Property Eagle

HaydenB

I am after some advice.

My house is currently going through the sale process having used Property Eagle to market the property. I have given them previous glowing references on here but something has been on my mind since the start of the month.

Around the 25th of September I noticed Property Eagle had taken £84 from my account. When I queried this they said its because they take £70 + VAT for a minimum of three months until the property has sold.

To start with I didnt know there was a minimum period (of three months), secondly I hadnt signed any agreement with them and thirdly I certainly hadnt given them permission to take money out of my account which left me short for a bill as I dont get paid until the 1st of the month - had I know they would help themselves to my money I would have asked them to wait for pay day.

Any advice?

davidmcn

If you're sure you hadn't agreed to it and it's a direct debit, then first step is claim the money back from your bank under the DD Guarantee.

HaydenB

I never filled anything in so all I can assume is they kept my debit card details from when I paid for the EPC and initial month. In other words it wasnt a Direct Debit (I have checked my direct debits through my online banking).

agrinnall

Then it is effectively a Continuous Payment Authority, which can be cancelled by your bank at your request, although asking for the money back would be more difficult.

mrginge

It looks fairly obvious from looking at their website what their charging structure is.

What do you 'think' you've signed up for?

dodger1

Which option did you choose, looks like just the three,

HaydenB

It was the £75 + VAT per month. The issue is that I didnt sign any agreement or give authority for them to automatically take payment from my account. If I knew they were going to I would have asked them to take it when I got paid.

mrginge

So what did you agree to then?

libf

HaydenB wrote: »

I am after some advice.

My house is currently going through the sale process having used Property Eagle to market the property. I have given them previous glowing references on here but something has been on my mind since the start of the month.

Around the 25th of September I noticed Property Eagle had taken £84 from my account. When I queried this they said its because they take £70 + VAT for a minimum of three months until the property has sold.

To start with I didnt know there was a minimum period (of three months), secondly I hadnt signed any agreement with them and thirdly I certainly hadnt given them permission to take money out of my account which left me short for a bill as I dont get paid until the 1st of the month - had I know they would help themselves to my money I would have asked them to wait for pay day.

Any advice?

Did you read the terms and conditions?

You understand and are aware that:
Our fees of £75+VAT are paid monthly and this is charged for
every calendar month, or part of month that you are on the
market. This will be charged every month until the sale of
your property completes.
As an example, should your property come on to the market
on 1st January, and complete on 31st March then you would
have paid a total of £225+vat in three instalments.
This agreement is for a minimum of 12 weeks and on a
rolling month by month basis after that. - http://www.propertyeagle.co.uk/images/option%202.pdf

Call them up and ask to change the payment date if it's problem, or make a note of what the payment date is and make sure you have funds to cover it.

eddddy

HaydenB wrote: »

It was the £75 + VAT per month. The issue is that I didnt sign any agreement or give authority for them to automatically take payment from my account. If I knew they were going to I would have asked them to take it when I got paid.

Just to add... you've mentioned a couple of times that you didn't sign any agreement.

That doesn't matter. You can make an agreement verbally over the phone, nothing has to be signed.

So I guess it all depends on exactly what was said/agreed in the phone call, and/or what information was sent to you after the phone call. Did they send you an email/letter containing their terms conditions?

As others have said, the t&cs are pretty clear on the website - but did they ask you to confirm that you had read them (or tell you to read them)?

G_M

eddddy wrote: »

Just to add... you've mentioned a couple of times that you didn't sign any agreement.

That doesn't matter. You can make an agreement verbally over the phone, nothing has to be signed.

Or indeed by 'signing up' online. If you ticked the relevant box (eg "£75 + VAT per month") and agreed to the T&Cs, then, subject to the cooling off period, you are committed.