Estate Agent Threatening Us

Becky

5 weeks ago we finally sold our house after 9 months of sheer hell.

The solicitor paid the estate agents' fees and we received the remainder of the money owed to us via cheque.

All was well until Friday....

We received a letter from the head office of the estate agent stating we owed them around £75.00 in outstanding fees.

I contacted them and they said that if we did not pay they would take us to court.

I stated that our solicitor had handled the paperwork (this is what you pay them for!!). They would not listen.

I contacted my solicitor who handled the conveyancing and she said they had invoiced for the amount that had been paid to them - so it was the estate agents' incorrect invoice.

Apparently the E.A. had sent a letter about 5 days after the house was no longer ours with a corrected invoice. We knew nothing about this.

Do they have a leg to stand on? My solicitor said not to worry but I did not like how the E.A. threatened me.

They have been a complete disgrace since day one and this just about takes my opinion of E.A. to a new depth of disgust, especially this particular company.

GDB2222

This is a legal question, namely whether they are entitled to amend an incorrect invoice after it has been paid. Your solicitor might help you with this, but the answer is probably yes, ie they can amend it.

So, they are probably entitled to their £75. Whether they will actually pursue you through the courts for such a small amount is highly debateable. I would suggest you *write* back, tell them that you were not happy with their service, and say that you will defend any proceedings brought for the £75 on that basis and that you will counter-claim for the whole of the fee actually paid as their service was not up to scratch. They will probably back down. But bear in mind that if they do issue proceedings and you then pay them you will have to pay a bit more because of their costs. (Costs for this sort of claim are very limited, however.)

The alternative is just to pay the £75. Your call.

Robert_Sterling_3

They probably did make a mistake with their invoice.
They probably are entitled to be paid the £75.
Pay up and move on.

Becky

My solicitor told me not to be concerned and that they would write back to the E.A. so I will hold fire to hear from them.

At the end of the day our solicitor should have notified us of the mistake seeing as they handled the paper work.

As far as I am concerned I am happy to go through court because they, the E.A., acting disgracefully over the 9 months of handling the sale of the property.

It might sound petty but hey, you have to stand up for yourself at least once during a lifetime.

rizla01

Th estate agent would have gotten you to sign an acceptance of their fees prior to taking the property on. (1.5% payable on satisfactory completion of the sale, for example). This is the amount that you agreed to pay and you are 'Under contract' to honour that.

If the amount that they are claiming is for a greater amount than that then tell them, through your solicitor, to poiltely go forth and multiply!

Robert_Sterling_3

"At the end of the day our solicitor should have notified us of the mistake seeing as they handled the paper work."
In that case get the £75 from the Solicitor.
"As far as I am concerned I am happy to go through court because they, the E.A., acting disgracefully over the 9 months of handling the sale of the property."
This is a separate issue
"It might sound petty but hey, you have to stand up for yourself at least once during a lifetime."
OK . Your choice. Have fun.

Ian_W

Becky,
I'm afraid I'm with the majority above. If they've mistakenly invoiced through your sol for a lower amount, then sent the revised invoice to your old address it doesn't portray them as very professional - but it's stll likely they can claim the money owed if you signed up to pay them it. Anyway that's with your solicitor who should help resolve it.

You've described them as a "complete disgrace" and acting "disgracefully over 9 months" - the question that springs to my mind is why you stuck with them so long? If your EA took a long time to find a buyer, it is a very slow market in most places and it's in their interest [otherwise they don't get paid!] to find a buyer asap. If it was problems with the chain, EA's don't usually cause them, although sometimes they don't do much to help either! If you have a genuine cause to complain then do so. If they're members of the NAEA you can find out how to HERE or if they're covered by the EA Ombudsman scheme HERE. If covered by neither you should consider speaking to your local trading standards for advice.

Most people I know have had to stand up for themselves more times than once in a lifetime and if you feel strongly enough about the poor service you received then complaining about it is the right way to go about it. If you don't then learn the lesson, move on, and don't use that EA again.

skippy64

Have you confirmed yet that the initial invoice was for the amount agreed for in fees due to the estate agent? If so then I have to say stick to your guns over the £75, dig out all the paperwork that was originally signed for with the EA, pass it onto your solicitor and let them deal with it (without your sloicitor charging you for whatever they may do in contacting EA !!)
However if you do conclude by looking at all paperwork that the original invoice was adrift by the £75 they want, then yes pay it but only at the eleventh hour. ( why not go in and pay it in their office in 1p's and 2p's, just for the hassle factor of them having to earn it by having to count it all out in front of you !!)

Becky

Skippy - I might do that!

Robert - thanks for your advice...Are you by any chance a morally superior being, otherwise known as an Estate Agent?

GDB2222

skippy64 wrote:

Have you confirmed yet that the initial invoice was for the amount agreed for in fees due to the estate agent? If so then I have to say stick to your guns over the £75, dig out all the paperwork that was originally signed for with the EA, pass it onto your solicitor and let them deal with it (without your sloicitor charging you for whatever they may do in contacting EA !!)
However if you do conclude by looking at all paperwork that the original invoice was adrift by the £75 they want, then yes pay it but only at the eleventh hour. ( why not go in and pay it in their office in 1p's and 2p's, just for the hassle factor of them having to earn it by having to count it all out in front of you !!)

Nope, it's not necessary for them to accept £75 in pennies. There is a max amount that is legal tender in small coins, maybe £5 or so.

skippy64

GDB2222 wrote:

Nope, it's not necessary for them to accept £75 in pennies. There is a max amount that is legal tender in small coins, maybe £5 or so.

I still think it would be worth a try when going into pay. They can only say no once.

GDB2222 have you got a link to where it says that about maximum amounts of coins for payment. Not saying that I don't doubt what you have posted, but I sometimes receive lots of change for payment on goods so I would love to have something to quote back to people just on those occasions to try and put them off.