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Beware! Estate Agent Agreement Terms :: Penyards Country Properties
BlimeyOriely
Posts: 13 Forumite
This is a sobering tale that begs to be read, digested and shared as it affects everyone who is, or considering selling their property through an estate agent in the UK.
The warning concerns a simple, apparently innocuous term in an estate agent’s agreement such as that in Penyard’s Country Properties that when coupled with an ‘allegedly’ aggressive agent can have massive implications.
‘You will be liable to pay our fees … if unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged after the expiry of the period which we have sole selling rights but a particular purchaser who was introduced to you during that period or with whom we had negotiations…’
This term will appear in many agency agreements even though it appears to breach the unfair contract act, various professional body codes and has strict conditions of use.
‘A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.(The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations)
This particular case concerns a property agent Graham Evans of Penyards Country Properties Winchester, Lyndhurst.
According to the National Association of Estate Agent’s Code of Practise main clause is that members will not bring the industry sector into disrepute.
According to the latests victims of this particular clause they say ‘We are currently under what can only be described as an attack of the utmost severity by this agent. He is out of control and on a personal crusade. He has not only verbally attacked us relentlessly but also anyone who has tried to help including other estate agents.’
‘Evans’ latest comment beautifully represents his entire attitude and the tone we’ve endured’ for three years say the victims. ‘This is in response to our reasonable and polite request recently seeking an abatement in proceeding whilst awaiting adjudication from the a recent The Property Ombudsman complaint we submitted: I will bankrupt yourself and Mrs xxxxx at the earliest moment that papers can be served. You do not determine when this debt is paid, I do!’
This is a story that should be shared and demonstrates the lengths an estate agent will go to in pursuit of fees that according to The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice and Unfair Contract Terms Act they are NOT entitled to. The clause that has caused all this trouble in the agency agreement appears to clearly be in breech of the act yet Evans has managed to leverage it to such a degree that a family ‘are in fear for their future’.
‘We are a hard working family who put our home on the market to start a new life in New Zealand. We were totally unsatisfied with Lisa Evans and the service from Penyards so terminated their contract. They breached our clear instructions on numerous occasions and we felt they would say and do anything to get a sale including negotiating all our belongings as part of a deal. Some eighteen months later we sold our property through a new agent. Penyards began a campaign of unprecedented harassment for a fee they claimed they were entitled to because our buyer viewed with them previously, regardless of the fact they failed to secure a sale and breached their duty of care to us.
An agency fee of some £20,000 have now been leveraged to nearly £50,000 which Evans is now seeking with utmost aggression and generating costs at every opportunity.
We have secured the money should it be necessary by extending the mortgage but it’s taking time as we need to submit accounts. When we told Evans his response is clear - 'I will bankrupt you!'
We asked the agent to justify their claim in the first instance and even go to arbitration but we’re met with aggression and threats of court action from the outset which was ultimately proceeded with. This agent has managed to court judgement made by ‘default' as the court failed to present our defence. Something made even more difficult as we were abroad.
Now our family's new life is in jeopardy. We stand to lose our new home, be made bankrupt and as a result fail in our immigration application and be thrown out of New Zealand.’
A complaint has been made to The property Ombudsman and an agent is supposed to have a full complaints procedure but when the complaint was submitted and copied into Evans at Penyards this was the reply:
'You continue to be deluded, you misrepresent yourself and, to their great misfortune, those who have endeavoured to advise to the point of embarrassment. You have had your time and will be granted no more, my instructions are irrevocable.'
The complaint is reproduced here in the interests of readers and open debate - the contents are something the public need to familiarise themselves with as regulation is made doubly difficult when people like Evans refuse to abide by the rules and do not sign up to The National Association of Estate Agents scheme.
The lesson that needs to be taken from this when selling a property in the UK is ENSURE THAT CLAUSES SUCH AS THE ONE IN QUESTION ARE STRUCK OUT OF ANY AGREEMENT YOU MAKE WITH AN ESTATE AGENT.
IF AN AGENT FAILS TO SECURE A SALE THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE NO RIGHT TO CLAIM ANYTHING ONCE THE CONTRACT IS TERMINATED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NEGOTIATED.
The warning concerns a simple, apparently innocuous term in an estate agent’s agreement such as that in Penyard’s Country Properties that when coupled with an ‘allegedly’ aggressive agent can have massive implications.
‘You will be liable to pay our fees … if unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged after the expiry of the period which we have sole selling rights but a particular purchaser who was introduced to you during that period or with whom we had negotiations…’
This term will appear in many agency agreements even though it appears to breach the unfair contract act, various professional body codes and has strict conditions of use.
‘A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.(The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations)
This particular case concerns a property agent Graham Evans of Penyards Country Properties Winchester, Lyndhurst.
According to the National Association of Estate Agent’s Code of Practise main clause is that members will not bring the industry sector into disrepute.
According to the latests victims of this particular clause they say ‘We are currently under what can only be described as an attack of the utmost severity by this agent. He is out of control and on a personal crusade. He has not only verbally attacked us relentlessly but also anyone who has tried to help including other estate agents.’
‘Evans’ latest comment beautifully represents his entire attitude and the tone we’ve endured’ for three years say the victims. ‘This is in response to our reasonable and polite request recently seeking an abatement in proceeding whilst awaiting adjudication from the a recent The Property Ombudsman complaint we submitted: I will bankrupt yourself and Mrs xxxxx at the earliest moment that papers can be served. You do not determine when this debt is paid, I do!’
This is a story that should be shared and demonstrates the lengths an estate agent will go to in pursuit of fees that according to The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice and Unfair Contract Terms Act they are NOT entitled to. The clause that has caused all this trouble in the agency agreement appears to clearly be in breech of the act yet Evans has managed to leverage it to such a degree that a family ‘are in fear for their future’.
‘We are a hard working family who put our home on the market to start a new life in New Zealand. We were totally unsatisfied with Lisa Evans and the service from Penyards so terminated their contract. They breached our clear instructions on numerous occasions and we felt they would say and do anything to get a sale including negotiating all our belongings as part of a deal. Some eighteen months later we sold our property through a new agent. Penyards began a campaign of unprecedented harassment for a fee they claimed they were entitled to because our buyer viewed with them previously, regardless of the fact they failed to secure a sale and breached their duty of care to us.
An agency fee of some £20,000 have now been leveraged to nearly £50,000 which Evans is now seeking with utmost aggression and generating costs at every opportunity.
We have secured the money should it be necessary by extending the mortgage but it’s taking time as we need to submit accounts. When we told Evans his response is clear - 'I will bankrupt you!'
We asked the agent to justify their claim in the first instance and even go to arbitration but we’re met with aggression and threats of court action from the outset which was ultimately proceeded with. This agent has managed to court judgement made by ‘default' as the court failed to present our defence. Something made even more difficult as we were abroad.
Now our family's new life is in jeopardy. We stand to lose our new home, be made bankrupt and as a result fail in our immigration application and be thrown out of New Zealand.’
A complaint has been made to The property Ombudsman and an agent is supposed to have a full complaints procedure but when the complaint was submitted and copied into Evans at Penyards this was the reply:
'You continue to be deluded, you misrepresent yourself and, to their great misfortune, those who have endeavoured to advise to the point of embarrassment. You have had your time and will be granted no more, my instructions are irrevocable.'
The complaint is reproduced here in the interests of readers and open debate - the contents are something the public need to familiarise themselves with as regulation is made doubly difficult when people like Evans refuse to abide by the rules and do not sign up to The National Association of Estate Agents scheme.
The lesson that needs to be taken from this when selling a property in the UK is ENSURE THAT CLAUSES SUCH AS THE ONE IN QUESTION ARE STRUCK OUT OF ANY AGREEMENT YOU MAKE WITH AN ESTATE AGENT.
IF AN AGENT FAILS TO SECURE A SALE THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE NO RIGHT TO CLAIM ANYTHING ONCE THE CONTRACT IS TERMINATED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NEGOTIATED.
0
Comments
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How much of the rest of what you have posted has been copied from elsewhere?BlimeyOriely wrote: »This issue is still not resolved other than the victims being in receipt of recovery litigation so advice would be appreciated.
<snip>
Please can you acknowledge your source.
It is not clear, to me at least, what you want advice on.0 -
Hi that's a long post-can you condense it?
I'm guessing this isn't the first time you've posted this but it's not flowing very well.
Could you tell the story, bit by bit?x0 -
Ok I've had a quick read.
So far I'm thinking , basically, someone who,viewed your property has now purchased it through another agent?
Am I correct?
Can you tell me that that person had not put an offer in with penyards? Because if they had, and then you decided to,dispense with their services, that's a different scenario.
I think you need to be realistic ..0 -
Anyone wanting to read a much much longer description of the issue should try here:
or maybe here:0 -
"Rogue" seems to be one of the most mis-spelled words on here, I think I see it as "rouge" as often as not - unless of course these really are "red" companies!0
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Isn't this common practice to prevent the buy and selling cutting the estate agent out of the loop after being introduced to each other?0
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Could be these people I s'pose:"Rogue" seems to be one of the most mis-spelled words on here, I think I see it as "rouge" as often as not - unless of course these really are "red" companies!0 -
Isn't this common practice to prevent the buy and selling cutting the estate agent out of the loop after being introduced to each other?
Precisely this.
It's a reasonable term in my opinion to protect the EAs - whilst I have little to no sympathy for most of these (as some will know from my previous rants) it seems absolutely fine to prevent the above situation.
I think if the OP genuinely expects every single contract term to be discussed and negotiated then good luck to them, I hope they take a solicitor our every time they get on a bus or buy something from a shop
If you don't like the terms then don't sign the contract. I know some terms can and are unfair but this one doesn't seem it to me and has been in every EA contract I have ever signed for selling a property.Thinking critically since 1996....0 -
If the persons being claimed against are no longer in the UK then any default judgment is irrelevant - it can't be enforced. And if they remain out of the UK for several years (5 or 6) then it won't affect their credit rating anyway.0
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somethingcorporate wrote: »I know some terms can and are unfair but this one doesn't seem it to me and has been in every EA contract I have ever signed for selling a property.
Agreed. But how long does this last? How long can an EA be reasonably allowed to claim such prior rights?
OP's story says the property was sold 18 months AFTER that EA's services were discharged. So the buyer will have first seen the property at least 18 months previously. IMHO 12 months prior rights would be more than fair.0
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