Berkeley Homes Collective

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.”