Yopa No Sale No Fee Problem

dwbmar1948

I needed to sell a small property which I owned (Interest Only Mortgage)m - But as I was already in a debt Management Plan and was aware that there would be little or no equity in my property I opted for Yopa No Sale No Fee. As I didn't expect to have much left after paying off the mortgage and paying legal fees I decided, having been referred to the Deferred Payment option, to go with that option AS WELL. The house did not sell (and the Yopa experience was not good at all for a number of reasons  which I won't go into here). And I thought that that was the end of it. I later sold to a private seller and just about paid off the mortgage and legal fees with nothing left over.
Sometime later I was contacted by a Credit company requesting payment of fees to Yopa. I explained that I believed that nothing was payable because the deal was No Sale No Fee. After much to-ing and fro-ing of emails it was revealed that my taking  the deferred option option negated the No Sale No Fee option. I stuck to my guns and said that this was not made clear at the outset and I still considered that I had nothing to pay. This all began during the First Covid Lockdown period and the "debt" has been passed on a couple of times. C.A.R.S. are now the third (I think) company to be chasing me - and I still maintain that I believed all along that I was not given notice that the Deferred Payment option cancelled to No Sale No Fee option.
Has anyone else had a similar experience and can anyone give me any help or advice? I am still in a Debt Management situation from old debts and this one is not included.

Slithery

It seems pretty obvious just from the fees page of the website that there are 3 different payment options - 'No sale no fee', 'Pay now' or 'Pay later' and they are all mutually exclusive.

You can only pick one of them.

MobileSaver

dwbmar1948 said:

I opted for Yopa No Sale No Fee. ... I decided, having been referred to the Deferred Payment option, to go with that option AS WELL.

I agree with @Slithery, unless you have something that says to the contrary, it is pretty clear that there are three distinct options; you can't have both No Sale, No Fee and Pay Later.

I'm afraid it looks like you owe the fee but confirmation will be in the T&Cs you agreed to, what do they say for the Pay Later option you signed up to?

evelynm20

I have had a similar experience with Yopa. Like other people we opted for a No Sale No Fee & deferred payment option. 

We decided after a few months of no viewings to withdraw and were told we owe £2,000. We disputed this with the agent and he said once we had clicked the button we had agreed to this payment. 

We are pensioners and felt that the best option was to go back and sell with them as we have to pay anyway. 

To date we have had such a poor service, no viewings and threats of a debt collection agency as we have gone past 10 months. Meanwhile other similar properties near us have sold quickly with other Estate Agents for a similar price to ours. 

Would welcome suggestions on our next steps as we feel very stuck. 

pinkshoes

evelynm20 said:

I have had a similar experience with Yopa. Like other people we opted for a No Sale No Fee & deferred payment option. 

We decided after a few months of no viewings to withdraw and were told we owe £2,000. We disputed this with the agent and he said once we had clicked the button we had agreed to this payment. 

We are pensioners and felt that the best option was to go back and sell with them as we have to pay anyway. 

To date we have had such a poor service, no viewings and threats of a debt collection agency as we have gone past 10 months. Meanwhile other similar properties near us have sold quickly with other Estate Agents for a similar price to ours. 

Would welcome suggestions on our next steps as we feel very stuck. 

What exactly is the £2000 for? What did you sign up for? You need to check the T&Cs you agreed to carefully, but looking online it says:

6.3 Following the Cancellation Period you can terminate this Agreement at any time after the Sole Agency Term by providing us with 14 days’ notice contained in a clear statement by letter, post, or email. Please note that such notice may be given 14 days prior to the expiry of the Sole Agency Term such that termination of the Agreement will occur immediately thereafter.  

So did you do that?

eddddy

evelynm20 said:

Like other people we opted for a No Sale No Fee & deferred payment option. 

"No Sale No Fee" and "Deferred Payment" (or "Pay later") seem to be 2 completely different options, with completely different t&cs.

You mention fees being payable after 10 months - so that sounds like "Pay Later".

Here are the 3 different options they offer:

pinkshoes

eddddy said:

evelynm20 said:

Like other people we opted for a No Sale No Fee & deferred payment option. 

"No Sale No Fee" and "Deferred Payment" (or "Pay later") seem to be 2 completely different options, with completely different t&cs.

You mention fees being payable after 10 months - so that sounds like "Pay Later".

Here are the 3 different options they offer:

So what's the advantage of the Pay Later option? 

Is it cheaper but paid regardless of whether it sells or not? And the no sell no fee means paying the full premium but only IF it sells?

So quite clearly @evelynm20 has signed up to the Pay Later option, hence having to cough up a fee after 10 months even though it hasn't sold. 

Only they have the contract in front of them to see what they signed up to...

Schwarzwald

dwbmar1948 said:

[...] I explained that I believed that nothing was payable [...] I stuck to my guns and said that this was not made clear at the outset and I still considered that I had nothing to pay [...]

at one point what you believe and consider becomes irrelevant and you need to look into the facts what you signed up to and agreed to. if you can provide proof that you signed up to No Sale No Fee show them. 
But just because you didnt bother to read the fine print might not get you out of this situation and it seems you have stuck your head already into the sand for quite some time (first lock down) instead of resolving this issue.

RHemmings

What a bad deal for the seller that 'Pay Later' option is. Yopa has very little motivation to sell the property because they know they're going to get paid regardless after ten months. EDIT: I know that online estate agents typically charge anyways, but given the figures quoted above, this is a hefty cost. 

noitsnotme

Schwarzwald said:

dwbmar1948 said:

[...] I explained that I believed that nothing was payable [...] I stuck to my guns and said that this was not made clear at the outset and I still considered that I had nothing to pay [...]

at one point what you believe and consider becomes irrelevant and you need to look into the facts what you signed up to and agreed to. if you can provide proof that you signed up to No Sale No Fee show them. 
But just because you didnt bother to read the fine print might not get you out of this situation and it seems you have stuck your head already into the sand for quite some time (first lock down) instead of resolving this issue.

The OP, who you are quoting, hasn’t been back to the forum since they started the thread in March 2022.

RHemmings

noitsnotme said:

Schwarzwald said:

dwbmar1948 said:

[...] I explained that I believed that nothing was payable [...] I stuck to my guns and said that this was not made clear at the outset and I still considered that I had nothing to pay [...]

at one point what you believe and consider becomes irrelevant and you need to look into the facts what you signed up to and agreed to. if you can provide proof that you signed up to No Sale No Fee show them. 
But just because you didnt bother to read the fine print might not get you out of this situation and it seems you have stuck your head already into the sand for quite some time (first lock down) instead of resolving this issue.

The OP, who you are quoting, hasn’t been back to the forum since they started the thread in March 2022.

I checked, and the 'Pay Later' option that I objected to in my post (I know your answer wasn't directed at me) still exists and is still the same, in my opinion, bad deal.