Does anyone know, if you have your test to confirm you have pyrite, how long it might take to get the court with a claim like this? Like approx? Are we talking years ?
ye, its called homebond/premier..................Arent new houses insured for ''such'' things? for about 10 years? Warranty from the builders?
true... problem with being stuck between a rock and a hard place is that the pressure builds. god have mercy on the soul on the man that i get to lose it with, i have 2 years of frustration to unleash .....Cheers mrduke, I know all about the builders 6 year gig - unfortunately like many big developers they form a new ltd company and use it as a vehicle to build/sell developments then liquidate it once all is complete. It makes it very clean from a tax/vat point of view but makes it a legal nightmare for the poor punters who paid serious money for their houses during the boom!
I've met the MD of the parent company before and am due to arrange a follow up now that we have the confirmation of pyrite throughout the development (1.7 - 2.3% from all tests carried out).
I'm also arranging to meet Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody this week to get a read on what legal avenues are open to us.
I do have a serious issue with Premier Guarantee though, looking at their insurance schedule it appears that they can continue to request ongoing tests, confirmations and reports before they will even accept my claim.
You gotta love being stuck between a rock and a hard place!!!
Premierbond is an insurance policy. No insurance policy, be it motor, travel, life or buildings will pay out without evidence there is a valid claim so I don't suppose you can blame them. There's a lot of scaremongering going on at the moment. The testing costs are relatively little compared to how much the claim is, but a lot more than most people can afford. On the plus side - they have told me that if I get my information in correctly I will know within a month if I am covered.
Cheers mrduke, I know all about the builders 6 year gig - unfortunately like many big developers they form a new ltd company and use it as a vehicle to build/sell developments then liquidate it once all is complete. It makes it very clean from a tax/vat point of view but makes it a legal nightmare for the poor punters who paid serious money for their houses during the boom!
I've met the MD of the parent company before and am due to arrange a follow up now that we have the confirmation of pyrite throughout the development (1.7 - 2.3% from all tests carried out).
I'm also arranging to meet Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody this week to get a read on what legal avenues are open to us.
I do have a serious issue with Premier Guarantee though, looking at their insurance schedule it appears that they can continue to request ongoing tests, confirmations and reports before they will even accept my claim.
You gotta love being stuck between a rock and a hard place!!!
So i'm not sure what stage your at with Premier but let me share my experience with you!
Back in April having already proved with IGSL tests that the levels of pyrite in the development common areas was up to 2.3% (anything over 1% is accepted as a problem) they agreed to allow people submit photographic evidence along with their claim form to process the claim - this we all did and after the 27th full visual inspection report was submitted by our engineer they reverted to tell us to stop sending these in as they were no longer willing to accept them, nor would they stand over their request for them earlier in the year. Now the spec for testing is per unit, 12 - 16 bore holes to be taken from the center of all ground floor rooms plus a full engineer report on the heave and damage caused. The cost for this per unit is serious, something like €10k, not to mention the cost of the floors that will be ruined and even then there is no guarantee they will accept the claim. It is likely that this demand will be followed by a series of further requests in order to stall the processing of the claim. It is the builders and my belief that they are going to keep stalling until the Menolly/Lagan case is complete which will take years.
On another note, Premiers policy is a defects insurance policy - unlike Homebond there is no onus on them to repay any professional fees, reinstatement of floors, fixtures and fittings etc - this is likely to cost an additional €50k in my case to return my house to what it was after I had finished decorating it.
Be very careful with Premier, they lure you in to see what your ability to act is and then pull the rug!
Sorry Tommy, I have to disagree completely with you on this one - i've spoken to Premier numerous occasions and while my discussions with PMR over the phone are perfectly reasonable and straightforward their 'new' protocol for testing required as outlined above is circa €10k, I have the quotes. I do accept that basic single bore test is around €1500 but thats not what they will currently accept and have rejected three claims already that include this.
If you've been lucky enough to have your claim processed in full prior to the moving of the goalposts then well done but rubbish is something not i'm talking here.
Sorry Cruiser 1427 but with the greatest respect that's absolute rubbish. Don't know who's telling you this but if you haven't already I suggest you speak to Premierbond directly. I have. Theie no's 0044 151 650 4343. As pyriteengine says the tests costs are nowhere near what you have said. They also have documents they'll send you telling you exactly what evidence you need to provide - why don't you phone them yourself and check your guy's getting it right, that might be the problem? Also, check your policy, fixtures and fittings are covered. If you haven't got one Premierboad will send you a copy that way you'll know exactly what's covered. You won't get the costs of your tests back, but if you're covered their solicitor will try and get it back for you free of charge. Not ideal I know, but better than nothing. Good luck.
Ok, so clearly I’ve got this completely wrong or something as I’m sure all the comments are correct in their situations - the testing spec requested by Premier on 22nd Oct ’09 in writing to me was 4 bore holes from the centre area in each ground floor room in my property, being that there are 4 rooms accessible this is 16 bore holes that samples are to be taken from. The costs from the two main players in this field in Ireland are €5,800 and €6,500 plus then my engineers costs which he estimates to be €1,400 for the collating and documenting to report format - all of these figures are plus VAT thus the circa €10k figure. In terms of property damage, the house is 4 years old - all ground floor doors are sticking, all external doors and window frames no longer meet the plaster above due to the pushing up of the slab. Its a three story house and all floors now have the stairs significantly coming away from the walls. External cracks are showing near or at windows on each floor and require resealing approximately every 8 weeks to stop drafts. The €50k figure mentioned is that which I have invested in my property from marble and solid oak flooring and some retrofit fixtures and fittings that are not removable without breaking them - I have again got it writing from Premier Guarantee that these will not be covered/replaced under the terms of the policy that the builder took out and that passed to me upon purchase of the unit. I am very doubtful that my situation is completely different to those outlined previously but it appears that I am being asked to go through vastly more in order to prove that the house is damaged as a cause of pyrite being in the fill.
Get back onto Premier immediately. I have never seen a requirement for more than one hole, approx 18'x18' which is generally cored out for convenience. I know of no case where more than a single sample location has been requested. That hole opening and testing will cost no more than 1800-2000, unless you are being creamed. Engineers cost seems spot on. I have not seen your letter from premier, but I wonder if you are reading it correcly.
As you say, this is not a pyrite issue. We have seen many properties with similar issues with poor quality fill used under the floor slab. I would recommend that the replacement fill should be in accordance with all current guidelines, see previous threads in this regard. This type of defect rarely causes any internal cracking as the floor should be independent of any loadbearing walls. Only non loadbearing stud partitions may be affected. No damage should arise upstairs. Homebond may pursue the builder but you may have to also for any uninsurable losses. Talk to Homebond and see if you can join with them in any such action which ssould reduce any potential legal bill for you.Great information on this thread.
I live in Offaly and surrounded by pyrite problems. Up until recently I believed I too had the same issue with pyrite. Had the usual difficulties with Homebond and have my own engineer and Homebond engineer out on more than one occasion. The house was built in 2001 and subject to the max €38k with homebond. My problem is that the individual floor slabs are actually dropping by a couple of inches causing minors cracks etc but the integrity of the outer and supporting walls seem ok. We broke ground this week and confirmed that this is unlikely to be a pyrite problem. Homebond took a sample away. It seems the builder used poor quality fill (muck through the fill) and neglected to use a whacker to compress it before pouring the floor slab. We also discovered that the floor slab is only 4 inch think and we've been told it should be 6 inch also only 45mm insulation used. The worst thing is there is a 60mm gap between the floor slab and the insulation/loose fill and it's a miracle that the floor has not collapsed totally. Even though it may not be a pyrite problem the solution apparently will be the same. Floors up and the fill removed and replaced.
Question is because the builder breached the building regulations, does that change the situation with Homebond? There seems to be some suggestion that Homebond may now pursue the builder. Another builder is suggesting this (not an expert) I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks