Estate Agent Lying

southgirl

Well it's not really a surprise but we are looking at our options here.

We are selling a flat through an online estate egents, we conducted the viewings ourselves. Fair bit of interest, few offers and we accepted one, this fell through fairly quickly. When this happened we pushed for the EA to go back to every person that viewed the place and liked it, apparently they couldn't get through to anyone/ didn't get any responese from people.

We got lots of people through the doors again, lots of interest, many people makig the right noises but not making offers. EA each time sent couple of emails saying they tried to get feedback but people don't answer phones/ don't reply to emails. We got bit suspicious that they don't really try and asked couple of friends to be secret shoppers.

At the same time we got couple of offers on the table which we were considering but made it very clear to EA that untill we accept one, we still want people through the doors and are happy to do the viewings. One friend never heard back from EA (contacted them twice) and one has been told an outright lie that we are not available to do viewings at the moment.

We accepted an offer and not complained to the EA waiting for the sale to go through smoothly. It fell through again (tricky property to sell) but now I don't trust the EA at all.

Paid them upfront so really want our money back and go elsewhere.

But also wondering if it's worth pursuing for any compensation? How would one go about that? Has anyone here tried tried taking estate agents to court?

Any other thoughts?

user1977

southgirl said:

But also wondering if it's worth pursuing for any compensation? 

What loss have you suffered? Sounds just like poor service, so a discount off their bill would seem appropriate.

74jax

You have already paid them, before they have done their job, is that right? 

What was it with them, that stood out against the other agents you considered, that made you close them? 

dimbo61

You have paid them.
They have put an advert on Rightmove and you had lots of viewings.
So what's wrong with the property ?

southgirl

If two of out two friends didn't get a viewing, I wonder how many more people wanted to see it but didn't and therefore possibly lost out on other offers, especially if they indeed don't bother calling people back.

Thrugelmir

The EA sold your property twice and because of matters beyond their control you want a refund now it's fallen through again. While you play unnecessary games . The EA is considered untrustworthy. Perhaps they sussed you out. 

googler

Sounds to me like you're trying to get full-service agency from an online agency without paying the full-service price.

walwyn1978

Getting specific feedback can be hard. People don’t want to say ‘it just didn’t feel right’ to avoid burning their own bridges with the EA so will not respond. The fact that you haven’t got specific feedback ‘the kitchen is in bad condition/the garden is in a poor state/the body under the patio put us off’ is a good thing in a way because it shows you there’s nothing obvious wrong with the property. 

NameUnavailable

southgirl said:

We got bit suspicious that they don't really try and asked couple of friends to be secret shoppers.

At the same time we got couple of offers on the table which we were considering but made it very clear to EA that untill we accept one, we still want people through the doors and are happy to do the viewings. One friend never heard back from EA (contacted them twice) and one has been told an outright lie that we are not available to do viewings at the moment.

Maybe as you had offers already the agent didn't want to waste people's time hence their respose about viewings/not getting back? Also, did your friends say they were ready to buy? Lots of agents won't entertain viewings if the person doesn't already have an offer and is ready to move themselves.

As for a refund, what does your contract say? Most up front arrangements are non-refundable aren't they? The agent commits to marketing the property until sold.

southgirl

googler said:

Sounds to me like you're trying to get full-service agency from an online agency without paying the full-service price.

Well we are doing the viewings ourselves which I'd porbably consider the bulk of the service? What they doing is arranging them from afar and, as it turns out they don't even do that as our two friends were not offered a viewing

canaldumidi

Cheap online agency that takes fee upfront. You get what you pay for.

Naturally once they've been paid they have no real interest or incentive, unlike a traditional EA which is paid on results ie a completed sale.

OK - you may have a case that they've not done as they promised (we can't see the contract you signed with them), but I doubt you have much come-back.

You could try complaining to the relevant ombudsman - which scheme do they belong to?

Meanwhile, terminate the contract (as per whatever termination rules you agreed to) and place the property with a traditional EA

If it's such a 'difficult' property to sell that's all the more reason to pay to get a proper service.