Estate agent contract minimum period of agency

LV_426

We are with an estate agent who we wish to terminate our contract with. We want to change to another agent.

Their contract states that the minimum period of agency is 16 weeks, but this has been amended to 26 weeks. 

But on the day we signed, we were not given our own hard copy of the contract. We signed it and the agent took it away. We later received an email copy of the contract, in which the figure of 26 weeks had been written.

My question, is this contract valid and binding, and can we be released from the contract at the 16 week point?

theartfullodger

Is this for sale of a property or rental related please?

Will likely depend on EXACT wording. .

eddddy

If the contract said 26 weeks when you signed it - then it almost certainly will be binding.


But if you're suggesting that maybe...

• 1) The contract said 16 weeks when you signed it, but was later changed to 26 weeks? (Which would be a very serious accusation.) Or

• 2) You were told the contract would be for 16 weeks before you signed it.

If option 1 applies, you can definitely terminate the contract after 16 weeks - but you might have to find reasonable proof that happened.

If option 2 applies, you have a strong case for terminating the contract after 16 weeks - but if it was said verbally, and the agent denies saying it, it gets more difficult.



 
Edit to add...

Or if there was some 'mischief' / 'trickery' - like you were initially shown a sample contract which said 16 weeks - but later asked to sign a contract which said 26 weeks without anyone mentioning that the number of weeks was different - then that's equivalent to option 2 above.

LV_426

Thanks for the input. This is a property sale.

So no proof exists of what was said in the original meeting. Maybe I should have video recorded it

But the practice of not leaving the customer with a hard copy on the day, and later sending a hand-written figure, which I strongly suspect was filled in after we'd signed, that's dodgy. Of course the agent swears blind we agreed to it on the day.
Believe me, having dealt with this person, I would not put it past them to do such a thing!

However no concrete proof, it's just our word against theirs. I really don't see why we would have agreed to a minimum period being extended from 16 to 26 weeks.

Normal practice is to have two copies signed on the day, to prevent precisely this happening. Everything is typed and signed. Not hand written.

CSI_Yorkshire

LV_426 said:

Normal practice is to have two copies signed on the day, to prevent precisely this happening. Everything is typed and signed. Not hand written.

Common practice for modifying a template contract would include hand-written amendments, but I get what you mean.  Initialling amendments helps with problems like this.

LV_426

CSI_Yorkshire said:

LV_426 said:

Normal practice is to have two copies signed on the day, to prevent precisely this happening. Everything is typed and signed. Not hand written.

Common practice for modifying a template contract would include hand-written amendments, but I get what you mean.  Initialling amendments helps with problems like this.

Exactly.
Oh how I wish I'd photographed the contract on the day. But you live and learn.

theartfullodger

Wow, gosh, surprise... estate agent turns out not to be entirely truthful.  Who'd thought eh?

eddddy

OK - so if we get technical about this.

If this ended up in court, it would be decided on the 'balance of probabilities'. Your case would include arguments like:

• I was told that the minimum period was 16 weeks
• Why would I agree to an extended period of 26 weeks?
• I suspect the contract didn't say 26 weeks when I signed it (but I didn't read it thoroughly)
• The agent didn't leave a copy of the contract with me - which is suspicious

The estate agent's arguments might include

• You were told that the minimum contract period is 26 weeks
• The printed contracts haven't been updated yet - so we manually write 26 weeks on them
• The contract said 26 weeks when you signed it

It's a bit of a toss-up which way the case would go - unless you can find some stronger arguments / evidence.

But if the agent really is "up to no good" - maybe they might back down, if you say you're terminating after 16 weeks and "you'll see them in court" if they try to persue you.  But maybe you'd need to give them an easy way to back down, without admitting fault etc.

LV_426

eddddy said:

OK - so if we get technical about this.

If this ended up in court, it would be decided on the 'balance of probabilities'. Your case would include arguments like:

• I was told that the minimum period was 16 weeks
• Why would I agree to an extended period of 26 weeks?
• I suspect the contract didn't say 26 weeks when I signed it (but I didn't read it thoroughly)
• The agent didn't leave a copy of the contract with me - which is suspicious

The estate agent's arguments might include

• You were told that the minimum contract period is 26 weeks
• The printed contracts haven't been updated yet - so we manually write 26 weeks on them
• The contract said 26 weeks when you signed it

It's a bit of a toss-up which way the case would go - unless you can find some stronger arguments / evidence.

But if the agent really is "up to no good" - maybe they might back down, if you say you're terminating after 16 weeks and "you'll see them in court" if they try to persue you.  But maybe you'd need to give them an easy way to back down, without admitting fault etc.

I understand. Quite honestly I don't want to put myself through the stress of contesting this with them. Particularly not wanting formal legal action taking place. 
But it's like talking to a brick wall. He will stick to the line that we agreed to it.

I was unsure whether we could get them for bad practice on not providing hard copy contract on the day. I've pinged the TPO about it, but really not expecting any kind of answer from them. I don't think it's worth submitting a formal complaint. Is it?

eddddy

You could try complain to the TPO - assuming that the agent is a member of that scheme.

I guess your complaint would be on the basis that the agent didn't do all of this:

5g You must give your client written confirmation of their instruction for you to act in the buying or selling of property
on their behalf. You must by law give the client written details of your Terms of Business including your fees and charges before they are committed or have any liability towards you. You must sign and date your Terms of Business before they are given to your client. The client must be given sufficient time to read them before signing and agreeing to instruct you (refer also to paragraph 5p). The client should be given a copy, signed by both parties, to retain.

https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/codes-of-practice/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_FINAL.pdf

But by itself, that's only really a technical breach - which might just get you an apology.

And/or the agent might argue that they sent a copy by email shortly afterwards - so they met that requirement.

You'd still need to find a way to persuade the TPO that you were misled and/or the contract was altered after you signed.

Not leaving a copy with you might strengthen your case, but it doesn't make it watertight by any means.

But again, you could try the angle of "You've broken TPO code of practice, I'll complain to TPO, unless you let me terminate my contract" - but it's a bit risky.

Also a complaint to TPO will probably take weeks to be decided - by which time you'll probably hit the 26 week mark anyway.

LV_426

eddddy said:

You could try complain to the TPO - assuming that the agent is a member of that scheme.

I guess your complaint would be on the basis that the agent didn't do all of this:

5g You must give your client written confirmation of their instruction for you to act in the buying or selling of property
on their behalf. You must by law give the client written details of your Terms of Business including your fees and charges before they are committed or have any liability towards you. You must sign and date your Terms of Business before they are given to your client. The client must be given sufficient time to read them before signing and agreeing to instruct you (refer also to paragraph 5p). The client should be given a copy, signed by both parties, to retain.

https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/codes-of-practice/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_FINAL.pdf

But by itself, that's only really a technical breach - which might just get you an apology.

And/or the agent might argue that they sent a copy by email shortly afterwards - so they met that requirement.

You'd still need to find a way to persuade the TPO that you were misled and/or the contract was altered after you signed.

Not leaving a copy with you might strengthen your case, but it doesn't make it watertight by any means.

But again, you could try the angle of "You've broken TPO code of practice, I'll complain to TPO, unless you let me terminate my contract" - but it's a bit risky.

Also a complaint to TPO will probably take weeks to be decided - by which time you'll probably hit the 26 week mark anyway.

Correct. It's one of those life lesson moments. And these guys are the reason why estate agents get such a bad rep.
I've not even gone into just how they've conducted business with us, which has not yielded any offers. But I will not bore you silly. Suffice to say that this is by far the worst estate agent experience for us, ever!