Estate agent didn't conduct viewings

Losingmycool

I put my house on the market with a local estate agent in February.  My reason for opting for this as opposed to online agent was that I was not comfortable with conducting viewings myself. (I'm autistic and gave this reason to the estate agent.)  Out of 7 viewings they only conducted one, when I put my foot down.  Every other occasion there was some excuse as to why they couldn't do it.  The one viewing they did lasted around 10 minutes, according to a neighbour who was briefed to keep an eye out.

Another issue that made me nervous was that I am a pensioner and live alone.  I still remember the case of the female estate agent who was supposedly abducted and murdered during a viewing and the agents didn't appear to vet people in any way.

The house finally sold to one of the people I had shown round.  Almost 7 months later I am still stuck in a chain because the solicitor of the house I'm buying appears to sit on queries for weeks without sending them to the relevant parties.  I and the estate agent for my purchase have spent a considerable amount of time chasing up whereas my estate agent appears to have done very little apart from call me every couple of weeks to demand updates.  The final straw was last week when he started threatening me that my buyer was going to pull out.  Said I should effectively make myself homeless so that we could complete on the sale.  This made me physically ill to the point that I have to have an ECG tomorrow!

I have complained to the managers, who did speak to the agent in question.  But should I ask for a reduced fee on the basis that they did very little throughout the entire process except cause me incredible stress?

FlorayG

Yes, I would. Make a complete list of the things they said they would do and then didn't, with as much detail as you can, and send that to their head office with a reasonable request for reduced fees
You need to do this before sale completes

GDB2222

Personally, I’d have sacked the estate agent when it became clear that they were not doing their job properly. As it stands, I agree that a letter to head office complaining is the way to go. 

Frankly, if this sale is too stressful, you don’t have to go ahead. It sounds like your buyer is getting impatient and your seller is impossible to deal with, with you in the middle!

Losingmycool

Thank you both for replying so swiftly.  I am going to have a read through the contract with the estate agent and then write a letter as you suggest.

I am desperate to move; down to Devon/Cornwall border where my daughter lives, so don't want to lose the sale.

But it seems I am stuck.  I have been strung along for weeks, being given the impression that the move was imminent.  Sitting here surrounded by boxes, having dismantled the contents of the entire house.  I would consider breaking the chain and going into temporary accommodation until I can complete on the purchase but, having costed it, it would be in the region of at least 2 or 3 thousand extra even for a couple of weeks, including extra removal costs and storage.  And most holiday accommodation in that area is now fully booked for Christmas.  Obviously this is the fault of solicitors, not the estate agent, but I feel he has done nothing to move things along, apart from haranging me periodically.

GDB2222

Okay, so you want to make the sale work, if possible, although it is outside your control to a large extent.  That must be very difficult for you, but I don’t think that there’s anything you can do about it.

I personally would only go ahead on the basis of simultaneously buying the new house and selling the old one. I have previously sold before buying, and believe me it is very stressful. I did it twice, but I would not do it again! 

So, that just leaves your complaint about the estate agent. I’d bung that in and expect to get fobbed off with an apology and maybe a token reduction in the bill. They will obviously say they have done their main job, namely finding a buyer. When you complain, you should mention the autism and their failure to look after your mental health. 

If you’re not satisfied, you can always go to the ombudsman. 

GDB2222

Hope the ECG is ok tomorrow!

youth_leader

Could you put your stuff into storage locally in/near Devon and stay at your daughters house?