If an EA is incompetent is the tie in still legal binding?

maya+2

My estate agent has generaly provided a very poor service that has led me to believe they are incompetent. This week they confirmed it, after 6 weeks of marketing they finaly managed to find someone interested in viewing the property and arranged with the viewer a viewing time on Sunday, however they did not let us know they had arranged a viewing?!
So my one and only viewer so far turned up to view my house when I wasn't in.
Where as all estate agents will vary in terms of level of service, the basic requirement for an estate agent is the ability to arrange a viewing between the potential buyer and vendor. If they fail to do this is it a breach of contract and do you have to pay any heed to the tie in?

In my particular case there is no signed contract, as the EA hasnt realised I never sent it back to them.

princessamy86

If they don't have a signed contract then I wouldn't have thought they had a leg to stand on, certainly not with regards to a tie in period. I would just send them a letter informing them you are taking the property off the market, it's not like you need to worry about getting stung for fees as they haven't introduced anyone.

GDB2222

maya+2 wrote: »

In my particular case there is no signed contract, as the EA hasnt realised I never sent it back to them.

In common law, you can enter into a contract just by your actions - eg at the supermarket checkout. You received the EA's terms and conditions, you didn't quibble, so you have accepted their terms. There's no question about it.

The Estate Agency Act 1979 has a number of requirements for EAs to follow, and if they are as incompetent as you suggest they may have slipped up. Have a look here:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft031.pdf

Evilm

The contract may not have been sent back to them but as said above actions can show acceptance of the contract.

Some of the contracts have a notification clause that you can give them say two weeks notice to end the exclusive period even during the tie in - read it carefully and check.

If you can't get out of it then have a frank conversation with the Estate Agents and tell them you are unhappy and expect more. I did that with ours and they booked us in with the local paper to get the editorial spot on the front page of the houses section.

maya+2

I do agree that the contract can still be viewed as binding despite not being signed.

However I wonder because they have not provided the promised service, similar to consumer goods law, where goods must be fit for purpose, if I have to take notice of their terms as they have breached the contract by being unable to perform a basic EA task of arranging a viewing between two parties.

I have other gripes, including an inability to correct errors in the rightmove ad, and when we chase them up to change them they drag their heals or say they don't know how to change them???
They are also showing the wrong price for the property on their own website, we reduced the price 3 weeks ago and they still are showing the old price, so I don't even know what price they will be telling people.
So they are marketing my property on their website and I presume in branch at the wrong price, again... basic requirement for an EA.
I could go on.

Evilm

maya+2 wrote: »

I do agree that the contract can still be viewed as binding despite not being signed.

However I wonder because they have not provided the promised service, similar to consumer goods law, where goods must be fit for purpose, if I have to take notice of their terms as they have breached the contract by being unable to perform a basic EA task of arranging a viewing between two parties.

I have other gripes, including an inability to correct errors in the rightmove ad, and when we chase them up to change them they drag their heals or say they don't know how to change them???
They are also showing the wrong price for the property on their own website, we reduced the price 3 weeks ago and they still are showing the old price, so I don't even know what price they will be telling people.
So they are marketing my property on their website and I presume in branch at the wrong price, again... basic requirement for an EA.
I could go on.

Then this is a different issue. It can be hard to prove that someone isn't marketing the property correctly because having no viewings doesn't always mean much.

However not correcting the listings for the correct details is an indication they are not doing their job properly and might be suitable to claim as not performing their part of the contract correctly.

Regarding not contacting you to ok the viewing that could just be considered a honest mistake since it has only happened the once.

I would speak to them and note you are very unhappy and consider they are not honouring their part of the contract and therefore you will go elsewhere. See how they react and take your actions from there.