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Terms and Conditions

  1. These terms
    • What these terms cover . These are the terms and conditions on which we supply services to you.
    • Why you should read them . Please read these terms carefully before you submit your instructions to us. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss.
  2. Information about us and how to contact us
    • Who we are . We are Homefast Property Services Limited a company registered in England and Wales. Our company registration number is 05299091 and our registered office is at 2nd Floor, Gateway 2 Holgate Park Drive, York, England, YO26 4GB.
    • How to contact us . You can contact us by telephoning our customer service team at or by writing to us at info@homefast.co.uk
    • How we may contact you . If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to your estate agent or that you have provided directly to us.
    • Lead Name. The person making the instruction is classed as the “lead name” in the instruction. Where you are the lead name you guarantee to us that you have the authority to accept (and do accept) these terms and conditions for each person named in the instruction and that you have drawn these terms and conditions to their attention. You will be the primary contact with us and will accept any communications/correspondence from us on behalf of each person named in the instruction.
    • "Writing" includes emails . When we use the words "writing" or "written" in these terms, this includes emails.
  3. Our contract with you
    • How we will accept your instruction . Our acceptance of your instruction will take place when you have either ticked the box confirming that you have read and accepted these terms and conditions when prompted to do so when you are completing documentation online or a postal version is available on request at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.
    • If we cannot accept your instruction . If we are unable to accept your instruction, we will inform you of this as soon as is reasonably practicable and will not charge you for our services. This might be because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for or because we cannot authorise your payment or because we are unable to meet a delivery deadline you have specified.
    • We only sell to England and Wales . Our website is solely for the promotion of our services in England and Wales. Unfortunately, we do not accept instructions relating to properties which are located outside England and Wales.
  4. Your rights to make changes.  If you wish to make a change to the services you have ordered please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible we will let you know about any changes to the price of the services, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and ask you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change. If we cannot make the change or the consequences of making the change are unacceptable to you, you may want to end the contract (see clause 7- Your rights to end the contract).
  5. Our rights to make changes
    • Changes to the services . We may change the services:
      • to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements; and
      • to implement minor technical adjustments and improvements, for example to address a security threat. These changes will not affect your use of the services.
  6. Providing the services
    • When we will provide the services . During the instruction process we will initially receive your contact details from the estate agent that you have chosen to use. We will then call you for an initial customer care call using the telephone number that has been provided to us from the estate agent. If we are unable to reach you we will leave a voicemail message stating that we have tried to call you, the name of the customer representative and the telephone number that you can call us back on. If you do not answer the telephone on the first time of us calling you we will aim to call you back again within [  ] hours. During the initial customer care call our customer representative will initially request your name, property address, best contact number, email address, whether you are selling or purchasing your property, whether the property is a freehold property or a leasehold property and any other information that will help in assisting with your instruction. The customer representative will then explain to you the process for the sale and/or purchase of your property and will aim to answer any queries that you may have, including the estimated time scales in providing our report to a relevant law firm. The customer representative will follow up the initial customer care call by sending you an email to the email address that you provided on the initial customer care call. The email will contain the protocol documents for you to complete which contains the appropriate information required for us to carry out a preliminary property title check on a sale of a property, a personal information form for you to complete, details of any costs that are required to cover any third party costs, proof of source of funds for where you are purchasing a property and these terms. If during the initial customer care call you explain to our customer representative that the property is leasehold we will find out who the relevant management company is and make the appropriate enquiries in relation to any third party costs and who to address any correspondence to.
    • We will begin the services provided that you have confirmed that you have read and accepted these terms . The estimated completion date for the services will be dependent on how quickly you can supply us with the relevant information such as the signed protocol documents. Typically we would expect to hold all of the relevant documentation within 2 weeks after the initial customer care call. A law firm will be instructed on your behalf when your property is sold subject to contract. We will supply the services to you until the services have been fulfilled by us or you end the contract as described in clause 7 or we end the contract by written notice to you as described in clause 9.
    • We are not responsible for delays outside our control . If our supply of the services is delayed by an event outside our control then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any services you have paid for but not received. This does not apply to payments made to third parties to carry out work such as property searches (see clause 11.2).
    • What will happen if you do not give required information to us . As described to you on the initial customer care call and in clause 6.1 we will need certain information from you so that we can supply the services to you, for example, your name, property address, contact number, current mortgage lender on your current property, signed protocol documents and any other documents that may be required in relation to the property. As described to you in clause 6.1 after the initial customer care call we will send you an email, which will state explain our role in the sale and/or purchase of your property. If on the initial customer care call you have explained to our customer representative that the property is leasehold You will receive an email link to the forms from us asking for all of this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may either end the contract (and clause 9.2 will apply) or we may make an additional charge of a reasonable sum to compensate us for any extra work that is required as a result. We will not be responsible for supplying the services late or not supplying any part of them if this is caused by you not giving us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it.
    • Reasons we may suspend the supply of services to you . We may have to suspend the supply of a service to:
      • deal with technical problems or make minor technical changes;
      • update the services to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements;
      • deal with any service interruption due to a third party being unable to carry out their work and supplying us with the relevant information required to carry our services.
    • Your rights if we suspend the supply of services . We will contact you in advance to tell you we will be suspending supply of the services, unless the problem is urgent or an emergency. You may contact us to end the contract for services if we suspend them, or tell you we are going to suspend them, in each case for a period of more than 72 hours and we will refund any sums you have paid in advance for any third party costs that have not yet been paid for (see clause 11.2).
    • We may also suspend supply of the services if you do not pay . If you do not pay us for any third party costs when you are supposed to (see clause 11.5) and you still do not make payment within 14 days of us reminding you that payment is due, we may suspend supply of the services until you have paid us the outstanding amounts. We will contact you to tell you we are suspending supply of the services.
  7. Your rights to end the contract
    • You can always end your contract with us .  Your rights when you end the contract will depend on what you have bought, whether there is anything wrong with it, how we are performing and when you decide to end the contract:
      • If you want to end the contract because of something we have done or have told you we are going to do, see clause 7.2;
      • If you have just changed your mind about the services, see clause 7.3. You may be able to get a refund if you are within the cooling-off period, but this may be subject to whether the third party costs have been paid for (see clause 11.2);
      • In all other cases (if we are not at fault and there is no right to change your mind), see clause 7.7 .
    • Ending the contract because of something we have done or are going to do . If you are ending a contract for a reason set out at (a) to (e) below the contract will end immediately and we will refund you in full for any services which have not been provided and you may also be entitled to compensation. The reasons are:
      • we have told you about an upcoming change to the service or these terms which you do not agree to;
      • we have told you about an error in the price or description of the services you have ordered and you do not wish to proceed;
      • there is a risk that supply of the services may be significantly delayed because of events outside our control;
      • we have suspended supply of the services for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons, in each case for a period of more than 72 hours; or
      • you have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have fundamentally done wrong.
    • Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) . For most services bought online you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund; however this does not apply for payments that we have already made to third parties on your behalf such as property search fees or Land Registry fees. These rights, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, are explained in more detail in these terms.
    • When you don't have the right to change your mind .  You do not have a right to change your mind in respect of services, once these have been fulfilled by us and handed over to the relevant law firm, even if the cancellation period is still running.
    • How long do I have to change my mind? You have 14 days after accepting these terms and conditions. However, once we have completed the services you cannot change your mind, even if the period is still running. If you cancel after we have started the services, you must pay us for the services provided up until the time you tell us that you have changed your mind.
    • What happens to the searches that I have ordered if I end the contract? If you are ending a contract with us and you have paid our invoice you will receive a copy of the searches that you have ordered.
    • Ending the contract where we are not at fault and there is no right to change your mind . Even if we are not at fault and you do not have a right to change your mind (see clause 7.1), you can still end the contract before it is completed, but you may have to pay us compensation. A contract for services is completed when we have finished providing the services. If you want to end a contract before it is completed where we are not at fault and you have not changed your mind, just contact us to let us know. The contract will end immediately and we will refund any sums paid by you for the services that have not yet been used to pay for third party costs (see clause 11.2).
  8. How to end the contract with us (including if you have changed your mind)
    • Tell us you want to end the contract . To end the contract with us, please let us know by doing one of the following: 
      • Phone or email . Call customer services or email us at info@homefast.co.uk. Please provide your name, the estate agent used, the estate agent branch location, home address and, where available, your phone number and email address.
      • By post . Print off the cancellation form which can be found on the website and post it to us at the address on the form.  Or simply write to us at that address, including details of what you bought, when you ordered or received it and your name the estate agent used, the estate agent branch location, home address and, where available, your phone number and email address.?
    • How we will refund you .  We will refund you the price you paid for the services, by the method you used for payment if you cancel the services and a payment has not yet been made to a third party (see clause 11.2).
    • When your refund will be made . We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible. If you are exercising your right to change your mind then your refund will be made within 14 days of your telling us you have changed your mind
  9. Our rights to end the contract?
    • We may end the contract if you break it . We may end the contract for a service at any time by writing to you if:
      • you do not make any payment to us when it is due and you still do not make payment within 14 days of us reminding you that payment is due;
      • you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the services, for example, the protocol documents;
      • your appointed estate agent is no longer able to market your property;
      • our money laundering checks show that the property has a different beneficial owner from the owner stated on the protocol documents.?
    • You must compensate us if you break the contract . If we end the contract in the situations set out in clause 9.1 we will refund any money you have paid in advance for the services provided that these have not been made to a third party (see clause 11.2).
    • We may withdraw the services . We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the services. We will let you know at least 7 days in advance of our stopping the supply of the services and will refund any sums you have paid in advance for services that have not yet been paid to a third party (see clause 11.2).?
  10. If there is a problem with the services
    • How to tell us about problems . If you have any questions or complaints about the services, please contact us. You can telephone our customer service team or write to us at info@homefast.co.uk
    • Summary of your legal rights . We are under a legal duty to supply services that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to the services. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.?

    Summary of your key legal rights

    This is a summary of your key legal rights. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06.

    The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says:

    a) You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it's not carried out with reasonable care and skill, or get some money back if we can't fix it.

    b) If you haven't agreed a price beforehand, what you're asked to pay must be reasonable.

    c) If you haven't agreed a time beforehand, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

    See also Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013).
  11. Price and payment
    • Where to find the price for the services . The price of the services (which includes VAT) will be the price indicated on the estate agency agreement if you are selling and on the acknowledgment email that we sent you when you placed your instruction. We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the services advised to you is correct. However please see clause 11.4 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of the services you order.
    • Third party costs. You will be required to pay for third party costs for us to fulfil the services, such as property search fees and Land Registry search fees. These third party costs will be required before we can fulfil the services. We will write to you to ask you to authorise us to pay the third party costs. We will not pay third party costs unless you authorise us to do so.
    • We will pass on changes in the rate of VAT . If the rate of VAT changes between your instruction date and the date we supply the services, we will adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid for the services in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
    • What happens if we got the price wrong . It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the services we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your instruction so that, where the services’ correct price at your instruction date is less than our stated price at your instruction date, we will charge the lower amount. If the services’ correct price at your instruction date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your instruction.
    • When you must pay and how you must pay. We accept payment with Debit Card: Visa Debit and Maestro and Credit Card: Visa and MasterCard (we do not accept American Express).
      • We will require upfront payment for the third party costs (see clause 11.2)
      • The law firm that you have instructed will invoice you for the balance of the price of our services when the property transaction has completed.
      • If the property transaction does not complete with one of our panel law firms we may still be entitled to invoice you for the balance of the price of our services.?
    • We may pursue either named person in the instruction . If we invoice you separately (see clause 11.5(c)) and you do not make any payment to us by the due date we have the right to choose who to pursue for our fees from any of the named persons in the instruction.
    • We can charge interest if you pay late . If we invoice you separately (see clause 11.5(c)) and you do not make any payment to us by the due date we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 2% a year above the base lending rate of Barclays Bank plc from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.
    • What to do if you think an invoice is wrong . If you think an invoice is wrong please contact us promptly to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved we will charge you interest on correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.
  12. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you
    • We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us . If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the initial customer care call.
    • We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so . This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the services as summarised at clause 10.2.
    • We are not liable for business losses . We only supply the services for domestic and private use. If you use the services for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
  13. How we may use your personal information
    • How we may use your personal information . We will only use your personal information as set out in our privacy policy which is set out on our website at www.homefast.co.uk
  14. Other important terms
    • We may transfer this agreement to someone else . We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract. If you are unhappy with the transfer you may contact us to end the contract within 7 days of us telling you about it and we will refund you any payments you have made in advance for services where a payment has not yet been made to a third party (see clause 11.2).
    • You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else . You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing. We may not agree if the person(s) you wish to transfer your rights to are not a legal or beneficial owner of the property.
    • Nobody else has any rights under this contract . This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.
    • If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force . Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
    • Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later . If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.
    • Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings . These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the services in the English courts.
    • Alternative dispute resolution . You can find details of our internal complaint handling process on our website at www.homefast.co.uk . If you and we cannot resolve a dispute using our internal complaint handling procedure you can consider alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. If you are not happy with how we have handled any complaint, you may want to contact the alternative dispute resolution provider we use. You can submit a complaint to [name of ADR entity] via their website at [website address]. [name of ADR entity] will not charge you for making a complaint and if you are not satisfied with the outcome you can still bring legal proceedings. In addition, please note that disputes may be submitted for online resolution to the European Commission Online Dispute Resolution platform.