Marketing Issue with EA

jeggburt

Hi there, this is my first post although I have been lurking for a while

I put my flat up for sale at the tail end of August. The EA have sole agency until the end of October.

Part of the deal was that my flat is placed onto four websites and the local press.

To date, my property hasn't been put into the local press or their website, which is part of the four websites I've been told the EA targets.

In a telephone call to the EA on Friday I was told that my flat "was being extensively marketed to the best of their capability." With marketing I have been promised, that's a downright fib (imho).

I had a mystery shopper contact them looking for flats in my area with a budget of £60k and what they would recommend. All they were told was to "look at the websites".

I'm probably partly to blame for this as I naively agreed to the EA taking sole agency for this timescale because of the promises of the marketing they offered and the value at which they said they believed it to be worth (£65k).

I realise the price of property is only what people are willing to pay for them, but has anyone had any luck challenging an EA where they haven't promoted their property as much as they said they have?

Ulfar

Ask them to provide proof of marketing, if they are unable to proof then sack them for breach of contract.

Most properties are first located by buyers online. If the estate agent haven't put your property onto rightmove, globrix etc within a week of taking it on then alarms bells would be ringing for me.

jeggburt

Hi Ulfar, thanks for the response.

The properties are on Rightmove, their own website and property finder.

The other site in question is the regional newspaper and an ad within the "homes" section on a Saturday.

They said they have sent a text to their clients on their books twice; once when the flat went on the market and secondly when the flat price was reduced.

I'm planning on visiting the EA tomorrow afternoon to discuss the marketing side anyway because I get the feeling they are relying on people surfing the web and making contact that way than being proactive. Our "contract" will be in my hand as well.

I've got proof via the myserty shopper although I'm getting another mystery shopper to call in the morning to check if their patter is consistent.

I didn't think I'd get stressed trying to sell the flat, but I'm starting to get annoyed.

Ulfar

I certainly agree you need to give them a kick up the !!!!, especially after getting someone to ring up and the negative result.

jeggburt

Turns out they have been advertising, just not in the areas I thought they were.

They've agreed to try and get space in this weekend, if not this weekend, the following weekend's publication.

I've had to lower the price more though, but only to try and get punters in through the door. Any offers can be started from there, although the EA did admit they can't understand why it hasn't sold yet.

I've advised them, I will be back in at the end of the month though.