Do we have to pay estate agent fee?

Brizzo

Hi all

Hope someone can help us. We put our house on the market with an EA who looking at their contract have a paragraph heading 'Sole Agency Rights' followed by wording saying 'you are appointing us as agents with sole selling rights....'

My query is that this EA have been rubbish in their service, they had to be told I had no board up, and took nearly a month after signing up to put my house on the internet and start sending out to people on their mailing list.

They have given us no viewers whatsoever. Now 2 work colleagues have agreed to buy our property through word of mouth, nothing to do with the EA's. I sent my letter of termination 2 weeks ago has we had a 14 day termination period.

I have now received a letter from the EA stating they have contacted my solicitor for their fee as they have somehow found out about our buyers and somehow believe they introduced us as our buyers were sent my house details on their mailshot about 3 weeks ago (not that our buyers remember this anyway!)

Can they take their fee or can I fight my corner even if I have to get someone high up at work to even prove we all work together and that is the real reason they knew we were selling, not because of the EA?

How could they EA have found out too? They even seem to know how much our sale is agreed on. Granted we have both apppointed solicitors but all parties know this is a private sale? All we can think is the surveyor who came yesterday (the final day of my 14 day termination period) has grassed on us as they came from another estate agent in the area.

Please help! Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

benood

The agent probably has little enough on to make your life difficult if you refuse to pay - talk to your solicitor and try to get it sorted ASAP.

Enfieldian

Technically a "sole selling rights" agreement means that the EA can claim a fee if a successful sale is agreed to anybody during the agreed period, introduced by them or not.

How long was the term of the agreement for?

Brizzo

In their letter they sent today they said I had signed a sole agency agreement? I'm confused now how in their contract follow on paragraph it says they have sole selling rights? I thought they were either one or the other?

I gave them 14 days termination. We both did however instruct solicitors within this time and sort mortgages. My buyer's surveyor however only came yesterday which was the day of final termination. Would this be a problem?

Doozergirl

Well, the letter today saying it's a sole agency agreement is good news for you as the original contract is dubious with it's double wording and a sloe agency agreement allows you to sell privately.

There is a case where Foxtons (I'm sure) were declined the fee in court as what they had done was not deemed enough to be an introduction.

I'd write, tell them that the sale is a private one, that you have a proven personal connection to the buyer, that the introduction was certainly not via any mailshot and that under the sole agency agreement you are allowed to sell privately with no recourse and that any attempt to claim any money will be strongly contested.

Try and find reference to the Foxtons case as your back up.

Doozergirl

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/property_and_mortgages/article4016567.ece

"In a test Court of Appeal ruling that clarifies the law on estate agents’ commission, they said that commission was only payable if the agents had already persuaded the buyer to make the purchase."

" The ruling by Lord Justices Waller and Rix, sitting with Lord Neubeger of Abbotsbury, overturns an early decision at Kingston-upon-Thames County Court. They said that Foxtons needed to have “introduced the purchaser to the purchase” and not merely to the property."

The case was about a joint commission but the principles still stand here and the fact it comes from a higher court means that a county court should really follow that ruling now. Let them take you to court, county court isn't scary, you all just sit round a table.

hethmar

We had this happen to us aswell. We had actually asked the EA who came out if it would be a prob if we found our own buyer and he had said no. We then advertised in a local paper and a couple came and they were our buyers. I rang the agents to tell them that we wanted to terminate our agreement as we had found private buyers. They asked the peoples names and I told them, as I had nothing tohide. We then received the same letter as you, saying they had these people on their mailing list.

I went down with a copy of our newspaper ad and stood my ground in the agents in front of other clients and the head came over all smarmy and apologetic.

I think you have to get your mates who are buying the place to saythat they have known you for xxx years and that they bought through personal knowledge.

Brizzo

Thanks everyone, I'm so glad I joined this forum everyone's help has been fantastic and very much appreciated. They should have received my letter which luckily more or less says what Doozergirl has advised so fingers crossed they'll leave me alone now. That said, they are the local notoriously rubbish and dodgy agent so they may try their luck. If needs be our MD rights a mean nasty letter so I may be knocking on his door to verify he employs us all!!

Brizzo

Hi again, sorry can someone help me on this one too, what is an unconditional exchange of contracts? Is it the normal exchange of contracts where you complete 2 weeks later?

Thanks!

alm721

Im just dealing with a similar situation for my sister. The agents want the fee despite the buyers part exchanging with my sister. They were not looking to buy at all but ended up agreeing to a part ex as it made more financial sense for them to own an smaller house to rent out and sell theirs. This only came about because my sister wanted to buy theirs and she put an offer in with them months before the EA who are trying to claim the fee. The buyers therefore knew about my sisters house being for sale before the EA was even instructed. They never had any dealing with the EA and my sis terminated her contract with them and waited until the notice was up before doing anything yet they still sent her a bill. I think they are just desperate and will try it on anywhere.

Brizzo

We did sort solicitors and mortgages before the termination ran out but that's all. Nothing else. That's why I'm wondering what unconditional contract exchange means as this is mentioned in their agreement.