Complaint
In this case, the recently bereaved Seller alleged that the Agent had marketed the property without his authorisation, resulting in a multi-agency commission fee claim from another agent whom he had already instructed.
Complaint
The Complainant was a successful Seller who wanted the Agent to reduce their commission fee (which he had withheld up to the point of my Review) as he considered that the service he had received had not warranted it. The Seller raised issues about viewings (saying that the Agent had left the Property unlocked on four occasions), a lack of updates and feedback, marketing costs and bias towards the Buyers. The Agent acknowledged that during one viewing a staff member had left a patio door unlocked, but had apologised profusely for their error.
Complaint
The Potential Sellers complained that the Agent had not made appropriate efforts to market the Property and that they had not received any contact from the Agent for over eight months to discuss the marketing strategy. The Agent disputed the Potential Sellers’ claims and referred to their progress notes to support their position.
Complaint
The Property had been on the market with the Agent for one year after which the Seller
informed the Agent that they had replaced the laminate floor covering in one of the bedrooms and requested that the particulars be amended the Particulars within a reasonable time, the Seller raised a formal complaint asserting that the Agent’s shortcomings had prevented the sale of the Property.
Complaint
Following their offer being rejected, the Potential Buyers alleged that the Agent had advised them that the Property was not under offer at the time they viewed, when a sale had actually been agreed to another party. The Potential Buyers also raised issues concerning the manner in which the Agent had dealt with their subsequent complaint.
Complaint
Upon being presented with the Agent’s invoice after successfully proceeding to exchange of
contracts on the Property, the Sellers raised a number of complaints in which they stated that the original Agency Agreement was incorrect and that, as they had not signed the document, there was no agreement in place which meant that the Agent was not entitled to charge them a fee. The Agent maintained that, as they had introduced a buyer who had gone on to purchase the Property, they were entitled to a commission fee.
Complaint
The Sellers, complained that, as the housing market had been so quiet, they had suspended
the marketing of the Property but had reached an understanding with the Agent that they should still keep the Property in mind if any potential buyers showed an interest in similar properties. The Sellers believed this had terminated their agreement with the Agent. However, six months later the Agent called the Sellers to arrange a viewing which
resulted in an offer and the Property being sold. The Sellers claimed that due to the lack of active marketing, they should be given a reduction in the commission fee. They also complained that the Agent had not passed information on to the Buyer as they had requested and failed to record and pass information on to their staff, leading to the Sellers
being unnecessarily inconvenienced during the transaction.
Complaint
Following the completion of the sale, the Agent wrote to Mr and Mrs J requesting payment of their commission fee. Mr and Mrs J responded by making a number of allegations which included the property being overvalued and the Agent failing to adequately communicate with them.
Complaint
A year after selling his property, Mr H alleged that the Agent had provided the address of his new property to an unauthorised third party, which then resulted in that third party threatening him outside of his house later that day.
Complaint
Following the property being sold, Mrs G (the Seller) complained that the Agent she had previously instructed to market the property had wrongly claimed a commission fee when it was eventually sold by another agent. The Agent argued that they had introduced the buyer to the purchase and were therefore due a commission fee.
Complaint
Following the sale of the property, the son of the Seller, Mr F, accused the Agent of failing to disclose a conflict of interest. Specifically Mr F asserted that a conflict of interest had arisen as a result of another department within the Agent’s offices acting on behalf of a neighbour by submitting a planning request to the local council which had resulted in lower offers being received for the property.
Complaint
Shortly after the sale of their property, Mr and Mrs E (the Sellers) raised three complaints against the Agent concerning access to their property, a number of viewings and the provision of the Memorandum of Sale.
Complaint
Following their successful purchase, Mr and Mrs D (the Buyers) complained that the Agent had failed to inform them of a proposed development which would impair the view from the property. Mr and Mrs D considered that the Agent was in breach of the Property Misdescriptions Act and Paragraph 4h of the Code of Practice.
Complaint
Mr B (the Potential Seller) asserted that the Agent had undervalued the property and had then failed to disclose their interest in a company that had made an offer which the Agent had advised him to accept. The Agent denied that they had a financial interest in the company which they had introduced to the purchase.
