whatever action you take.

If is is now just "they said - we said" then Taylor Wimpey will be given the benefit of doubt.  The more people who make a claim using the Code at the same time the better, but you would all need to make separate claims.
You could take a class action legal proceedings against Taylor Wimpey, but without proof you are likely to be unsuccessful.

This is why I always suggested every buyer records all conversations with house builder's staff.
They cannot be trusted and you may need this as irrefutable evidence at a later date.

[New Home Expert]

TWDT
Only a fool would buy a new home with power lines going right over the house.
Indeed from a health and safety point of view, it would probably be nigh on impossible to build them.
Cables cannot be re routed under any property that does not have a legal wayleave for utilities, so no cables could go under or over land being conveyed. (If the solicitor is any good and definitely not builder recommended or suggested.)

All house builders leave the agreed planning section 38 and 106 works to the very last they can get away with.  The cost of these works is money down the drain, they make no profit on this at all.  They will get done eventually, even if the council has to step in years later to do it! 
All residents should now write to the local council planners and insist they enforce the planning conditions.

And yes, you are right on this point, "they will tell people anything for a sale!"