At the outset, I introduce myself to the readers as one of the buyers of a 2 - bedroom flat in Crescent Parc - Ebony Greens - Ghaziabad- India. The builders - Sare Saamag Realty Pvt. Ltd. initially promised to be a class apart with their British roots which further strengthened my faith in its values and ethics based principles and quality of construction.
I'd booked the flat with Sare after going through extensive market research and survey that included values and ethics of the builder among other parameters. I currently live in ATS Village built by the reputed builder ATS Ltd, who are known for their fair dealings and value based customer orientation. I'd hoped Sare Saamag the closest in values to ATS among a plethora of builders in the Indian Realty market.
Sadly enough, my hopes were shattered when I was unexpectedly told that I have been charged an interest of INR 1, 68, 000(which is increasing by leaps and bounds and the last communicated figure was 1, 78, 000) for absolutely no fault of mine. I was promised'guidance' on getting a home loan facilitated and consequently I submitted the requisite documents in February 2011 to the agency recommended by their site office authorities at NH-24, Ghaziabad.
Despite my repeated requests to enquire about the status of my Loan from LIC, I was stunned by the non-responsive behavior of the loan agents. After a prolonged hiatus of 5 months, I was told in May 2011 that LIC have some internal problems of their own because of which all the loan applications have been held up. Thereafter I paid several visits to the site office in NH 24 to make payments as well as to enquire about the status of my loan because I could not contact the agent despite my repeated endeavors to call and talk to them. In one of the visits I was given an alternative agent's contact since the previous agent had failed to provide me any update on the loan status.
I was further shocked on my visit on 28th August when I was told that a mammoth amount of INR 1, 68, 000 has been charged to me before possession of the aforementioned flat. Fortunately that day the earlier Loan agent was there at the site office. Having been caught off guard, he in the presence of one of their customer care officers enquired about the status of my loan and'discovered' that my loan has been rejected on some grounds. It is indeed a matter of grave concern that I wasn't told abut the loan rejection on my umpteen number of phone calls and only when(fortunately for me) the agent and their site officer came face to face with me, was this fact revealed to me.
Since then I kept running from pillar to post to organize finances on my own and on 10th September, I made a bulk payment followed a few days later by the full payment that accrued to me by way of the cost of the flat including all the surcharges. It doesn't require the knowledge of nuclear Science to understand that when I can arrange finances in such a short time, I could have done that much earlier and saved myself from mental agony of being charged a heavy amount by way of interest, had I not been given false promises of the loan getting processed which was further assured by the debit of the loan processing fee from my bank account.
I take this as a serious lapse on part of the company and not at all convinced to pay any interest. On the contrary, I would have expected an apology from the Sare authorities and the loan agents they so vehemently introduced and recommended to me followed by the possession of the flat, which until my last visit on 10th September was not in a condition to safely enter, leave apart thinking of possession. The entire building was in a raw state and the building was not even approachable with rainwater and construction material lying all around the staircase and the lift area. Given the condition of the buildings, it is apparent that it will take a minimum of 2 months before the flat can be done fit for purpose.
It is quite evident that in order to divert the buyers' attention from the late possession penalty, the Indian authorities of Sare Saamag have thought of a novel idea. They've thus levied interest in their final demand letter cum offer of'possession' so that the customer is focused on getting the interest waived off rather than charging them back for late possession penalty as well as changed the plan and location of the entire project without informing the buyers.
The issue of interest being charged is with majority of the buyers on one pretext or the other. I am sure if they do not mend their ways and concentrate on improving customer relations instead of harassing them by haggling on the interest to be paid, their reputation is set to take a big hit in the real estate market with the competition already going stiff day by day.
Anurag K. Sharma
Ph. 0120-4545833
An aggrieved customer of Sare Saamag
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