CANCELLED: Metricon is “cancelling fixed price contracts” and “inviting” customers to sign another contract

Metricon is “cancelling fixed price contracts” & “inviting” customers to sign another contract.

The grandparents are among dozens of Metricon customers on fixed-price contracts now forced to choose between paying painfully higher prices or losing their new homes and deposits, as the builder struggles with soaring labour and material costs.

Metricon told the McQuhaes in February it would be terminating their contract but would “still love to build” their home if they agreed to sign a new contract with more than $266,000 in extra fees — a nearly 50 per cent increase on the original agreement.

If they refused, the company said in its termination letter, it was “entitled to and would retain all monies spent from their five per cent deposit,” which was $25,000.

“It was just an incredible punch,” Mr McQuhae said. In the face of surging costs, builders initially sought to renegotiate contracts with customers until regulators such as the Queensland Building and Construction Commission warned that they had no legal basis to do so.

An updated NSW government register of consumer complaints on Thursday showed complaints against Metricon Homes increased last month, lifting the total number of customer grievances against the company to 95 in the past two years – nearly nine times the total logged against the only other builder on the register.

The grandparents are among dozens of Metricon customers on fixed-price contracts now forced to choose between paying painfully higher prices or losing their new homes and deposits, as the builder struggles with soaring labour and material costs.

Metricon told the McQuhaes in February it would be terminating their contract but would “still love to build” their home if they agreed to sign a new contract with more than $266,000 in extra fees — a nearly 50 per cent increase on the original agreement.

The company accused the McQuhaes of breaching various clauses in their contract including not providing details of finance obtained from a lending body.

However, the retirees dispute that, saying they told Metricon that they would be paying in cash which meant they wouldn’t need a loan.

They also said the first they heard about this apparent breach was in the termination letter and they were not given the opportunity to rectify the issue.

The couple has taken legal action against Metricon, but negotiations have stalled. The new work swamped the industry’s capacity to prepare land rezoned for residential use and build homes, prompting decisions by both the former Coalition and current Labor federal governments to extend the time allowed for work to begin on homes receiving the subsidy.

The global rebound in activity as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic lessened coincided with surging activity at home, pushing up costs for builders.