Can I sue the Estate Agent?

[ZIPPY003]

Hi All

 

We put our property on the market with a local estate agent, had quite a few viewing and as we wanted to move asap due to ill health although we had greatly reduced the price we agreed to reduce even further as the estate agent informed us he had a buyer who did NOT have a property to sell, they would be renting out their existing property so there would be no chain but we had to reduce the price even further to secure the sale which we reluctantly agreed to.

There followed continual delays which even our solicitor found unacceptable.

Finally after months and months a survey was done on our house, the estate agent called and said that basically we needed to reduce the price further for the sale to go ahead. So the price was again reduced.

By now suspicious things were not as they should be I checked and found our property had been taken off the market when the offer had been put in and after having some friends phone to ask for a viewing which was refused on the basis that contracts were being exchanged within days which was totally false I found the address of the proposed purchasers, drove to their property only to find our estate agent was attempting to sell their property and it was not being rented out.

The estate agent had also lied to us about other things and has become very arrogant. When I told an acquaintance last week what had been happening she said something like “oh no he hasn’t done it to you as well”

The estate agent knew that when we first reduced the price it was only to secure a quick sale and further reductions were done so that the property could be sold quick, he has mislead us continuously.

I have told my husband that I would like to take him to court particularly as we have reduced the price unreasonably added to which as contracts wont be exchanged until some time next year it will cost us an additional £2200+.

Does anyone think I have a case or should I just grin and bear it.

[jansus]

Well your other alternative if you have not exchanged is to withdraw from the sale and use another agent and get what you think the house is worth. then they will lose the sale and the commission.

 

I would have thought that taking this to court would be a long and stressful situation and you would need to get legal advice to confirm whether or not you can prove your case.

 

Personally IMO I would stop the sale - make an official complaint if they are registered and just change agents. Let them know as well exactly why you are cancelling the sale.

 

Be VERY careful though if the original buyers contact you direct as I got caught out like that. ( a different but difficult situation that I wont bore you with)

[ZIPPY003]

Thanks Jansus

 

Your reply much appreciated.

We are weighing up our options, and I know the one that might be best financially is withdrawing from the sale and putting the property on the market with another estate agent but due to ill heal we are so desperate to move asap but to withdraw now means we have a lot of solicitors costs and we really need to move to a bungalow.

 

I think our solicitor will give us some of the proof that the estate agent has deceived us continuously as the estate agent not only told our solicitor that the people buying our property did not have one to sell but also told the estate agents acting for the property we hope to buy.

 

Thanks again Jansus for taking time to reply

[jansus]

I think your main problem will be proving that you could have got more for the property in the current climate - unless you had another offer in writing then you will not have the evidence to back up your case. The other problems you do have evidence - but I am assuming you will have to make a formal complaint first ( when the sale is completed) Does the estate agent have a membership logo on their headed paper ? In other words are they regulated ?

 

 

I hope your sale proceeds as I am sure this is very stressful for you - unfortunately until you exchange contracts they may still try and "play games" and you will have to come to a point in your own mind about how far you are wiling to compromise.

 

We had someone in our chain who "re-negotiated" the price two days before exchange - It is a wicked thing to do as you are between a rock and a hard place.

 

I decided to believe in fate in the end - if we lost the house then I convinced myself then it was meant to be. As my father was ill at the time It put it all in perspective and decided I was not going to be bullied.

 

In your case you have decide what is most importatnt to you and what your bottom line is.

 

Hope it works out for you.

[ZIPPY003]

Hi again Jansus

 

I know I am going to have to sit back and wait until the new year to see what happens but I have had a letter from my solicitor to say they have received a letter from the solicitor acting for the couple who should be purchasing our house to say the sale should go through early in the new year. Hopefully this will happen.

 

Hopefully our house sale will go through, once it has I now have the name and telephone number of the Estate Agent Ombudsman who will look into the working practices of the estate agent. Having spoken to one person it does appear that the estate agent has acted inappropriately in many aspects and if nothing else I want to make sure he does not do the same to another person.

 

Thanks again Jansus

[jansus]

Best of luck with everything. Ket us know how you get on.

[ZIPPY003]

I checked on the web site for the estate agent to see what association he belonged to but there was non listed but after doing a thorough search over the last hour or so I have found him listed with one association which does have a complaint proceedure which states that if negligence is shown or conflict of interest then compensation can be awarded. There is conflict of interest, the estate agent was attempting to sell our potential purchasers property after telling us they had no property to sell.

As for negligence I am assuming that he was negligent in not allowing any further viewings of the property, he obviously didnt want another person to purchase as he wanted commission from both sales. There is other negligence as well so I am guessing I have a very good case.

 

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated.

[jansus]

I think then that as in most other situtations you should follow the correct complaints procedure first before even considering going to court. So when hopefully your sale proceeds make an official complaint to the agent with a copy to the association they are registered with. Keep it factual and to the point . Keep court as a last resort.

 

Also have a quick search on the internet for the name of the agents to see if there are any other complaints on forums lurking around.