Seeking partial refund of Estate Agent Fees - Advice gratefully received...

SweatyGoans

Comms69 - Seriously? I'm neither whinging or childish. If you actually read my post I was simply asking the community their view on an issue. It has been provided for which I'm grateful. However, your contribution isn't particularly helpful

Comms69

SweatyGoans wrote: »

Comms69 - Seriously? I'm neither whinging or childish. If you actually read my post I was simply asking the community their view on an issue. It has been provided for which I'm grateful. However, your contribution isn't particularly helpful

...and i'm not replying to you...

SweatyGoans

Comms69 wrote: »

...and i'm not replying to you...

Fair enough! My bad. You did earlier though, stating that some of my points were irrelevant. They were not irrelevant in the context of poor service.
Anyway, as a few have suggested, I'm over it now. Was interested in the feedback of the community and for the most part people seem to disagree with me, which I'm fine with.

Sachs

No one is disputing g a right to ignore a complaint, what an odd statement. As I say, the position of so many commentators on what is effectively a consumer rights website is surprisingly subservient and obedient.

Each to their own I guess.

wantonnoodle

googler wrote: »

When did you last hear of a seller inviting three solicitors to their home to pitch for business against each other?

OK, I've not sold, but before buying, I contacted 6 different solicitors for quotations on the cost and full breakdown of their services for the work required, so it's no different really to pitching agents against each other. I anticipate I would do the same before selling.

In my view, estate agents and solicitors are no different to any other tradespeople, you should always get at least 3 quotes of any before proceeding.

davidmcn

wantonnoodle wrote: »

OK, I've not sold, but before buying, I contacted 6 different solicitors for quotations on the cost and full breakdown of their services for the work required, so it's no different really to pitching agents against each other. I anticipate I would do the same before selling.

In my view, estate agents and solicitors are no different to any other tradespeople, you should always get at least 3 quotes of any before proceeding.

I think the point was more that a solicitor giving a conveyancing quote might only need to have a brief phone conversation, stick a few figures into a spreadsheet and attach it to an email, rather than spend a chunk of their evening travelling to and from the potential client, being shown around their house and listening to their life story.

googler

wantonnoodle wrote: »

OK, I've not sold, but before buying, I contacted 6 different solicitors for quotations on the cost and full breakdown of their services for the work required, so it's no different really to pitching agents against each other. I anticipate I would do the same before selling.

Did any of those solicitors travel to your home?

hazyjo

Sachs wrote: »

A number of commentators in this thread have basically said so long as the house gets sold you have no cause to complaint. Would you apply that to an expensive restaurant, so long as you leave full of food nothing else matters?

But they got what they paid for and I think expected more than they should have given.


One of their issues is comparable to a waiter bringing them someone else's order by mistake. Not really something you'd mention to them in a complaint. It's like paying for that meal and then saying you are upset you didn't get an amuse bouche between courses, got a different waiter throughout, or didn't get a free drink at the end of a meal which you would have expected given their prices...

Lokolo

In my area, the majority of EAs I have met are useless. Only a couple of agencies have been worthwhile.

I think the best thing to do when selling any property is to work out whether you will be getting value for money. The OP has many complaints about the after sales process, and I agree that this is where I have suffered before.

I would never sell a property with a contract where I would owe a fee for a ready willing and able buyer. At least this way, if the after sales service is poor, you pull out.

The best thing the OP can do now is to leave a negative review for bad after sales. Estate Agents aren't paid just to find a buyer, they are there from start to finish.

Jumblebumble

Monkeysocks42 wrote: »

Did they say they would advertise your house, find a buyer and sell your house so you could move? Did they do that? It would appear so. Not sure why you think you should be entitled to a refund because they didn't do these things the way you assumed they would. You say £5k for a 10 minute visit to your house but you didn't agree a fee on an hourly basis. You agreed a fee based on how much they could sell your house for. Would you have preferred they took several months and hundreds of "10 minute" visits before they sold it? Would you feel that better justified the fee?

Presumably you think that their office staffing and other overheads do not need paying for?