115,000 moving days delayed EVERY YEAR, costing homeowners a total of £15m

Thousands of homeowners across the UK have to cancel their moving day as a result of delays, losing hundreds of pounds in the process, a new survey has revealed.

According to the study conducted by YouGov on behalf of HomeOwners Alliance and the secure payments provider Shieldpay, a massive 115,000 home moves have been delayed each year because funds didn’t arrive on time and sellers took longer to vacate properties; while a shocking 20,500 moves had to be cancelled altogether because of funds not arriving in time.

The survey found movers in a property chain are more likely to be affected by delays with one in four (25%) homeowners buying in a chain reporting delays or cancellations on moving day.

What’s more, homeowners who experience delays or cancellations are faced with more than just inconvenience with 26% of those affected incurring costs of, on average, £509 and one in seven (14%) losing over £1000.

Typical costs include hourly waiting charges from removal companies (39%), storage fees (27%), removal company cancellation charges (16%), hotel/ accommodation costs (15%) and late completion charges (9%).

Meanwhile, one in three homeowners (34%) who bought in the past two years chased either their conveyancer or lender on moving day to check the status of funds.

Commenting on the findings, Paula Higgins, Chief Executive of HomeOwners Alliance says:

“It’s ridiculous that in this day and age, where the rest of our lives run smoothly and more efficiently, that moving day nightmares are getting worse.  The number of homeowners having to cancel their moving day – often losing hundreds of pounds in the process – is up 2% on a decade ago while the percentage of sellers experiencing inconvenient delays has jumped from 12% to 19%. It’s scandalous that moving house is more difficult than it’s ever been. Clearly, more needs to be done to streamline processes and put customers first.  The government has stated it wants to improve the house-buying/selling process, is this really such a hard nut for industry to crack?”