Taking Estate Agent to Court - my story and advice

bendeneo

vetfred wrote: »

What a disgrace. Just make your case in court for each point and how it affected you financially or caused undue stress on your life.

Looking at what they've done, they'd have a cheek to turn up in April to defend that behaviour so list everything you can think of and back it up with as much evidence as possible. I would hope the court is firmly in your favour.

Maybe I'm wrong but having the building renovated before completion kinda sounds like it was bought by a developer they were in bed with or a friend?

If they are going to make out as their defence that you agreed to this being done then you've nothing to worry about because it's so ridiculous, no-one would believe that. And if they can't argue you agreed to it, what can they argue?! They're going to say we were given a key and we gave that key not knowing the house was going to be renovated... mmkay. The people buying must be liable too I assume because what right do they have to do that to someone else's property?

In this case, hope you get every penny you deserve. Good luck.

Thanks for that!

I will definitely tell the court about how it impacted on me, I hope that they will let me say that sort of thing rather than saying feelings arent relevant!

It was definitely bought by a developer, I wish there was a way for me to find out if they have used each others services in the past.... anyone out there think of a way to do that?!

Thanks for the point about their defence, that is exactly how I feel but worry that the court might listen to it! I am sure that common sense should prevail but you never know! My point was going to be that by allowing unaccompanied and unauthorised access, they could have left me liable to flood, fire, collapse and the potential costs/litigation if the builders actions had damaged the building..... which really did stress me out at the time. Plus the list of stuff that I lost added up to quite a lot in the end.... circa £4k, which is going to be difficult to prove ownership of being as a lot of the evidence of ownership was in the drawers of the dresser that got junked!

One thing I was worried about was whether the court would turn around and say that the buyer was liable.....and then drop the case and ask me to sue the buyer!

vetfred

I suppose you could get a couple of friends to enquire about other properties in that area on with the agent and get them to ask "if I wanted an extension or some work doing, is there a builder that you work with that could do it?" and if they said the same name twice it could well be them, but you'd have to look further into it.

It would surprise me if the court didn't take into consideration the stress this has caused to be honest.

Perhaps there's a chance the court may decide that the brunt of the costs you are due should be paid by the person who gave the go ahead to do the work and they may feel this wasn't the agent but as I say, when they give a key out they are responsible for that action. Let's say they argue they didn't know this would happen when they gave the key out, then I would say that if they had paid a very basic duty of care to you as your EA and accompanied the person, this wouldn't have happened anyway... so they're responsible for something!

Doozergirl

bendeneo wrote: »

It was definitely bought by a developer, I wish there was a way for me to find out if they have used each others services in the past.... anyone out there think of a way to do that?!

I don't think it is relevant. You don't need to make the agent out to be a full time criminal, just that they had a duty of care in these circumstances which they failed to fulfil. Stick completely to the things that you do know and do not speculate.

You have to claim primarily for the monetary loss you have suffered. Burning the house down etc. was obviously a risk but it didn't happen so you haven't incurred loss as a result of that.

When I went it was simply a case of the claimant saying how much he wanted for certain things and then everyone gave a statement and there were cross examinations. The judge decided who was at fault on the evidence and then awarded accordingly. As it happened, the defendants solicitor had put in a counter claim so he actually won back what he had lost instead!

I would be concerned about the buyer's position in this too. But at least you have a date and the judge will give you some guidance if they feel it is the buyer's fault. I'm sure you will get your money back eventually. Good Luck

Doozergirl

vetfred wrote: »

I suppose you could get a couple of friends to enquire about other properties in that area on with the agent and get them to ask "if I wanted an extension or some work doing, is there a builder that you work with that could do it?" and if they said the same name twice it could well be them, but you'd have to look further into it.

This isn't Judge John Deed! We're not trying to correct all the injustices in the world. The OP needs to stick to the facts. Relevant ones.

Loretta

Once the defendents have said they are going to defend the case don't they have to give details of what their defence is going to be before the hearing at a set time, I think 14 days before the hearing? I would have been cross that they did not meet the Court deadline and then were given extra time, you are a 'person' they are a company and have solicitors to act for them after all.

chappers

The small claims court is nothing to fear the judges realise that many defendants and plaintiffs are not legal people nor can they afford solicitors. The court will guide you through the process, they may adjourn etc if you bring up undisclosed evidence but they won't just throw your claim out on technicalities, they will also probably advise if you are chasing after the wrong people, but to be honest your solicitor should have done that.

MissMoneypenny

pinkshoes wrote: »

That's shocking!! The only circumstances I've know the buyer to access the property inbetween exchange and completion was with newbuilds, to measure for furniture and carpets, and that was with the permission of the vendor, who let them in and stayed with them at all times!!

This just happened to a friend of mine. He was selling his deceased brother's house and the EA just gave the keys to a guy who wanted to buy it. For about 2 weeks before he exchanged contracts, this guy was walking in and out of the house, unsupervised by the EA. He was seen by the neighbours, climbing up on the flat roof (long after he had a survey done) and letting himself and a friend in and out of the property. He even went up in the loft, somehow got his boots dirty and then jumped down form the loft onto a new beige carpet and there was ground in muck everywhere.

The EA is denying all this, but thank goodness for the neighbours and I too saw this person lock up the house without the EA. The EA was Haarts.

bendeneo

chappers wrote: »

The small claims court is nothing to fear the judges realise that many defendants and plaintiffs are not legal people nor can they afford solicitors. The court will guide you through the process, they may adjourn etc if you bring up undisclosed evidence but they won't just throw your claim out on technicalities, they will also probably advise if you are chasing after the wrong people, but to be honest your solicitor should have done that.

Thanks, hopefully it will be nice and simple... I cant see why it wont be but since this has been dragging on for so long it makes you doubt your reasons!

A friend of the family who is a retired solicitor said that it was definitely the EA liability, and a colleague who used to be a solicitor said the same..... so that is as much as I have done in terms of talking to solicitors.

bendeneo

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

This just happened to a friend of mine. He was selling his deceased brother's house and the EA just gave the keys to a guy who wanted to buy it. For about 2 weeks before he exchanged contracts, this guy was walking in and out of the house, unsupervised by the EA. He was seen by the neighbours, climbing up on the flat roof (long after he had a survey done) and letting himself and a friend in and out of the property. He even went up in the loft, somehow got his boots dirty and then jumped down form the loft onto a new beige carpet and there was ground in muck everywhere.

The EA is denying all this, but thank goodness for the neighbours and I too saw this person lock up the house without the EA. The EA was Haarts.

Glad to hear that this is happening to others, but of course sorry to hear it is happening to your friend.

What are you going to do about the EA? Are you claiming for the damage or something else? Have you found a good point of law to use?

moneysavinmonkey

what a terrible story, I hope it works out ok for you.

I'm not an expert when it comes to tort law but shouldn't you be pursuing the buyers.. i'm not saying that the estate agents didn't do anything wrong they did and they will have to compensate you for that but surely the majority of the compensation should come from the buyers as they are the ones who entered your property and chucked your stuff?? They would know fine well that the property wasn't theirs yet as their solicitor would have told them...

are you getting any advice from a solicitor on the suing the letting agents/buyers? Your home insurance may cover it.