How to complain to estate agent

wannaberich41

Hi,
my mum has her house on with an estate agent who before signing agreed that they would do all the viewings for her.  This was due to her mobility, age and being on her own. They were not the cheapest on the selling fee but in the area we tend to live in are the only ones that seems to deal with the higher end of the property market.
They took my details as well in case they couldn’t get hold of my mum.
We also asked if we could share the link to the property on social media which they were happy about.  

This is an equestrian property that myself and especially my daughter has worked hard at putting it on several sites on social media pages.
The first few weeks and viewings were fine mum would get a call to book in viewer and a email confirming the persons name date and time of viewing and who from the estate agent would arrive to show them round. (These emails we hardly receive now).
At some point during a discussion they also had my daughters mobile phone number.
It is mainly my daughter who puts it on social media and gets lots of interest, however several of the people have messaged her saying that they are not getting a response from the agents on booking a viewing.  They either do not call them back or tell them they can’t get hold of the vendor.    My mum doesn’t get messages left on landline or mobile so can’t be calling her so must being telling potential viewers untruths.  I did say if they couldn’t get hold of my mum to contact me but that’s not happening either. 

Since coming out of lockdown my mum has had a lot of viewings but the agent says they’re very busy now. So my daughter (mums grand daughter) Has done a lot of them and my mum has done a few herself. 
All the calls they’re are doing now to make the bookings are viewings they’re ringing my daughter and not my mum to arrange. Not getting email confirmations hardly. They even had an offer and put it to my daughter and not my mother. 

My daughter has done about 10 viewings now and my mum 1 or 2,
Do we have a right to complain?
We went with them as they said they would do the viewings. 
if so what I can we email them to tell them we’re not happy?
makes you wonder how many people are being put off by the lack of communication from the agent. ( one person has said that to my daughter through Private messages from where  She had shared it on social media. 

The agent has also turned up late by about 30 mins on another viewing which was being followed by another one which he then left half way through saying can you finish off as I’ve got another viewing to do at another property.  So the 2 viewings in one day he was late for one and left early for the other.

If we leave them there is a get out fee for the costs of the photos, drone photos and glossy brochures. This is £500+vat.
But I feel that they’re not doing what they’re paid to do.  We’re are the ones who seem to be selling the property by pushing it on social media. Doing all the viewings.
How can we put it in writing to go by email how let down and disappointed we feel through the lack of communication that we getting as customers?
if we do sell I feel it will be because my daughter has done all the work so why should they be paid for the fee?
Theyre not doing  the viewings,  most viewings are coming from social media where my daughter has posted it,  viewers telling us the lack of communication from the agent. 

My mum is out of the 20 week lock in on the contract.
If my daughter gets a buyer from her sharing it on social media will we still have to pay the agent?

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

Grumpy_chap

Once the sole agency lock in expired, you are normally able to end the agreement and go to another EA.  What notice period does the agreement require?  Just follow that and go elsewhere.  Save the hassle of complaint.

Thrugelmir

wannaberich41 said:

 most viewings are coming from social media where my daughter has posted it

Are you vetting the potential purchasers at all, or simply filling up the Agents diary with time wasters? 
If somebody contracted me to perform a task, yet concurrently did something else. I'd certainly back off and (in my mind) say you get on with it then. 

wannaberich41

Grumpy_chap said:

Once the sole agency lock in expired, you are normally able to end the agreement and go to another EA.  What notice period does the agreement require?  Just follow that and go elsewhere.  Save the hassle of complaint.

The lock-in period was 20 weeks which we are past now.  But still to pay a get out fee to cover the costs.
just feel disappointed that they’re not doing what was agreed so don’t understand why we should have to pay the fee to cover the costs etc of photos when the didn’t keep to the agreed terms. 😔

wannaberich41

Thrugelmir said:

wannaberich41 said:

 most viewings are coming from social media where my daughter has posted it

Are you vetting the potential purchasers at all, or simply filling up the Agents diary with time wasters? 
If somebody contracted me to perform a task, yet concurrently did something else. I'd certainly back off and (in my mind) say you get on with it then. 

Thank you for your comment.
Firstly they did agree we could put it on social media. ( do not gone behind their back at all)
secondly we use their link to the agent and always ask them to speak to the agent directly. (But not ringing my mum to book viewings or getting back to viewers that viewed once and want a second viewing is not really acceptable)

Thirdly we agreed that due to my mums age (nearly 80), on her own and limited mobility due to needing a new hip and just had a knee replacement they agreed to do all the viewings. ( which they’ve not kept to this agreement )
We have not done anything behind their back at all and seeked their approval.

Thrugelmir

Then arrange a meeting with the EA's and discuss the marketing strategy for the property. The past few monthsd have been extremely difficult. The Ea's may well have had employees furloughed. Which will have greatly reduced capacity. The advertising on social media suggests that the property appeals to a niche market. Buters may well be sitting on thei hands in the expectation of a price reduction. 

eddddy

Have you discussed the issue with the estate agent? You might get a different angle on what's happened.

For example, an estate agent will ask people lots of questions before arranging a viewing, to filter out time wasters. They will ask if the viewer's current property is on the market, whether it's under offer, what their budget is, whether they require a mortgage, and if so, do they have a mortgage agreed in principle.

If, for example, the viewer's current property isn't even on the market, the estate agent may think it's not worth wasting everyone's time arranging a viewing.

It's also possible that a high-end equestrian property like yours will attract a lot of sight-seers and horse fans who are just looking for a day-out and are not serious prospective buyers - so the estate agent is ignoring them.

wannaberich41

I guess it’s the lack of any communication to my mother.  The promise they would do the viewings fir her but ringing her granddaughter instead to arrange viewers and asking her to do them.  That’s not what was agreed. 

greatcrested

Either speak to the EA about your concerns and come to an agreement about how the marketing and viewings will be done going forward, or

write giving the required notice to end the contravt and find another EA. Or forget using an EA and rely of the social media that seems to be producing interest.

princeofpounds

If they are not giving you the service you think you deserve then you need to get rid of them. It was silly to sign a contract with a £500 cancellation fee, but that's what happened and there is no-one else to blame for that.

Depending on the contract that was signed, you may find that it is now possible to go multi-agency without penalty. The competition would prove an incentive to improve, perhaps. Whether that is a good idea or not depends on what deal the new agent would offer you - multi-agency contracts are usually a bit more expensive to reflect greater risk for the agent, so it may be worth paying the £500 to get a clean exit. But negotiate hard - if they offer you a higher % commission rate that implies you'll end up paying more than £500, say it doesn't make sense given the exit fee and see if they will lower it.

If your daughter gets a buyer from social media, it is likely the agent will be due the commission unless you totally cut them out of every step of the process. You cannot point to their listing. You cannot use their photos. You cannot use them to arrange viewings. Nothing. And they'll probably still threaten to sue you for their fee anyway, but they may not go through with it. The law is that an EA has to 'introduce' a buyer to a transaction - i.e. something they have done has helped build the transaction.

I wouldn't overestimate your prospects on social media, compared to a proper EA listing on Rightmove. Even for an equestrian property. But it does sound like they are not trying hard on engaging with enquiries and viewings, which is odd.

As for a right to complain - of course you can complain, as much as you like. But that's as far as it goes unless they do something that breaches the law or trading standards. 

Thrugelmir

wannaberich41 said:

I guess it’s the lack of any communication to my mother.  The promise they would do the viewings fir her but ringing her granddaughter instead to arrange viewers and asking her to do them.  That’s not what was agreed. 

Perhaps not. Though you introduced the social media aspect presumably with a view to generate more interest. Though this appears not to have worked and hasn't produced a proceedable buyer. Time to reset the strategy.  As ultimately selling the property is in the mutual interest of both parties.