Is this really a consent

[oldkettle]

Hi, 

 

We are in a situation @Bitpipe described in the comment here : 

I.e. we have planning and a standard residential mortgage that is fixed for another three years. 

 

I have emailed the bank today to ask for a consent. Within a couple of hours I've had the following reply :

 

Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding you extending your property. 

That is absolutely no problem with us, we really appreciate you emailing us before going ahead!

Good luck with it all
Take care.

 

Now, my question is: is it really "the written consent" I was after? Or at least does it look like something good enough for us to plead ignorance in the future?

 

Thanks in advance. 

Edited May 19, 2019 by oldkettle
Clarification

[newhome]

4 minutes ago, oldkettle said:

Now, my question is: is it really "the written consent" I was after? Or at least does it look like something good enough for us to plead ignorance in the future?

 

 

Seems good enough to me. Write back and thank them and confirm your understanding that you can go ahead without issue and to let you know if you haven't understood it correctly. It does sound like they won't have an issue though. If it's an extension you're doing rather than a demolition / rebuild I don't think the reply you've got is that unusual TBH. Do check your insurance though. 

[ragg987]

I would say you have full consent, though of course it will depend on what you requested in your original email.

 

[oldkettle]

18 minutes ago, newhome said:

 

Seems good enough to me. Write back and thank them and confirm your understanding that you can go ahead without issue and to let you know if you haven't understood it correctly. It does sound like they won't have an issue though. If it's an extension you're doing rather than a demolition / rebuild I don't think the reply you've got is that unusual TBH. Do check your insurance though. 

 

Well, since it is a bungalow to a house conversion the whole roof will have to come off at some point. A proper insurance will have to be in place of course. 

 

My concern is the customer service rep has no idea what s/he is talking about. 

 

I was going to email and ask for confirmation but then realised that would give them a chance to change their mind. Hence the question about "reasonable doubt/ignorance" defence. 

[oldkettle]

21 minutes ago, ragg987 said:

I would say you have full consent, though of course it will depend on what you requested in your original email.

 

Here is my email :

 

Dear Madam/Sir,

 

We have obtained a planning permission to extend our house (link to PP) . Could you please consider the attached plans and provide your consent if possible.

 

We are not planning to start any work until the consent is granted.

[newhome]

I think you’re covered if you have it in writing. 

[ragg987]

6 minutes ago, newhome said:

I think you’re covered if you have it in writing. 

Agree.

[Temp]

Looks good to me. I'd  print out copies of the emails just for safety. 

[Bitpipe]

Yep - I think you're good also.

 

I started with a generic call to the lender and was then asked to provide the PP, plans etc. It was after a week or two that they were very clear that nothing could happen until I had explicit permission to continue. 

 

We were going further, in demolishing the existing vs extending it (which is probably how they're considering yours).

 

 

[newhome]

I wouldn't assume that everyone who works in client services doesn't know what they are doing anyway as many of them are very experienced. I actually wrote something related in an earlier thread and on the basis of what you have done I think you are covered. 

 

Quote

The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 requires a consumer to:

 

"take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation"

 

I think you have taken reasonable care and not misrepresented yourself so job's a good un . It's mortgage rather than insurance but I would assume that similar disclosure clauses apply. 

 

 

[oldkettle]

9 hours ago, newhome said:

I wouldn't assume that everyone who works in client services doesn't know what they are doing anyway as many of them are very experienced. I actually wrote something related in an earlier thread and on the basis of what you have done I think you are covered. 

 

 

I think you have taken reasonable care and not misrepresented yourself so job's a good un . It's mortgage rather than insurance but I would assume that similar disclosure clauses apply. 

 

 

I completely agree there are plenty of experienced reps. The trouble is I already called the bank about a year ago and similarly was originally told "of course it is not a problem". Can't recall now why I eventually spoke to an underwriter or someone who spoke with underwriters and was told "no way", just like Bitpipe did. Hence my reservations. And the chances someone really knowledgeable deals with customer emails on Sunday afternoon aren't that great. ?

 

I guess another potential pitfall is that the house must be habitable. At some point it won't be - hopefully, not for long, but there is no guarantee. 

 

Yes, I am a worrier. 

[Mr Punter]

Unless you cannot afford to do the work, need a second loan / refinance etc, I think you can take the email on face value and go ahead.  It is up to your lender to make sure their advisers give clear and accurate information to customers. I still can't work out how the lender found out in the 

topic though...