WWYD - Suspect estate agent didn't pass on our offer

[HmmSmellsFishyToMe]

Hello. Namechanged as this happened today and I suspect a couple of people might be on here that I told so don't want them knowing my usual name. Hello if you recognise me

Sorry if ends up long.

We put an offer in on a house about three weeks ago. Very cheap, quite big, total renovation. Offered the asking price. Were told by the estate agent woman that another offer was in, a couple of grand below asking price, but it was a cash offer.

She explained that the vendor had employed a 'company' to deal with the sale for him (a probate) so there were two lots of vendors for her to inform. Fine. Having this company involved, they'd want to market the house until exchange, and would want an advert online before exchange inviting our offer to be bettered. Their job was to get the best price for the seller, you see. Fine.

No word for a few days so I phoned back. She'd told the owner but couldn't get hold of the company. Quite patronising - a lot of explaining patiently to me that actually this company was owned by another company so it was very very complicated and difficult for her to get through. Right. Then a rather odd exchange during which she warned me (again very patiently and sympathetically - are you liking the sound of this helpful lady? ) that as the other offer was cash, it might not work out for us. Well yes I know, however we have offered more. But they are cash. Well yes I know. Well that means your offer isn't very strong you see, as what if your bank won't lend? Err, we have a mortgage in principle for lots more than this house in fact , anyway that's a perfectly normal situation so let's get on with it and we can get a survey done... Oh but what if the survey comes back as less than the asking price? Err, I think that's an unlikely scenario given that it's cheap as chips... Oh but I know the surveyors round here, they are very very tough! - etc. So I got annoyed at having to stay polite to someone who seemed desperate to actually put us OFF making an offer at all and said fine I'd call again in a few days.

We've had a really busy couple of weeks so it was ten days since this conversation when I called today. I'd expected to hear from them but nothing. Spoke to a different woman. The vendors have gone with the cash offer. I asked why they hadn't contacted us. Apparently the woman I spoke to has left and her replacement (apologetic, but not massively so) has '150 properties to wade through so things have slipped through the net!' So no organised system there then - still, wouldn't you think that there'd be a list of properties under offer and some sort of knowledge of the stuff that needed dealing with? And they HAVE been dealing with this, if the other offer has been accepted over the last week or whatever then presumably if our offer went in, our details are linked to that as people who need to be called - yes? Anyway I was pretty short about it, said it was completely unprofessional and we wouldn't deal with them again blah, asked for complaint contact. But not her fault so that was that.

But. Thinking about it later, I am confused. And I think it's suss. The property is still on Rightmove. If the 'property company' wanted to get the best deal, why did they not come back to us and ask us to up the offer? I totally understand that a cash offer is great, but I really expected that they would try and play us off a bit, if anything. This property was under 100K, so 2k under the asking versus the asking is not totally insignificant. Her general attitude and the fact that they just didn't get back to us make it more suss. And - after today's conversation too - I just FEEL it's suss iykwim.

So. I'd be very grateful for advice. We've bought before, but not had an offer turned down. Is it normal for them to be so shit? Does this sound perfectly run of the mill crapness or suss? Second, is it perfectly clear to all of you that OF COURSE they'd take a lower cash offer, even a sharky property selling company? Third, how do you find out if the offer was put in? I know it's illegal for an agent not to pass on an offer. Can I ring up the manager (the complaints name) and reasonably ask for proof that the offer went in? - what would that be? Would I just have to take their word for it?! Did they have a legal obligation to get back to us about the offer (given that it's illegal not to inform the seller we made one)? I would like to follow this up and possibly give Lady Patronising Pants a hard day at her new job being asked awkward questions by her former employer

I'm annoyed So are you probably at the length of this. ME ME ME eh.

This is in Chat too. Thanks for any words of wisdom :)

[Eurostar]

If the place is local I'd keep an eye. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see it go to a flipper.

Not that you could do anything about it but if we all keep complaining about shady practices, there might be a better system one day.

[nocake]

Well done MeMySonAndI for completely and utterly misunderstanding my post. You're a genius!

I wasn't buying the house because the estate agent didn't pass my offer on.

[MeMySonAndI]

Yeah... that clears it up, exactly what I would pay to avoid...