The u-turn by the government on Home Information Packs (HIPs) has left many would-be home inspectors outraged, with many spending thousands of pounds on training with the aim of carving a career out of completing HCRs.
Now many are feeling disillusioned by the whole process and are joining forces to seek compensation.
Jim Gillespie, principal of Independent Financial Services, said: “We are putting together a lobby group to launch a class action against the government on the grounds of legitimate expectation. We signed up to be home inspectors because the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) said HCRs would be mandatory and target earnings would be around £70,000. However, the fact HCRs are now optional kills this realistic earning potential.”
Gillespie is co-ordinating the efforts. He spent around £12,000 on his training, which involved regular trips lasting five hours from his home in Hartlepool to Reading University.
He was also fearful that energy inspectors, a role launched by the government to complete Energy Performance Certificates, would flood the market, leaving qualified home inspectors to compete with them despite spending much more on their qualification to do the same job.
Gillespie commented: “It feels like we have been kicked in the teeth twice, firstly with the u-turn and now with energy inspectors. Their launch, in my view, shows the government was never fully behind HIPs and just wanted someone to do the EPCs.”
However, Stephen Foden, CEO of Spring Move Ltd, believed they would find it difficult to get compensation.
“Lots of providers have said they will still have jobs for home inspectors so I doubt they can prove the decision removed the demand for them.”
