Trading Standards Investigates Mis-Selling by Berkeley Homes
Industry journal, Building, reported today that Trading Standards are now investigating a number of complaints against Berkeley Homes regarding alleged mis-selling in the UK between 2007 and late 2008.
Trading Standards investigate Berkeley Homes for Mis-selling
The experience of many of us in the Berkeley Homes Collective is that we were mugged by slick sales staff at the point of sale. Berkeley’s sales and marketing operation was even slicker than the infamous timeshare touts on the Costas employing the very same high-pressure sales techniques, recommending customers use Berkeley’s preferred solicitors, presenting purchasers with lists of valuations supposedly carried out by Countrywide, Colleys and the other major surverying firms which miraculously matched the sales list and the oldest trick in the book – list of “sold” plots prominently on display in the sales office.
One purchaser told the BHC, “I could see all the plots in the release were marked as sold. Even the plot I was negotiating on was on the board as sold. I was repeatedly told the units were selling fast and I had to sign today..”.
Dozens of individuals have told the BHC that they were victims of Berkeley’s slick sales operation and allege that mis-selling took place.
An anoynymous purchaser told the BHC today, “I never imagined I’d fall victim to this sort of scam in the UK. You expect it from the timeshare touts in Spain, but on reflection they used exactly the same techniques on me at Caspian Wharf and there is no protection against this sort of thing. Berkeley are now manipulating the law and using the High Court to scare me into settling out of court so they can extract more money from me, otherwise they’ll bankrupt me if I don’t comply.”
37 High Court Claims issued by Berkeley against purchasers
High Court records confirmed today that Berkeley Group have now issued 37 claims against individuals who have not been able to complete on their new homes, so statements to the media claiming they are working with buyers to find solutions are clearly false.
Our sources advise us that only one case has gone to court so far related to City Quarter and the judge decided to “reserve his judgement”. We are awaiting further news.
A spokesperson for the BHC said, “Berkeley are using the High Court as the ultimate negotiation tool. Pay up or we’ll bankrupt you is their message. They’ve been particularly vociferous with their threats towards individuals whose careers depend on avoiding bankruptcy or a judgement on their credit file as they know they can put maximum pressure on these individuals to find as much money as they can from family, credit cards or loans and either complete or settle out of court.”
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Berkeley Director’s Ratner Moment
Following Berkeley Group’s AGM on 9th September 2009, a group of representatives of the Berkeley Homes Collective had a meeting with several Berkeley directors, including Mr Paul Vallone.
During a heated discussion, Mr Vallone was asked why Berkeley refuses to consider any of 13 commercially sensible solutions put to the company by the Berkeley Homes Collective.
It was also highlighted to Mr Vallone that a number of his competitors were working with their buyers to reach a fair and amicable solution and to help people complete on their new homes. In particular Mr Vallone’s attention was drawn to a recent Mail on Sunday article where a spokesperson for arch rival, Barratt Homes confirmed that where genuine owner-occupiers were now in difficulty due to the issues with mortgages and valuations, Barratt were routinely refunding deposits and cancelling contracts.
“Barratt says it routinely refunds deposits to genuine owner-occupier buyers in difficulty, and adds: ‘It is simply not a good idea to threaten our future customers.’ ” Mail on Sunday 14th September 2009.
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Why have Berkeley’s flats fallen by 40%? (London average -14%)
Why have Berkeley’s properties crashed by 40% (45% in one instance at Royal Arsenal Riverside), while the London average fall in prices has been closer to 14%???????
Still, no-one from Berkeley wants to answer that question.
Berkeley have offered no explanation, no solutions and no compromise.
Paul Vallone, Berkeley Homes director, told us he thought the flats were still worth every penny and he’d borrow the shortfall from his granny if he had to because he firmly beleived that a contract was a contract and should be honoured.
Sorry, Mr Vallone, for those of us looking at £100,000 shortfalls due to the crash in valuations at Caspian Wharf and Royal Arsenal Riverside, my granny’s pension isn’t going to fill the hole.
Berkelely are still showing a lack of understanding of what has happened to their market in the last 18 months. Mr Pidgley’s letters from 2008 and throughout 2009 clearly show the company as a whole are in denial about the crisis facing the new build sector, but are also clearly dillusional about their customer’s finances.
Its not the first time a Berkeley staffer has told us that you just can’t compare Berkeley to “the likes of Barratt or Persimmon”. They are clearly deluded in thinking that Berkeley customers are all cash-rich and don’t need a mortgage. Indeed, all of our reservation forms clearly state how we intended to finance our purchasers and in virtually all of those cases it was with a mortgage.
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Post AGM Private Meeting with Berkeley’s Directors
At the end of the AGM on 9th September 2009 at the Woodlands Park Hotel, Cobham, Surrey, Berkeley Group Chairman, Victoria Mitchell, kindly arranged for 5 of her Directors to meet with the Berkeley Homes Collective in a private conference room.
The meeting lasted just over 1 hour.
At the beginning of the meeting Berkeley’s favourite phrase was muttered by all in the Berkeley camp:
“Off the record” (Clearly uncomfortable with having to face reality and talk to their customers, everyone who meets Berkeley hears the same phrase, “this is off the record”).
There were a few new faces and a couple of old ones we already knew, including Directors: Justin Tibaldi and Paul Vallone who are responsible for Caspian Wharf, E3 and Royal Arsenal Riverside, SE18 respectively.
Justin Tibaldi didn’t have much to say and just stood there uncomfortably looking at the floor.
Paul Vallone was his usual arrogant self and gave us the same tired old lecture -
- a contract is a contract
(What about your Section 106 agreements to build Royal Arsenal’s Crossrail station? Why are you trying to bail out of that one if a contract is a contract?)
- they were not suing anybody and are not going to bankrupt anyone (FALSE – see below)
- the reason they won’t negotiate is because buyers haven’t given them “full financial disclosure” (FALSE – see below)
We did point out that:
1. Berkeley won’t define what full financial disclosure is
2. Berkeley won’t tell us what they want the information for and if they’ll propose a solution once they have this information. It looks to us like a fishing exercise to see who is worth taking to the cleaners.
3. Numerous buyers have offered full disclosure and in lieu of any detailed request from Berkeley, have proactively offered sight of mortgage statements, pay slips etc. to prove they can still get a mortgage, but can’t complete at the original purchase price due to the collapse in valuations.
The result is the same “Go away and find the money, otherwise we’ll go legal”
Its a pointless exercise with no benefit for the buyer. Purely an intrusive and humiliating exercise to help Berkeley assess how much they can extract from each individual who can’t complete.
4. Mr Tibaldi was forced to confirm that several buyers have given full financial disclosure and that they had still nonetheless been sent pre-action protocol letters (the step before full High Court claims are issued). While looking at the floor, he confirmed to Mr Vallone that it had “gone legal”. Oooops. Mr Vallone clearly didn’t have a clue what the other half was doing.
Glad to see Berkeley’s Directors communicate with one another just as well as they communicate with their customers.
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