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Original poster

Can you go to small claims for money you've not paid yet?

16 replies

Avannon · 29/10/2025 10:50

We signed up to a large holiday letting agency when our house was on the market, as we have a bridging loan on another property and weren't getting offers on our house. The agency was fully aware we were on the market and told us it would be no problem - we arranged with their rep to only accept bookings for a rolling six months ahead, thinking that was the likely length of conveyancing. The rep came to see us twice and assured us that if we got an offer we would simply forfeit £500 plus vat to withdraw from the contract. No mention of other charges.

The moment our house went live, however, we got a raft of bookings for nearly a year ahead. The agency had completely ignored our six-month booking limit. When my husband finally got hold of our account manager, she sent him a SurveyMonkey form to withdraw the property from the agency, even though he kept saying he only wanted to enforce the agreed six month rolling basis. She told him that they hadn't got a form for that, so he had to fill this one in. He thought it was just a survey. What he didn't notice was it was a legal contract with the withdrawal date for a year ahead, not for the agreed six months.

Meanwhile we got an offer on our property, and can't fulfil bookings beyond March. But the agency is now saying we owe them their 20% commission fees on all the bookings that poured in for next Easter and summer while we were trying to sort this out (our property has a pool and was instantly popular). It adds up to many thousands of pounds we owe them. They aren't denying we had a six month rolling agreement in place, they're just ignoring it and insisting we have to pay them anyway for all the other bookings they allowed to go through.

I don't want to throw good money after bad, so want to go through small claims court. But I am unsure if that's possible given we haven't yet paid them the money they're insisting we owe them. If we do pay it, I'm worried it will be seen as conceding. Does anyone have any advice on how we might best proceed?

Many thanks!

OP posts:
Darragon · 29/10/2025 10:53

Surely you just wait for them to take you to small claims court and just defend it vigourously with the facts?

Chewbecca · 29/10/2025 10:53

Is the six month booking limit aspect in writing?

Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 10:55

Darragon · 29/10/2025 10:53

Surely you just wait for them to take you to small claims court and just defend it vigourously with the facts?

We're worried they'd move straight on to bailiffs for bad debt. Reading the Trustpilot reviews they have form for that.

OP posts:
Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 10:58

Chewbecca · 29/10/2025 10:53

Is the six month booking limit aspect in writing?

No, it wasn't. It didn't even occur to us that they wouldn't adhere to it. But our account manager knows full well that it is what was agreed with the rep, although she's been extremely vague about why it wasn't implemented. We do have notes taken from the meetings though, and I know the rep took notes about it because he actually showed us to them to reiterate what we'd agreed.

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 29/10/2025 14:14

Avannon · 29/10/2025 10:55

We're worried they'd move straight on to bailiffs for bad debt. Reading the Trustpilot reviews they have form for that.

Show quote history

Bailiffs can't do anything unless they get a court order first.

Since you don't have the 6-month limit in writing, I suggest you write to them (email will do) setting out your understanding of what has happened. If they don't dispute this, you can use that as evidence.

Lemonadepie · 29/10/2025 14:18

Because you’ve not the 6 month limit IN WRITING, unfortunately you can only hope that they agree i.e. don’t dispute this.

NaranjaDreams · 29/10/2025 14:21

Just to be sure I’m understanding correctly - you don’t have the original six month limit in writing anywhere, but they do have a contract signed by your husband that consents to them letting it for a year ahead?

Can you provide any evidence of the six month agreement at all? Emails you sent when the bookings starting coming through?

You’re going to need to prove what happened. Verbal agreements are fine, but in this case, the rep and account manager aren’t likely to confirm your understanding, and if it’s not in your original contract, that complicates things anyway.

Small Claims goes on reasonable belief. They’re going to have a decent one suggesting that you consented to them letting the property and now want to cancel as you’ve sold, and therefore they are due the commission, if that’s what your husband has signed… you need to counter that.

But to answer your question, no, you can’t go to small claims for money you’ve not yet paid. They’d take you to court for non payment and you’d defend the claim with your evidence.

vivainsomnia · 29/10/2025 15:19

So no 6.onths agreement in writing but a 12 months contractual agreement. That would be hard to defend.

Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 16:42

Just to clarify, what my husband filled in was a SurveyMonkey form, mainly multiple choice questions - I don't think it was a legally binding contract because he didn't have to sign it. He apparently told our account manager several times that it wasn't relevant to our situation as we'd had this six month agreement in place. In hindsight it's clear they were pushing him to fill it in to try and obfuscate their failure to adhere to what had been agreed. We do have notes taken at the meetings with the rep, which show that we discussed this rolling arrangement.

OP posts:
Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 16:45

NaranjaDreams · 29/10/2025 14:21

Just to be sure I’m understanding correctly - you don’t have the original six month limit in writing anywhere, but they do have a contract signed by your husband that consents to them letting it for a year ahead?

Can you provide any evidence of the six month agreement at all? Emails you sent when the bookings starting coming through?

You’re going to need to prove what happened. Verbal agreements are fine, but in this case, the rep and account manager aren’t likely to confirm your understanding, and if it’s not in your original contract, that complicates things anyway.

Small Claims goes on reasonable belief. They’re going to have a decent one suggesting that you consented to them letting the property and now want to cancel as you’ve sold, and therefore they are due the commission, if that’s what your husband has signed… you need to counter that.

But to answer your question, no, you can’t go to small claims for money you’ve not yet paid. They’d take you to court for non payment and you’d defend the claim with your evidence.

Edited

But to answer your question, no, you can’t go to small claims for money you’ve not yet paid. They’d take you to court for non payment and you’d defend the claim with your evidence.

Would this mean we would have to hire a lawyer or is it something people can represent themselves as, like small claims court? I've done small claims before and just represented myself.

OP posts:
Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 16:52

I thought what he signed was a contract when I wrote the original post, but reading into it since you need an electronic signature for it to be legally binding, and he's sure he wasn't asked for one.

OP posts:
JohnofWessex · 29/10/2025 18:03

Submit a subject access request?

prh47bridge · 29/10/2025 18:06

Avannon · 29/10/2025 16:45

But to answer your question, no, you can’t go to small claims for money you’ve not yet paid. They’d take you to court for non payment and you’d defend the claim with your evidence.

Would this mean we would have to hire a lawyer or is it something people can represent themselves as, like small claims court? I've done small claims before and just represented myself.

Show quote history

You cannot go to any court over money you have not yet paid.

prh47bridge · 29/10/2025 18:15

Also, it seems unlikely that a questionnaire on SurveyMonkey would be a legally binding contract but, without seeing exactly what it said, it is impossible to be sure. However, if it was a contract, it makes your position more difficult. In order to avoid paying, you would have to convince the court that, on the balance of probabilities, you were deceived into entering into this contract.

It is true that a contract requires an electronic signature, but this could be as simple as an "I Agree" button or asking you to type your name into a box. It doesn't have to be anything more complicated than that.

Original poster
Avannon · 29/10/2025 18:21

prh47bridge · 29/10/2025 18:15

Also, it seems unlikely that a questionnaire on SurveyMonkey would be a legally binding contract but, without seeing exactly what it said, it is impossible to be sure. However, if it was a contract, it makes your position more difficult. In order to avoid paying, you would have to convince the court that, on the balance of probabilities, you were deceived into entering into this contract.

It is true that a contract requires an electronic signature, but this could be as simple as an "I Agree" button or asking you to type your name into a box. It doesn't have to be anything more complicated than that.

Okay, thank you. I really appreciate your time and help!

OP posts:
vivainsomnia · 30/10/2025 14:39

I thought what he signed was a contract when I wrote the original post, but reading into it since you need an electronic signature for it to be legally binding, and he's sure he wasn't asked for one
Not forcibly. A tick to the statement you agree to the terms and conditions could make it a legally binding document.

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