Estate agent doesn't remove 'Sold' sign

bryanb

It can cost more to remove them than they are worth.

Wheezy_2

Thanks for the replies

I'll follow Pee and googler's advice...take it down, leave it somewhere in the garden and tell EA where they can find it if they want it.

Wheezy.

I,_Geek

All of the flats in our house have been for sale at one point or another in the past three years, and all but a few of the signs have been stolen, or not removed months after someone had moved in. We even saw one sign had been snapped off and taken, and a sign we'd never seen before was lying in the front garden. I sold an item on eBay to, as it turned out, my EA who asked why we didn't have a sold sign. She obviously got onto the sign-putting-up-contractors because a sold sign went up the next day. I've rung a few times to get signs removed and only once has someone come to remove it. The house next door is empty with lots of rubbish in the back (hidden by a very high wall) so I ended up throwing signs over there when neither the EA nor the council would collect them.

AMD1981

The EA only came and took mine away when I told them it was going in the skip! They were round very quickly!!

Radsteral

selll it on the ebay ;)_

Blacksheep1979

write to them stating you will be charging them rent of £5 a week for the sign and if it's not removed after 6 months you will be disposing of it.

mikey72

You've missed bonfire night.

TBeckett100

phone te local newspaper and get them some publicity for their pathetic attempt at advertising. then write to them and charge them rent for the sign at £5 a day if not collected in 3 days. then insist you come off their sold list on their webiste,
one agent i know has properties completed months ago on their site to look busy

princeofpounds

There is legislation for estate agent advertising that covers this exactly. Under advertising regulations they are permitted to have the boards up for 14 days after a rental or sale completes.

More than this and trading standards can fine them. Sometimes they even do, when they have a crackdown! But normally a quick email to the agent saying that the board has been up for more than 14 days and you will contact trading standards and the planning people (who approve/deny advertising planning applications) will resolve things very quickly. I have used it myself for signs on my street about three or four times.

Usually it's just laziness that means they don't get removed, but it's even worse on busy roads where agents often leave signs for advertising purposes, particularly if they are 'sold' or 'success' (ugh...) signs. In my area they have even put 'sold' signs up on straight away or on houses that later turn out not to have sold.

You should not damage or dispose of the sign as in theory they can sue you for destroying their property - you don't have a right to do so just because it's on your property.

googler

...which brings up another point - typically an EA contract says that the owner of the property grants permission to the EA to erect a sign on their property.

It's not their property anymore, and you haven't granted any permission to the agent for a sign on your property - so point this out in the e-mail/letter/phone call too....