Taking Estate Agent to Court - my story and advice

vetfred

Doozergirl wrote: »

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.

If it is John Deed, that would be lovely but a bit frightening at the same time.

I'm not trying to correct all the injustices in the world and I'm not sure which part of my comment gave that impression. I was trying to be helpful by responding to the question: "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?!"

There may no links whatsoever to the builder or buyer of this house. Even if there was a link ,you may feel it would be irrelevant. Of course, it is not helpful to go into any courtroom and speculate about links between people without sufficient evidence. However, if the OP thought it would somehow help the case by establishing a link between the EA and the developer (if there was one) then that's their decision.

I've worked in a couple of solicitors but I am not qualified to give advice so it's not for me to decide whether only showing negligence in their actions of handing out a key/making a copy is sufficient in the case or whether documenting other factual evidence (if there is any) outside of those facts also benefits the OP's case.

MissMoneypenny

bendeneo wrote: »

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?

The solicitor is dealing with it all of it. The EA bill hasn't been paid until they sort this. There are a few things the EA had not done/or should have done, but the EA have denied it. My friend has witnesses though.

I have told him to look on his house contents insurance to see if he has legal cover. If he has, and if they take on his case, they will foot the costs from when they agreed to take on his case.

I am not sure why the EA didn't accompany the visits as they are only just a couple of minutes drive away and if it is not as if they have a lot to do at the moment. The house was on the market for nearly for nearly four months and had already had to drop price to generate interest.

Edited to say, he just phoned and asked if he could give my details to the solicitor as a witness to some of the things. He said they are going for distress the EA caused.

bendeneo

Hi everyone,

I dont know if you will see this post as my original was a while back.

I forgot to update this post with the outcome........

I WON!!!!

The Estate Agent didnt turn up to court, BUT I still had to go through the whole court process with the Judge.

The Judge had a cursory look over it all and I had to explain it all to him, he eventually agreed that my case was valid and that they were at fault.

However he didnt give me the full claim amount because he said that 'wear and tear' must be taken into account (which personally i think is ridiculous).... even though I have to buy new items to replace them!

He said that the guidelines in place force him to award only between 30-50% of the amount claimed..... so he went for the middle ground at 40%.

I dont believe that at all and some solicitors I have spoken to said the Judge was harsh and should've granted the full amount on the basis of the Estate Agent wasting everyone's time, not turning up, and the fact that I had brought evidence of everything.

I respectively asked the judge to reconsider based on the fact they didnt turn up and the fact that this had been going on for many months and they had also wasted his time......

He thought about it for a moment and added another £50!!!! Ridiculous but still £50 i guess.

I am 31, dressed in a suit, spoke politely and respectfully only when asked and still he subjected me to an explanation of the 30-50% rubbish, using the example of ' Imagine if you spruced up a car, adding a nice stereo with big speakers, and some expensive wheels..... if it was written off in an accident you wouldnt expect to get all the money back you spent on it would you?'..... Unbelievable.

Anyhow the moral of the story is, fight these disreputable companies no matter what....... and unfortunately I hate to say it but in many instances you may be better inflating what your loss is.... I wouldnt normally advise this kind of thing but in my case I did not get the right amount of compensation, especially considering the hassle and time spent fighting them.

Anybody need any advice in a similar situation let me know and I'll try and help.

Ben

hethmar

Pleased to hear the outcome. Even if you feel the amount was a bit short, at least you have the moral victory.

We are currently awaiting a hearing re a neighbour from hell who decided to remove our hedging when he was redeveloping the empty house next to us. I know how frustrating it is, this has been dragging on for nearly 3 years now as he seems unable to admit he has done anything wrong. He has given various answers including we gave him permission to remove the hedge and then he only trimmed it a bit (30 ft gap through to a building site, pics included) and on file at Buildings Control a conversation in which he says he will remove the hedge to save on costings for his new foundations. Yet still he argues! Im hoping that the truth is obvious to everyone at the case.

Anyway, well done you for not giving in.

Jorgan_2

Well done for getting a win, even if the outcome wasn't quite what you were hoping for. Cheers for the PM as well.;)

huntersc

That's great news, glad to hear you won. That's really made my day