Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 18, 2020 9:00 pm I signed off on our tender with Stylemaster on 24/06. At the time the salesperson said that we’d just missed a price increase. A few days later I popped in to sign off on some variations before it went to contract. I’ve been waiting a little over a week since then. This afternoon I received an email indicating that “The start and price review date has expired for the tender. We need to move them to the current pricelist for July as per Management instructions.” This means our base price has increased over $5000. Does that seem strange to you, given we were told we’d just missed a price increase? I’m starting to think we forfeit our deposit and go with a bigger builder. Re: Change to base price after quote 2Jul 18, 2020 10:07 pm That doesn’t seem right and i would definitely question it, if they have purposely delayed so that the price review date passed, then yes its unethical at best. Threaten to walk, but more importantly threaten to discuss their tactics with department of fair trading. Good luck! Re: Change to base price after quote 3Jul 19, 2020 7:57 am If this is Stylemaster Homes ethics demonstrated even before you have signed a contract with them consider very carefully whether you want to deal with such people, how many more ‘price increases’ and ‘errors’ will they make in their favour later with 'soft' and compliant customers? Approach their general manager and give them an opportunity to apologise, and do the right thing. If they won't then suggest to the sales consultant that they pay for the increase out of their commission before you report the individual and company to fair trading and ACCC. This is disgusting and illegal behaviour that calls into question all the fluffy ‘testimonials’ plastered on their website and various other social media sites. Re: Change to base price after quote 4Jul 20, 2020 5:23 am Pineapple23 I signed off on our tender with Stylemaster on 24/06. At the time the salesperson said that we’d just missed a price increase. A few days later I popped in to sign off on some variations before it went to contract. I’ve been waiting a little over a week since then. This afternoon I received an email indicating that “The start and price review date has expired for the tender. We need to move them to the current pricelist for July as per Management instructions.” This means our base price has increased over $5000. Does that seem strange to you, given we were told we’d just missed a price increase? I’m starting to think we forfeit our deposit and go with a bigger builder. Read the fine print of paperwork first, but if you've verbally been advised one thing but something else in writing, that's a red flag. I'd raise the issue with them & threaten to escalate to appropriate body. Ultimately if they're trying to screw you over now without coming to the party, imagine what they'll do half way through any work. Re: Change to base price after quote 5Jul 20, 2020 11:08 am Unless it's in written that you're not affected by price revisions, you should not have them, otherwise not much you can do. Happened to me where the builder raised the base price by about 5K during the tender process, no explanations given. Different story since I did not go with them. You should just walk away unless you're committed to the plan or any other feature in which case the 5K premium shouldn't hurt you but if the sales is trying their dirty games, show them how dearly it can cost them. Re: Change to base price after quote 7Jul 20, 2020 1:46 pm Thanks everyone. I responded to the email querying the discrepancy between what the sales person said about the price rise in person and via email. I also asked about the process of getting our deposit back if these issues (there were a few other mistakes and I wasn’t allowed to choose a white paint colour) couldn’t be resolved. I received a phone call yesterday claiming, “It would all be ok.” In the meantime I have another builder preparing a quote for us. I’ve just received a response from Stylemaster: “Originally you were on December 1st Pricing as you will see on your signed quote ($237,900) see below, so as mentioned at signing, you avoid July 1st pricing ($242,900) and only have to pay the March pricing of $240,900.” Also, apparently now the paint colour I want is available. My understanding of Consumer Law is limited but I still smell a rat as the base price listed on my quote was $237900. Other builders are currently offering $30k off base prices and these guys are adding to base price once I’ve paid a deposit. With that difference, even if we walked away from our deposit, we’d still be ahead. Not to mention, as you have already noted, we now have very little trust in the ethics of this builder. Re: Change to base price after quote 8Jul 20, 2020 2:22 pm Confirm back to them in writing what your understanding of “It would all be ok.” is, to ensure everyone is on the same page. Ask Stylemaster Homes to confirm this in writing back to you. Best to carefully document everything as talk is cheap. Hi, you've probably already resolved this, however, Commbank will probably pay the funds to you after you send evidence the work is done regardless the change in the quotes. 1 31769 I've filled, levelled and compacted around 100mm of roadbase in preparation to lay some outdoor court tiles. Prior to doing the final compaction, I dusted the top with… 0 2606 I have seen poly marble shower bases last in excess of 30 years 1 3042 |