Estate agent closed mid way through sale, no signed contract

endplate

Hi All

I sold my house roughly 3 months ago through a fairly new estate agent, we've had some issues in the chain above us so no movement on house purchase. 
I found out last week through our sales progression team that our estate agent we sold with have stopped trading over a month ago, their parent company is still around but they no longer have an estate agent business. I also never actually signed a contract with them, we sold quickly and they sent us a contract but I questioned some name spellings and never received anything back. 

Where do I stand with paying them once completed? I have no contract or anything written in emails about pricing, but they did list the house and arrange viewings (i did the viewings myself) 

Luckily the fact I have a sales progression team from another company means I have some contacts who can help where estate agents normally would, they did mention they have 1 person to deal with from the parent company.  But the fact they themselves have not told me is very poor. 

I see it the below
1) I pay all as if nothing happens
2) I argue there is no contract so I don't owe them anything 
3) I agree some sort of reduced pricing based on no contract and they have done no work since agreeing sale. 
4) I pay nothing as the company i am dealing with are no longer around. 

Any advise would be appreciated. 

eddddy

You almost certainly have a contract with them. 

It sounds like they sent you a written copy of the terms and conditions (i.e. contract) and you agreed that they should proceed - so a contract was formed.

You don't have to sign anything to form a contract.


Most estate agents' contracts (t&cs) say that if they introduce somebody who goes on to purchase the property, you have to pay the estate agent their fee - is that what your contract says?  If so, did they introduce your buyer? If so, you'll probably owe them their fee.


(You say have no information on 'pricing' - do you mean the estate agent's fees? Is the estate agent a member of the Property Ombudsman's scheme? If they're members and they didn't tell you their fees in writing, that may be a basis for complaint.)

pinkshoes

endplate said:

Hi All

I sold my house roughly 3 months ago through a fairly new estate agent, we've had some issues in the chain above us so no movement on house purchase. 
I found out last week through our sales progression team that our estate agent we sold with have stopped trading over a month ago, their parent company is still around but they no longer have an estate agent business. I also never actually signed a contract with them, we sold quickly and they sent us a contract but I questioned some name spellings and never received anything back. 

Where do I stand with paying them once completed? I have no contract or anything written in emails about pricing, but they did list the house and arrange viewings (i did the viewings myself) 

Luckily the fact I have a sales progression team from another company means I have some contacts who can help where estate agents normally would, they did mention they have 1 person to deal with from the parent company.  But the fact they themselves have not told me is very poor. 

I see it the below
1) I pay all as if nothing happens
2) I argue there is no contract so I don't owe them anything 
3) I agree some sort of reduced pricing based on no contract and they have done no work since agreeing sale. 
4) I pay nothing as the company i am dealing with are no longer around. 

Any advise would be appreciated. 

Of course you have a contract with them! You agreed to their T&Cs when you let them list your house which resulted in a buyer being found and your house being sold.

BUT... as they are no longer doing their job, you should deduct any additional costs (e.g. any fee of the sales progression team you are now using, any additional time you have had to spend doing what would have been their job) from the amount you would have paid them. This would be fair.

Marvel1

endplate said:

Hi All

I sold my house roughly 3 months ago through a fairly new estate agent

2) I argue there is no contract so I don't owe them anything 

Option 2 is not viable.

eddddy

pinkshoes said:

BUT... as they are no longer doing their job, you should deduct any additional costs (e.g. any fee of the sales progression team you are now using, any additional time you have had to spend doing what would have been their job) from the amount you would have paid them. This would be fair.

It depends whether the EA's  contract says sales progression is part of the service that you're paying for - I don't think most EAs contracts say that.

But even if it's not mentioned in the contract, if the EA said before the contract was agreed that sales progression was included in the service - then you might have an argument for misrepresentation. 

Although you say that 1 person in the parent company is dealing with things - they'd probably argue that person is doing the sales progression.


But there's nothing to stop you trying to negotiate a discount, if you want.

rexmedorum

You do have a contarct with them. If they send an invoice I'd pay but if they don't I certainly wouldn't start chasing it. I'd reserve the money for a while though in case they chase it later.

[Deleted User]

How long after a sale goes through would an estate agent have to claim a fee? @eddddy

Could OP hold the money in a separate account on the offchance no one actually claims it? 

There is obviously a contract and you are clearly liable to make a payment to them.  The question at this point is whether anyone in that company is interested in claiming that fee. 

eddddy

Deleted_User said:

How long after a sale goes through would an estate agent have to claim a fee? @eddddy

The standard 6 years (in England/Wales) - I don't think there's any special time limits specifically for estate agents.


I have to say, I'd be a bit surprised if the parent company just closed down their estate agency business and 'forgot' about any potential fees that might become due.

Plus the sales negotiator and/or the team manager etc will almost certainly be due commission when the fee is paid - I doubt they'll forget about their potential commission payment.  Even if they've been made redundant, they'll probably chase the parent company for their money.

rexmedorum

eddddy said:

Deleted_User said:

How long after a sale goes through would an estate agent have to claim a fee? @eddddy

The standard 6 years (in England/Wales) - I don't think there's any special time limits specifically for estate agents.


I have to say, I'd be a bit surprised if the parent company just closed down their estate agency business and 'forgot' about any potential fees that might become due.

Plus the sales negotiator and/or the team manager etc will almost certainly be due commission when the fee is paid - I doubt they'll forget about their potential commission payment.  Even if they've been made redundant, they'll probably chase the parent company for their money.

Not a matter of "forgetting". It's quite possible they would have no knoledge or interest in ongoing business. And if the agent has lost their job they may vr well have lost the chance of that comission anyway.
Of course they might still chase it, I just wouldn't be chasing them to be allowed to pay it!

Thrugelmir

If the EA is no longer in business. Who is your sales progression team? 

eddddy

rexmedorum said:

Not a matter of "forgetting". It's quite possible they would have no knoledge or interest in ongoing business.

I guess it's possible - but very, very unlikely.

If you owned an estate agency business would you have no knowledge or interest in it?

And would you close it down without bothering to find out who might owe your estate agency business money?

And when you get bills for the rent, business rates, electricity, advertising etc for your closed estate agency business, how would you know whether to pay them - if you have no knowledge or interest in the business?

It doesn't really seem likely that a business would operate like that.