Sole Agency Agreement, not confirming email cancellation notice.

LozBlake15

Hello all.

I've been in a sole agency agreement with an agent, that agreement was for a minimum of 8 weeks. Unfortunately due to poor viewings and I decided to hand notice to my agent, the notice period is 2 weeks, and I sent this to them on week 7, so all should be within the limits specified on the contract.

I provided this notice by email, emailing the three people I'd worked with at the agency, as well as CCing in their sales email address. The contract specifies nothing other than providing the notice in writing.

I phoned them two days after the notice was handed in, as I heard nothing, and they confirmed over the phone they'd received received it, and that was all fine. They tried to convince me to let them lower the price and they'd get me a sale in that two week period, I said I would discuss it with my partner, but I would still like them to confirm they've receive my notice over email, alas they did not.

I chased them again a day later to confirm I wasn't interested in their suggestion, and to chase again for this confirmation email, to which I was again assured they would send me, and yet again they haven't.

I'm now stuck a week into my notice period, but I'm concerned they're trying to play games, and claim they never received it so they can play more games when I move on to a new agent after the period is up. My question is, am I being overly paranoid, or is email notice without confirmation a concern? I really want to get this on the market with a new agent before we hit October, but I'm paranoid they're going to try charge me two lots of commission.

It's a shame, whilst I was unhappy with the viewings and advice I received from this agency, the relationship in general was good, I don't want that to be ruined because they refuse to reply to an email.

da_rule

Yes you’re being paranoid. People seem to have a weird hang up about people needing to confirm receipt. The rules around delivery of notices etc are quite clear that as long as you can prove you sent it, it is for the other party to then prove that they didn’t receive it.

If you really want to be sure, you could always forward the email to them with a quick message saying “as per my telephone conversation with XX on XX, you confirmed receipt of the below notice, thank you for your time”.

I think this is unneeded but it may help you relax.

Jumblebumble

da_rule wrote: »

Yes you’re being paranoid. People seem to have a weird hang up about people needing to confirm receipt. The rules around delivery of notices etc are quite clear that as long as you can prove you sent it, it is for the other party to then prove that they didn’t receive it.

If you really want to be sure, you could always forward the email to them with a quick message saying “as per my telephone conversation with XX on XX, you confirmed receipt of the below notice, thank you for your time”.

I think this is unneeded but it may help you relax.

This stance may apply in theory but in the real world completely ignores the considerable waste of time an energy that debating if an email might entail which is time you will never get back
I do not share your confidence that a district judge would see things the way you do.
On this basis I would 100% keep on till you get an answer

A close relation was a barrister and earned thousands of pounds from people who could have had their issue wrapped up in minutes if they had only obtained proof that the other side had agreed.

Lokolo

Jumblebumble wrote: »

This stance may apply in theory but in the real world completely ignores the considerable waste of time an energy that debating if an email might entail which is time you will never get back
I do not share your confidence that a district judge would see things the way you do.
On this basis I would 100% keep on till you get an answer

A close relation was a barrister and earned thousands of pounds from people who could have had their issue wrapped up in minutes if they had only obtained proof that the other side had agreed.

For postal services, you would just need to prove that it was sent, not that it was received. This is why people tend to recommend you get proof of postage. I cannot see why this would be any different.

Of course, getting confirmation is the best way, but like in the OP, you cannot always get that.

[Deleted User]

Most likely they are just passing it over to someone else for it to be done and everyone thinks the other person is doing it. Its so so rare for an agent to take someone to court to claim a fee if sold through another agent.

If i was in your shoes I would call from my mobile and record myself saying 'did you receive the cancellation notice i sent on xx date?'. Perfectly legal to record conversations for personal use and for proving facts at a later date. No consent required

ethank

At the end of the two week notice period, send them a recorded delivery letter with a copy of the email, and reference the conversation you had with them on X date, and tell them that as far as you are concerned, the two week's notice has now passed and they have ceased being your agent. The contract no longer applies.

eddddy

LozBlake15 wrote: »

My question is, am I being overly paranoid, or is email notice without confirmation a concern?

You're worrying unnecessarily.

• You have evidence that you sent the email
• And the EA confirmed on the phone that they received it

It's very unlikely that an EA would perjure themselves in court, by denying those two events.

(For comparison, companies send me emails telling me they are going to take payments from my accounts, increase subscriptions etc. They never ask me (and do not expect me) to acknowledge receipt of those emails.)

I suspect you will get an email from the EA when the contract actually terminates.

Most EAs are members of The Property Ombudsman scheme. Their manadatory code of practice says:

5u At the time of the termination of the instruction, you must explain clearly in writing any continuing liability the client may have to pay you a commission fee and any circumstances in which the client may otherwise have to pay more than one commission fee. Your explanation must include a list of parties that you have introduced to the property.

Link: https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/Codes_2019_a5/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A5_-_Effective_1_June_2019.pdf

So if you don't get this info when the contract terminates, you can make an official complaint, if you want.

G_M

Don't forget to ask for, and receive, a list of all the prospectve buyers they have introduced (if any!).


Give the list to any new agent you employ so that there is no misunderstanding about who introduced which buyers.