Enforcement of terms in an unsigned contract

frankie65

I recently approached a local estate agent to sell my house. The agent uses an online contract service ('docusign'). While I was considering the terms, I agreed to let the agent take photographs of the house which shortly afterwards appeared on the agent's website and on other aggregator sites, such as Zoopla.

Regrettably, my circumstances changed suddenly which meant that I decided not to proceed with the sale. The agent appeared sympathetic and withdrew the online advertisement for the house. I had not signed the agent's online contract, nor anything else, however the agent sent me a form letter advising me that a fee would be due if the house were to be sold via another agent. I queried this in a letter, as I had not signed anything, and was sent the same form letter by return.

A few weeks later, a property came back onto the market which I had expressed interest in to the agent when I was considering selling my home. The agent sent me an email advising that the letters has been "a mistake" and asking whether I wished to proceed with the sale of my home.

Needless to say, this has all left a very sour taste. My question is: does the agent have any right to enforce terms in a contract which I did not sign?

Thanks for your help and advice

Frankie

gazter

frankie65 wrote: »

I recently approached a local estate agent to sell my house. The agent uses an online contract service ('docusign'). While I was considering the terms, I agreed to let the agent take photographs of the house which shortly afterwards appeared on the agent's website and on other aggregator sites, such as Zoopla.

Regrettably, my circumstances changed suddenly which meant that I decided not to proceed with the sale. The agent appeared sympathetic and withdrew the online advertisement for the house. I had not signed the agent's online contract, nor anything else, however the agent sent me a form letter advising me that a fee would be due if the house were to be sold via another agent. I queried this in a letter, as I had not signed anything, and was sent the same form letter by return.

A few weeks later, a property came back onto the market which I had expressed interest in to the agent when I was considering selling my home. The agent sent me an email advising that the letters has been "a mistake" and asking whether I wished to proceed with the sale of my home.

Needless to say, this has all left a very sour taste. My question is: does the agent have any right to enforce terms in a contract which I did not sign?

Thanks for your help and advice

Frankie

Yes, but the lack of a written contract makes enforcement in court difficult.

eddddy

gazter wrote: »

Yes, but the lack of a written contract makes enforcement in court difficult.

Frankie65 is not denying the existence of a written contract. In fact, they agree that they had seen it in advance.

Frankie65 then appeared to accept the contract terms by agreeing to let the EA photograph and market the property.

Frankie65 is suggesting that they are not bound by the contract, simply because they didn't sign it. This is definitely not the case.

I think the EA would have no problem enforcing the contract in court, if they wanted to.

princeofpounds

A contract requires agreement and consideration (the transfer of something of value like money or a service).

Any T&Cs to form part of the contract need to have been shown before agreement.

A signature is just explicit evidence.

In your case, it is a grey area as any judge would look at what the evidence implies. You might find they know about EA tricks and are understanding of the scenario, you might not.

If you have made written complaints about the sequence of events that haven't been contested, that might also help.

If I were you, I would concentrate on the fact that an agent normally needs to actively introduce a prospective buyer to a purchase, unless you agreed to a particularly nasty contract.

Guest101

How long between the photos being taken and you withdrawing?

Distance selling regulations mean that there is a cooling off period from the time of signing.

As you didnt sign, we assume the taking of photos was acceptance of the contract and the timer would start then.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Guest101 wrote: »

How long between the photos being taken and you withdrawing?

...said the actress to the bishop

jjlandlord

You had been shown the terms and you instructed the agent. A cooling off period might apply if the agent had not carried out any work.


I think very unlikely that you could wiggle out of it

Guest101

jjlandlord wrote: »

You had been shown the terms and you instructed the agent. A cooling off period might apply if the agent had not carried out any work.


I think very unlikely that you could wiggle out of it

I dont think the agent starting work nullifies the cooling off period - That's set in law.

Agent's detriment if the client then pulls out.

Otherwise agents would just 'start work' straight away and the cooling off would never apply.

jjlandlord

Quite obviously the customer must have requested that the service be provided before the end of the cooling off period.

I'm not saying that the whole commission will necessarily be due here, but certainly the agent has a claim for payment for the work he has done (pictures, advertisement, etc.)

Guest101

jjlandlord wrote: »

Quite obviously the customer must have requested that the service be provided before the end of the cooling off period.

I'm not saying that the whole commission will necessarily be due here, but certainly the agent has a claim for payment for the work he has done (pictures, advertisement, etc.)

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/different-ways-of-buying/buying-by-internet-mail-order-or-phone/cancelling-a-distance-sale-order/services-bought-by-distance-sale-if-you-want-the-service-to-start-straight-away/

I think we're both kind of right. You're right that if services have started, some costs may be payable. But according to CAB if this was the case, the right to cancel would need to be explained thoroughly. - it doesnt sound like it was in this case.

I was concerned that the agent could just start work and thereby nullify the cooling off, but if its clearly explained that seems fair