Estate agents taking me to court?

pitbullpeebs

I had my house up for sale for 15 months with a certain agent, when I signed up with them it was a 12 month contract which seems along time but I was certain it would sell quickly. They explained that there would be a fee if I pulled out of £300. So I went ahead & I accepted an offer in the 1st week, all fine surveys done no problems estate agents told me I was days away from completing, I was going to rent & so put £500 deposit on a property. Within a few days the buyer pulled out & I lost my deposit. All this time it was me doing the chasing sometimes they couldn't even remember my property. Anyway i had a second offer, I accepted & as far as I knew it was all going through OK, they put sold up on rightmove & board. 2 months went buy & I was chasing them up only to find out the buyers (there was 3 apparently) couldn't get a mortgage, when they was planning on telling me I don't know. So by this time I'd had enough & said I wanted to change estate agents, they came to my house pleading me to stick with them & they would sell it. I said I would give them 14 days I did & it didn't sell so I gave them notice & changed agents. I went with another & it sold in 3 days & now moved no problems. Since then I keep getting letters from the 1st agents saying I owe then £300 for a so called ready to sell package. I argued that it was past 12 months, they hadn't done their job properly, their communication was not very good & ultimately hadn't sold the house. So now I have received a claim form from court. My understanding was I only was to pay this if I pulled out before the 12 months. I plan on disputing the claim any help would be appreciated.

mrginge

Well it's quite difficult without seeing the contract you signed, but from this -

pitbullpeebs wrote: »

They explained that there would be a fee if I pulled out of £300.

Followed by this -

I said I would give them 14 days I did & it didn't sell so I gave them notice & changed agents.

It would seem you owe them £300

thesaint

pitbullpeebs wrote: »

I argued that it was past 12 months, they hadn't done their job properly, their communication was not very good & ultimately hadn't sold the house.

I suggest you read your contract, and pick a defence or two, or three or four.

eddddy

If the contract you agreed to says you have to pay £300 - then you have to pay £300.

The only way you might win in court is if...

- the contract doesn't say you have to pay £300

- the agent breached the contract (or misrepresented something). You would need be very specific about how they breached the contract. There's nothing in your post that sounds like it would be a breach of contract.

AnotherJoe

pitbullpeebs wrote: »

My understanding was I only was to pay this if I pulled out before the 12 months. I plan on disputing the claim any help would be appreciated.

When you pointed out to them that the contract was for 12 months and you withdrew after 15 months, and therefore they have no claim, what did they say?

eddddy

AnotherJoe wrote: »

When you pointed out to them that the contract was for 12 months and you withdrew after 15 months, and therefore they have no claim, what did they say?

If an EA charges a withdrawal fee, it's typically payable if you withdraw after the minimum contract period.

I've never seen an EA contract that lets you withdraw during the minimum contract period under any circumstances (even by paying a fee).

But TBH, I've never heard of an EA daring to ask for a 12 month minimum contract period before... so who knows!


The OP mentions a "Ready to Sell package" - perhaps it's something like this one (note the asterisk next to the word 'free'.): https://www.gilbertandthomas.co.uk/selling-property

G_M

Impossible for us to advise until you quote to us all the relevant parts of the contract you signed.

stator

What services did they provide? A professional photographer? The usual marketing?


It all comes down to the contract and what's in it. If the contract says you have to pay £300 then you can either pay the £300 or allow it to go to court. The judge may find that the contract is unreasonable, but if not you will have to pay £300 + some costs. If you don't turn up to court you will have to pay £300 + some costs.

maninthestreet

When did you sign the contract, when did you tell them you were giving them 14 days notice?

theGrinch

12-month tie in is stupidly long and no reputable agent would trap a buyer like that.

AnotherJoe

eddddy wrote: »

If an EA charges a withdrawal fee, it's typically payable if you withdraw after the minimum contract period.

I've never seen an EA contract that lets you withdraw during the minimum contract period under any circumstances (even by paying a fee).

But TBH, I've never heard of an EA daring to ask for a 12 month minimum contract period before... so who knows!


The OP mentions a "Ready to Sell package" - perhaps it's something like this one (note the asterisk next to the word 'free'.): https://www.gilbertandthomas.co.uk/selling-property

Don't you mean before the contract period? There surely can't be a contract that says that you are tied in for 12 months and then after that if you don't wish to use them you still have to pay £300 to exit. If there is I doubt that would be acceptable to a court, IANAL but sounds like an unfair contact term to me.