Online estate agent not refunding

t1redmonkey

I'm in two minds as to whether to sell my house or not at the moment. I did pay for a listing with Emoov the other day, and so far no services have been provided (assessor has not even come round to see the house yet), however I have just come off the phone with the company director (Russell Quirk) and he told me that they do not have a policy for refunds as they are not in the business of offering them. When I questioned why I wouldn't be able to get refunded especially considering I haven't received any services from them yet, he said they would be out of business if they refunded everyone who changed their mind because their margins are that fine and then went on to compare it to buying a cinema ticket but not attending the film showing which I thought was completely different but there we go.

Now obviously it is my fault partly, because I should have been 100% sure on selling before paying, however like I say, no service has been provided, and in my mind there is no reason as to why they wouldn't be able to refund (it's not like a cinema ticket where the showing has now ended!!). All I have done is go through an online form filling in my personal details and then submitted payment. Nothing regarding the house has been submitted to them yet.

Just wondering is what they are saying actually legal? Surely they can not refuse to refund if they haven't provided a service? Or is there something else in place similar to distance selling regulations where they have to refund if the buyer changes their mind within x number of days?

He did say to me to call him back tomorrow and he would look into a 'compromise' in the meantime, but I'm not that hopeful at the moment!

G_M

t1redmonkey wrote: »

Now obviously it is my fault partly,

In what way is it partly anyone else's fault....?

t1redmonkey

Well it's not, I worded that incorrectly - it is my fault for getting into this situation but my questions still stand, I don't see how they can justify a non refund for a service they haven't yet provided.

richardw

Are you definitely not selling then?

G_M

Tenant A and landlord B sign a tenancy agreement, thus forming a contract. If A changes his mind, the contract is still binding.

Driver A and Car dealership B sign a contract for the supply of a car. Driver A changes his mind, the contract is still binding.

However, if you signed up online, and cancelled within 7 days, you may be able to cancel under the Distance Selling Regulations. See:

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/cooling-off-and-cancellations/

googler

I went into a shop the other day and bought a carton of milk. Got home and found one was already in the fridge. I took it back to the shop, but the shopkeeper won't refund me.

You may not have seen any evidence that the EA has been doing anything, but can you say for certain that they haven't started work on your case?

BertieUK

t1redmonkey wrote: »

Well it's not, I worded that incorrectly - it is my fault for getting into this situation but my questions still stand, I don't see how they can justify a non refund for a service they haven't yet provided.

What was the end result?

Twocats

In my opinion as no service was provided and therefore no cost incurred a refund should be given. I sold my house recently and decided to use an online agent. When researching I found that most of the agents seemed to require payment before any work was done, then I found a company called homesalebureau who clearly stated that no payment would be taken until they had completed their home visit, epc, brochure creation and I could see my property online, and their price was the best I found. I went with them and found the service extremely good and sold my house within 4 weeks, an offer on day 1!. In fairness it was made very clear that if I had wanted to change my mind after the home visit was made I would still be liable to pay, which as they had done the work seem very fair. They also said that if I wanted to delay trying to sell then I could relist the property at a later stage at no charge.
I guess it pays to research and read the terms and conditions. In the end I have saved myself a lot of money too.:j

G_M

Twocats wrote: »

In my opinion as no service was provided and therefore no cost incurred a refund should be given.

I assume by 'should' you are making a moral argument. If so, fair enough - though such a debate would be better suited to the 'discussion time' forum.

If you are making a legal arguement, I'm afraid your opinion is irrelevant. What matters is the court's opinion (should it go to court) and the law.

As stated above by several posters, once a contract is formed (whetehr or not one or both sides have started to comply with the contract) it is binding, except in certain specific circumstances ( eg the Distance Selling Regulations referred to above).

angrypirate

Check the distance selling legislation. I believe you by law have a 10 working day cooling off period.

googler

Not when purchasing EA services; from the OFT website, one of the exemptions-


services provided to both business and to consumers, for example, estate agents, construction services, restaurants, storage services, financial advisers