Buyer left praying for redemption

Between us we have four dogs, and we had to find somewhere to stay immediately. We managed to find a log cabin in a caravan park to accommodate us over the weekend, thinking that we would complete on the following Monday. This did not happen.

By Wednesday, the removal company had taken our belongings out of its vans and charged us £2,800 a day for when the loaded vans stood idle, £4,000 for unloading and storage, and about £150 a week for continued storage. This was in addition to the original removal costs of £3,900.

Several weeks later, and despite all the solicitors working on our behalf and everyone doing their utmost to chase Cheltenham & Gloucester, there is still no redemption figure and no reason why this has not been forthcoming.

We have now had to move four times into different holiday cottages and log cabins.

We have only the clothes we stand up in, we are running out of money due to the unexpected extra costs, and we are at a loss as to what to do.

JILL REPLIES All property sales are stressful, but this one has been hellish.

You approached me on November 19 for help — three weeks after this debacle had begun. As you had not yet exchanged on the property, I was inclined to suggest that you find somewhere else to buy. Then I saw the property details and understood why you were so determined to succeed. The property is a fabulous house with a huge walled garden and greenhouse, all set in five acres of land. Stunning.

Lenders process thousands of redemption figures every day; it was incomprehensible why Cheltenham & Gloucester was having difficulty with this relatively simple process. Neither it nor the seller’s solicitor could discuss the situation with me, because they did not have the permission of their clients.

However, I put them in email and telephone contact with each other in the hope they would resolve the problem.

You contacted me again on November 29. Cheltenham & Gloucester had still not produced the redemption figure but new information had emerged. You told me that the energy supplier to the property had been granted an order for the sale of the house and a freezing order on the previous homeowner’s assets.

For weeks no one could understand why Cheltenham & Gloucester would not provide a redemption figure. But then on November 21 — two days after I had contacted it — the lender finally revealed that it was abiding by the terms of the freezing order. It believed that by providing a redemption statement, it could be assisting with a sale that would breach the order.

The solicitor working for the energy company explained that the order did not stop the property being sold, and it gave Cheltenham & Gloucester an undertaking that no money would be sent directly to the borrower. There was nothing now to stop the lender providing a redemption order — yet still it delayed.

By the time you contacted me on the 29th, you were desperate. You had to vacate your fourth temporary home by December 15 and faced becoming homeless because all the holiday accommodation in the area had been snapped up for Christmas. You had also been forced to buy clothes and cancel a work trip to Venice, because your clothes and passports were stuck in storage.

The efforts of your solicitor, the seller’s solicitor and myself eventually persuaded Cheltenham & Gloucester to issue the redemption figure. Even then the lender caused a further delay by posting it — post, not email or fax.

It took a further two days of frantically passing messages backwards and forwards to persuade the lender to fax the redemption figure to the solicitor handling the property sale.

Finally, on December 8 — six weeks after you were due to move into your new home — the solicitor received the redemption figure. The next day you completed the purchase and collected the keys.

Cheltenham & Gloucester said it first received a request for a redemption statement on October 18. It explained: “Although the sale has now completed and [the readers] are now in their new property, an error in processing the instruction meant there was a delay in us issuing the redemption statement, which held up the completion of the sale.”

The lender has apologised to you for the considerable distress caused, and has agreed to pay you compensation of £6,000 — £250 per person, per week of the delay — and to cover your expenses, which currently add up to £15,564.

You are incredibly relieved — and so am I. My blood pressure can now return to its normal level.

My claim on a faulty luxury watch hasn’t gone like clockwork
IN SEPTEMBER last year, I bought a Dolce & Gabbana watch from a company called Quirkyonline through a Barclaycard shopping scheme. This involved me paying Barclaycard through my credit card for the value of the watch and it then giving me a code to use on the Quirkyonline website.

I received the watch quite promptly, and it came in a D&G bag that was inside a D&G cardboard box. There was no guarantee or any other paperwork.

The watch was a birthday present for my wife. At the time I had thought it rather odd that there was no accompanying documentation. But since both of us were particularly busy, I did not contact Quirkyonline, believing that the D&G name would be sufficient to cover any problems that might occur.

The watch was worn by my wife until May this year, when she had to go into hospital. When she returned home, she noticed that the watch appeared to be going slow — and it eventually stopped after a few more days.

I thought there was a problem with the battery so took it to a local watch dealer. He reported that the condition of the battery was fine and the problem was with the watch’s movement. He advised me to claim from the retailer from which I had bought it.

Quirkyonline told me there were particular procedures that had to be followed if the watch was faulty. These include a clause stating: “The watch needs to be returned to D&G for repair or replacement at their discretion during the warranty period . . . the watch could either be taken to an authorised D&G shop or sent . . . to D&G”. But as an “unauthorised” jeweller had removed the back of the watch, the terms of the warranty had been broken. Although I had no paperwork to tell me of these terms and conditions, it seems I am unlikely to receive any redress from either Quirkyonline or D&G.

JILL REPLIES You did not mention how much the watch cost and I forgot to ask.

I approached Barclaycard to see if you could claim a refund from it under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, as you had used your credit card to buy the watch. An item must cost more than £100 to qualify for this protection (and not more than £30,000). Unfortunately, it turns out that this watch cost £99.99.

Nevertheless, Barclaycard has taken pity on you. It said: “We’re really sorry to hear about the issues that have arisen with [the] purchase. We’ve looked into the circumstances behind the transaction and understand that it was bought through our bespoke offers service, which has now been closed.

“As a gesture of goodwill, we have refunded [the reader] the full amount of his purchase, which we hope resolves the issue to his satisfaction.”

Hopefully your wife will find a more reliable watch in her Christmas stocking.

Please email your questions to Jill Insley at questionofmoney@sunday-times.co.uk or write to Question of Money, The Sunday Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Please send only copies of original documents. Advice is offered without legal responsibility. We regret Jill cannot reply to everyone who contacts her.