I am in the process of buying my first home and am learning the hard way how I naive I am! I agreed the sale price with the estate agent on the basis of appliances being included. To cut a very long story short when i received the contract there was no mention of the appliances. My solicitor put this amendment in and the sellers came back to say they want to take the appliances and never agreed to them being part of the deal. I rang the agent who is now denying ever having made the agreement and says we never even discussed it. In actual fact i agreed to increase my initial bid by 5K only on the condition of getting the appliances and he came back to me and said the sellers had agreed to it. Luckily (maybe not the best choice of words!) my solicitor has had the same problems with him before and has managed to work things out with the sellers solicitor. I just feel extremely angry about this. I realise agents have a bad name very often but several people have told me recently they have had bad experiences with this man. It seems to me it shouldn't be allowed. Is there an avenue for making complaints? I know that at the end of the day I am lucky that my sale is going through and I will finally have my first home but I would like to ensure others don't have to deal with similar problems. I know it could come to a he said / she said situation but I feel I should at least register the issue somewhere. Any ideas or advice would be really welcome, thanks.
how to make a complaint about estate agent
- Thread starter ggirl
- Start date
The reality is that you verbally agreed to buy the property at price X with appliances included. You paid a fully refundable booking deposit to reserve the house until contracts are exchanged, upon which agreement is binding.
The contract negotiations are now breaking down due to said problems. Your choices are agree to the contract, hold out until the other party agrees, offer 5k less (or less again) or pull out. You don't have to proceed with the purchase unless you are happy.
That's the way house buying/selling works in Ireland. There is no reason for complaint.
The contract negotiations are now breaking down due to said problems. Your choices are agree to the contract, hold out until the other party agrees, offer 5k less (or less again) or pull out. You don't have to proceed with the purchase unless you are happy.
That's the way house buying/selling works in Ireland. There is no reason for complaint.
ubiquitous
Registered User
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The auctioneer is engaged by the vendor to act on their behalf, not on yours. They have no duty of care to protect your interests. As above, you have no reason for complaint.
I know how buying and selling works. I am not trying to get out of the sale, our solicitors have dealt with the issue of the appliances. My point is that I went sale agreed with a price which was based on the appliances being included when the agent told me he had discussed this with the sellers and they were happy with that arrangement. It now turns out he never mentioned it to them. I am no expert but don't believe agreeing sales based on bare faced lies could be considered best practice. I am happliy proceeding with the sale but feel it is wrong that agents, some of them at least, seem to feel they can behave however they please. While my sale is continuing thanks to a great solicitor others may not be so lucky when dealing with this agent and I would like to know if there is somewhere to register a complaint of what I consider to be bad practice.
Surely the agent the same as any other professional have a professional duty not to act in a dishonest way... i.e. not to mislead buyers as to what is included in a sale? Sounds pretty clear cut to me!
The EA acts for the vendor but must also behave in a professional manner, so OP has a right to complain. IAVI or IPAV are the ones to go to depending on which body he is affiliated with. It will prob fall on deaf ears because it is like you said a case of 'he said she said'. If he isn't the owner of the company you could send a letter highlighting your disappointment and that you won't be dealing with them in the future but otherwise I'd let it go and put it down to experience.
There is always the possibility that the vendors changed their mind re appliances and the EA is taking the fall for it. People on both sides of the fence can really surprise you when it comes to how they behave in negotiations.
There is always the possibility that the vendors changed their mind re appliances and the EA is taking the fall for it. People on both sides of the fence can really surprise you when it comes to how they behave in negotiations.
M
mercman
Guest
ggirl. In this market you shouldn't have to put up with this messing. Why don't you tell them you want your deposit back and go off and find another property where you will be able to get a decent discount off the asking price and the appliances will be included, and teated with the respect purchasers deserve. How can Estate Agents be classed as professionals.
I agree that there is cause for complaint here. The Auctioneer said the appliances were included in the agreed sale price and then they were not included. For the agent to deny knowledge of the conversation would be infuriating.
Check if the agent is a member of IPAV or IAVI. Both of these auctioneering bodies have websites where you can get contact details for where to direct your complaint.
Check if the agent is a member of IPAV or IAVI. Both of these auctioneering bodies have websites where you can get contact details for where to direct your complaint.
ubiquitous
Registered User
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There is no evidence whatsoever of dishonesty on the part of the EA, only one person's word against another. Hence any complaint is pointless and is likely to end up in the bin after about 45 seconds.
M
mercman
Guest
Agreed but if the OP is unhappy she should walk away gracefully and deal with others who might respect a sale in this market.
although i agree that this EA acted in a dishonest way I have to agree, you'll be wasting your time making a complaint. maybe if you even had an e-mail with the agreement but it doesn't seem you have. just grin and bear it and stop stressing yourself out over it
I think it is worth complaining; ggirl mentioned that this EA already had something of a reputation which helped the matter to be sorted out. So if everyone who had felt he acted unprofessionally registered a complaint, then perhaps a pattern would emerge and allow IAVI (or whoever the professional body is) to take action.
As for the argument that the EA acts on behalf of the vendor - I certainly wouldn't want any professional I engage acting dishonestly.
As for the argument that the EA acts on behalf of the vendor - I certainly wouldn't want any professional I engage acting dishonestly.
Because she is buying a property that she wants not trying to teach someone a lesson. Ever hear the advice stating 'don't get emotional'.
How do you stay up on your high horse with that chip on your shoulder?
You might be surprised by what vendors will want an EA to do to sell their property.
Thanks for all your ideas. Gnubbit really summed up where I am coming from. I feel strongly that while I have been able to get it all sorted out in a way I am happy with others may not be so lucky. I realise my individual case will not be taken up but feel the only way to combat people like this man is if lots of us who are treated unprofessionally make a stand. One complaint may not be listened to but if a steady stream are received about any agent then surely the governing bodies should take note. I can easily walk away today happy in the knowledge my sale is going through the way I want it to but feel I do not want to let this man continue to treat people this way.
Sale agreed has absolutely no legal meaning in Ireland. Legality only enters the picture in buying/selling a house when contracts are signed. Either side can pull out with out any penalty at this stage. Contracts are fully negotiable. You tried to negotiate the vendor said no (or maybe you got some concession based on last post). You agreed to the contracts hence you agreed to the sale based on what ever was in the contracts. That's none of the EA's business. He/she did nothing legally wrong. Morally or ethically perhaps but they have no place in the selling business. It looks like they did their job, which was to get max price for vendor.
The only thing that can improve house buying/selling procedure would be to introduce fare laws around sale agreeing a property. There is a very big argument for this but unfortunately it's not really in our VI lead government's interest to do this.
The only thing that can improve house buying/selling procedure would be to introduce fare laws around sale agreeing a property. There is a very big argument for this but unfortunately it's not really in our VI lead government's interest to do this.
C
Camry
Guest
Is the agent a member of the IAVI?
From the IAVI Code of conduct.
http://www.iavi.ie/
I would suggest lying about the conditions of sale would fall under this.
Look at the website (if appropriate). If a member they have agreed to deal promptly with any complaints and leave you open to going to the IAVI. Not much I know, but it might make you feel better.
From the IAVI Code of conduct.
http://www.iavi.ie/
I would suggest lying about the conditions of sale would fall under this.
Look at the website (if appropriate). If a member they have agreed to deal promptly with any complaints and leave you open to going to the IAVI. Not much I know, but it might make you feel better.
I'm amazed how much you believe the EA should be allowed to get away with. Just because they act on behalf of the vendor doesn't excuse this behaviour!
The EA acted dishonestly and unprofessionally IMO. If the OP doesn't get an adequate response from estate agents professional body then they should make the complaint more public.
There is nothing like bad publicity to change to change the way EA behaves!
I think it's interesting that on the one hand we are told to believe that yes, of course, estate agents are professionals. And yet on the other hand we are told that there is nothing wrong with an EA lying as long as it is in the best interests of his client.
Hmm. Sounds strange to me.
Hmm. Sounds strange to me.