Cancelling estate agent contract - anyone managed to do this?

[Joytotheworld2021]

We're about 8 weeks into a 20 week estate agent contract. We would really like to get out of this contract if we can. We had verbal agreement to a 12 week contract but missed the 20 week part in the scanned faint copy of the contract they sent us to sign. They wanted a percentage fee based on asking price rather than achieved. They agreed to change this verbally but it wasn't in the contract and we spotted this and got them to alter it but somehow missed the length of the contract.

The service from the estate agent has been woeful. I have no confidence they will ever sell our house. Has anyone ever managed to get an estate agent to agree to call it quits before the end of the contract? Thanks.

I changed my estate agent twice with two homes because they were useless. I haven't heard of a percentage of the asking price; that seems unreasonable. You can ask for whatever figure you want but your house is only worth what someone will give you. I would give notice now. I think with my last one it was 20 days but I told them I was taking on another estate agent at the same time. I would have thought this would have meant the first one who have worked harder but no!

Also even if you had an offer for the first one you dont have to accept it so they would lose out!

Thanks very much user. I was hoping to get out of the contract immediately without serving notice. I wondered if anyone else had managed to do this.

If you've signed a contract then I assume you'd have to prove breach of contract to terminate it? Is there anything in the contract that states in what circumstances you can terminate?

Or you could appeal to their better nature and ask them to cancel it.

Surely it depends on the terms of the contract you signed. What does it say about early termination? Have they breached any of their duties under it? Does it prevent you from using another agent at the same time etc

Is there anything in the contract where you could use the change to Covid restrictions as an escape clause, a sort of force majeure?

Thanks larry. Yes you're probably right. I could appeal to their better nature - though we are talking about an estate agent who hasn't shown much sign of having one so far A friend suggested telling them I would write bad reviews on social media which isn't something I'm keen to do but I've read that companies can be very responsive to what people say about them on social media. Of course not many people have a positive view of estate agents so my bad review may not stand out.

I think if you mentioned levels of service and online reviews and ‘gesture of goodwill’ in an email they’d probably let you out of the contract.

Ha ha xpost

Tweet how rubbish they are - if they have any focus on their SM presence, it will produce far more than phone/email.

Social media, google reviews, trustpilot, use all online platforms. That’s the way to go. Businesses needed to know that they have to work for their fee. If they give bad, there is no more powerful way to have them sit up and listen than online reviews. They can’t ignore that because it WILL cost them business in the future.

Is it one of the big names?

I worked for an Estate Agent who would pursue anyone who tried to get out of their contract or who tried to. Years ago when my dm died and I had to sell her house I used them. I knew I would have to stick to my contract, but they were disappointingly poor.

An example would be staff ignoring me at the branch then ringing saying they were sorry they could not speak to me today! I had no viewings on a reasonably priced property for months.

I gave notice four weeks before the twenty weeks. I cannot see them letting you out of the contract. If you go to another agent and sell, then I think they can still ask for their fee so you could end up with extra costs. Sorry it is so frustrating. I presume it is a sole agency contract.

We gave notice and moved to another agent on a Friday and house sold on the Tuesday.

Thanks everyone.

Elsie that is so sad. Hopefully in these days of social media that would be less likely to happen and if it did the outcry would be loud.

Negotiate with them... Explain that you are unhappy with the service and want out, and that the contract terms were verbally misrepresented to you / have been amended by separate verbal agreements, if that’s what happened. Say if they try to enforce a 20 week notice period they will gain nothing as you won’t sell through them but if they try to insist on that you will report them to estate agents trading standards (look up correct one). Most people will let you out of a contract if you annoy them enough and there’s no benefit to staying in it.

And next time negotiate before you sign, and read what you sign! You don’t have to accept their standard terms, I crossed many out before I signed it.

Thanks very much Mycat.

Update:

Someone else advised contact the property ombudsman which I did yesterday. They said, based on our description of the very poor service, we would have sufficient grounds for complaint which would warrant the contract being cancelled. However, this process would obviously take time and the branch has wasted too much time already. Best approach would be to contact the Head Office, tell what the Ombudsman had said and suggest that it's in the best interests of everyone to cancel now. The person I spoke to in Head Office was very understanding and said she would speak to her manager and the cancellation department. Unfortunately they also need to liaise with the branch to progress the matter. So, nothing definite yet - as my husband said, it's still entirely possible that they will say no, but I have more hope than I had yesterday. Thanks again everyone.