Estate Agent Demanding Fees After Sale Through Another Agent

It may be agent 1 is having financial difficulties and just chancing it, may or may not be in an official capacity, and while the timeline above would likely put you in the clear something you could leverage in any negotiation.

They can't hold you to ransom so overly long commission periods wouldn't hold up legally, even if in the contract.
 
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Transform_IT said:
House was £500k and fee was 1% + VAT
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Did they ever give you a list of who they had shown the house too? that you would have been able to pass onto another agent?
is the first agent a member of an ombudsman scheme?
if they are
5t At the time of receiving instructions from a seller you must:
- point out and explain clearly in your written Terms of Business that you may be entitled to a commission fee if that seller terminates your instruction and a memorandum of sale is issued by another agent to a buyer that you have introduced (see definition of effective introduction (*) and supplementary TPO ‘Dual Fee’ guidance) within 6 months of the date your instruction ended and where a subsequent exchange of contracts takes place.
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are they a member of an ombudsman scheme and did they clearly explain it ?
you'd get better advice at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/house-buying-renting-selling btw
 
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Transform_IT said:
15th August 23 - withdrawn from market with agent 1.

27th November 23 - agreed sale with buyer via agent 2.

18th January 24 - sale falls through due to complications with our onward purchase and our buyers buyer.

24th January 24 - sale re-agreed with original buyers and back on track.

15th March 24 - completed sale and agent 2 paid.
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What date did you sign a contract with agent 1 and how long was the term in the contract?
Trying to determine if the agreement with agent 1 had ended on 15th Aug or at some later date.
 
Transform_IT said:
Exchange of Contracts and completion happened 7 months after.
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So it seems like they can go whistle then if the T&Cs state 6 months after... but you should probably go and see a solicitor - pay a couple of hundred quid for an initial consultation from them so you're a bit more certain of the legal positon and then (hopefully) tell the agent to **** off.
 
So, my understanding without having access to my contract (as it was electronic and once signed I didn't get a copy), is our agreement ended when I withdrew the property. However, if i was then to sell to a buyer they introduced within the next 6 months, i would be liable to a fee.

As exchange and completion happened 7 months after we withdrew from them, my understanding is that is when we sold the housez and therefore it is outside of this timeframe.
 
If someone crawled out from the woodwork to ask me for 5k, who had been done for money laundering and misusing COVID loans, and struck off, I'd file their request with the other spam I get and wouldn't even consider looking into it further unless they brought some sort of legal action against me.
 
bainbridge said:
If someone crawled out from the woodwork to ask me for 5k, who had been done for money laundering and misusing COVID loans, and struck off, I'd file their request with the other spam I get and wouldn't even consider looking into it further unless they brought some sort of legal action against me.
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+1
Procedures are so strict now, that civil litigation needs to have exhausted all mediation attempts *before* they get heard in court. It's why even MCOL (Online Small Claims) takes forever to get in front of a judge.

You'll have plenty of opportunity to negotiate if you wait for the EA's solicitor to issue a Letter Before Action (or "Pre-Court Protocol").

Considering how dodgy the firm has been, I'd ignore (silently) and wait for something with more teeth; it's not like it would cost you any more.
 
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bainbridge said:
If someone crawled out from the woodwork to ask me for 5k, who had been done for money laundering and misusing COVID loans, and struck off, I'd file their request with the other spam I get and wouldn't even consider looking into it further unless they brought some sort of legal action against me.
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This, sounds like they are scrambling for funds and trying their luck.
 
@Transform_IT I'd get legal advice on this, but did you sign a new contract in July 2023 when you relisted? If you agreed a sale in the November, that's on the 6 month limit so exact dates here are important to know. But I suspect as others have said, they're chancing it.
 
Bit of a tricky one as the sale was re agreed with the original buyers within the 6 months.

I don't know legally whether that's the date that counts (IE when price is agreed/offer accepted) or if it would be exchange of contracts/completion.

Might be worth seeking some legal advice to be honest.
 
I imagine it'd be the date of completion as it could have fallen through at any point before that and it isn't sold until that point.

I'd personally ignore it until they issue anything more formal and then see a solicitor for a short consultation.
 
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Maccy said:
@Transform_IT I'd get legal advice on this, but did you sign a new contract in July 2023 when you relisted? If you agreed a sale in the November, that's on the 6 month limit so exact dates here are important to know. But I suspect as others have said, they're chancing it.
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No new contract signed. Just an email to ask if we can re-market and then it was done.
 
Transform_IT said:
No new contract signed. Just an email to ask if we can re-market and then it was done.
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Ah well then it *should* be from the date you initially signed in March 2023 then, in which case I would expect you to be in the clear, however I'm not a lawyer and all that...
 
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