Hello,
Having a dispute with a builder even before construction/my land registration
Approached this builder for a house and land package and paid a $2000 holding deposit for building with them. We were showed the available lots and asked to select the lots we preferred.
The Developer(of the land) who was different from the builder pulled out the lots(allocated to us) for some reason and opened them to public. The builder asked us to queue up on the day of the land release(as advertised by the developer) and were made to believe we'll get priority when we go there.
A bit suspicious we went in the middle of the night (for the 9 AM release) and found around 5 people already waiting there. We managed to secure a lot with no priority as mentioned by the builder and entered a contract only with the developer for the land and not a contract for the house and land package.
We were still working with the builder as we were interested in their product. After we saw the preliminary plan and tender(quote) we decided not to proceed with them as there were better packages in the market.
Now the builder claims taking legal action on us as they introduced us to the land and for the loss of the potential profit they would've gained.
Things we've done
i) Paid initial $2000 deposit and provided our details and a signature for the deposit
ii) Had a couple of meetings on discussing plan and quote
Things not done
i) Did not sign any tender
ii) Did not sign off the plan
iii) Did not sign a building contract
We paid the deposit, got a quote and decided not to proceed without signing any tender or a legal contract.Is there anything the builder can hold us to legally for not proceeding with them?
Appreciate any feedback