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Original poster

Help! I'm being blackmailed by estate agents!

50 replies

TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 15:17

Hi sorry this is a bit of a long one but desperately need some help!

We are buying a house through shared ownership on a new scheme they are trying. Basically we get to choose any house on the open market and the housing association will buy it for us and sell us a share. Works for us as we have outgrown our flat but can't afford to take on the full mortgage for a house in London. Anyway we have spent ages looking for a house and had several offers refused as other people had bid higher amounts.

We finally saw a house we loved but it was in a popular area and I was convinced our other offers had been overlooked due to the shared ownership arrangement as potentially vendors felt it was too complicated. When I couldn't get hold of the estate agent to book a viewing I went round to the house and met the vendor who was lovely and explained our situation. They indicated they were happy to sell to us as it turned out we knew quite a few people in common.

We went along to the open house and put an offer in on the property with the estate agent which was accepted. That was one week ago. I should mention that the estate agent is a national high St chain. At the time of our offer the EA indicated that if we were to use their broker they would make sure our bid was favourbly looked at. We didn't commit to anything but said we would consider.

We went on Wednesday to an appointment with their broker who wanted us to sign the mortgage application paperwork then and there, however due to the involvement of the housing association we couldn't sign it until Monday which I let them know.

Anyway, today the estate agent called the HA to say that the vendor was pulling out because we were taking our time and obviously not serious because we hadn't signed the paper work then and there. Tuesday wasn't good enough. Bearing in mind it was less than a week.
The HA let me know and I called the EA who informed me that he would be showing the house this weekend as they vendors wanted to look for someone else to move quickly. He said that we were looking at another broker which proved we weren't serious but as a favour to me we could come for a private viewing before the open house on Saturday and if we were to go with him to the office straight after then he wouldn't let anyone else see it.

Turns out it's a crock of shit.

I went round to see the vendor my self just now. They had no idea about any open house this weekend, just the viewing for us. They said they had no problems with the pace things were going at and they had absolutely told the EA that they were not open to any more offers.

The EA is basically trying to blackmail me into using their in house broker isn't he?

Is this illegal? What should I do?

Sorry this was so long!

OP posts:
Whoknewitcouldbeso · 09/10/2015 15:20

My god that's shocking. There must be someone you can report then to? I think there is an Ombudsmen that covers Estate Agents.

RandomMess · 09/10/2015 15:20

Report them to the ombudsman. I would ask them to confirm the viewing etc.by email though - will be interesting to see if they only want to discuss all of this via phone!

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 09/10/2015 15:23

Really shoddy practice. I would email them (so you have it in writing) and say you've been round to see the vendor, she has accepted your offer, she is happy with the timescale, and had taken it off thr market to you. Can they confirm it is now off the market. We are seeing another broker on x date, and will let them know which one yOu will be using after that.

Or something along those lines.

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 15:25

Thanks for replying!

Yes I was thinking of ombudsman but they have only said it all over the phone. The only things I have are the viewing appointment emails and the appointment for the broker they have set up on Saturday. Also have the housing association to back me up because they said they same to them.
Should I tell them I know they are lying? I don't want it to jeopardise the rest of the sale!

Obviously don't want to use their broker now either!

OP posts:
Whoknewitcouldbeso · 09/10/2015 15:30

Could you email them relaying what they have told you and then asking them a question, about the broker side of it maybe? See if you can get something in writing.

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 15:33

Ok good idea, I'll email him now! Thanks!

OP posts:
wowfudge · 09/10/2015 15:51

Wow - if I were their customer, the vendor, I would be so angry.

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 15:54

Email sent. Will let you know if he replies!

OP posts:
westcoastnortherneragain · 09/10/2015 15:56

Also call the rics for advice

CrotchetQuaverMinim · 09/10/2015 15:57

that sounds terrible.

I've only recently started dealing with estate agents, and hadn't realised how much they subtly pressure you, and tell you things that aren't true or that they don't really have any idea about, just to get the sale confirmed.

But this shared-ownership scheme sounds really good! Here all the shared ownership stuff is either really grotty flats in depressing blocks, or brand new and expensive out of town developments, neither of them really what I need. I'd love a housing association to just buy some normal property in town, small houses or flats, and then part own one. What scheme is this? Something government backed?

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 09/10/2015 16:03

Just one thought, the vendor may have agreed/asked for more viewings, but been too embarrassed to tell you face to face when you turned up out of the blue on her doorstep. Many vendors prefer going through their agents to avoid confrontation with their buyers.

Whatever the case there, the pressurising you to use their broker isn't on.

honeysucklejasmine · 09/10/2015 16:09

There was a scandal like this local to me too. They would refuse offers if you didn't use their broker and tell vendor you'd walked away.

The ombudsman was not impressed.

GinBunny · 09/10/2015 16:10

They do this so that they keep all the fees in house. The EA gets commission, the mortgage broker gets commission, they keep to their targets - a win win situation for all of them.

It is also highly dubious practice and you must report it.

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 16:11

I just looked on the property ombudsmans site but it says you need to let the company know in writing first about the complaint. I'm reluctant to do this now as I'm not sure how it will impact us before the sale is completed.

Crochet- yes it's a fantastic scheme that is allowing us to buy a nice normal house instead of an expensive new build. It's called second steps. As far as I'm aware it's only in London at them moment and is a pilot scheme. The HA said they had received a grant from the greater London authority to help improve their housing stock.

OP posts:
Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 16:15

''Just one thought, the vendor may have agreed/asked for more viewings, but been too embarrassed to tell you face to face when you turned up out of the blue on her doorstep. ''

I did think about this before I went but the last time I knocked on the door they didn't seem to mind and today she said she was glad to see me so we could talk about what they were leaving behind. It still could be the case but didn't strike me as such.

OP posts:
Lynnm63 · 09/10/2015 16:31

Contact the agent tell them you know the vendors have no problem with your offer. If they don't sell to you then you'll complain to the ombudsman. I had a similar problem a few years ago where we made an offer but didn't want to use their broker. Offer accepted then i got a phone call saying we weren't getting the house. I threw a mega wobbly and told agent that I would make such a stink about it. He said you still won't have the house as its not my decision. I said I don't care but you'll have to be investigated by the ombudsman and if it's thevendor not you then you have nothing to worry about. Within an hour miraculously the sale was back on.

TheCrowFromBelow · 09/10/2015 16:34

I would go back to them and say you've been reading up on the Property Ombudsman code of practice particularly part 9c.
If they're a well-known high st chain I can't imagine their head office will want the bother of bad press. They can't make the success of your offer conditional on signing up to their services.

Full code here

orchidnap · 09/10/2015 17:11

is this countrywide by any chance? we have just had a similar situation, but we actually lost the property :(

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 17:17

Yes orchid, it is countrywide.

I just had an email back from the agent saying '' I have been advised by our vendors that if you don’t sign off the finances by tomorrow the vendor will let the viewings already booked for tomorrow to go ahead and discuss current offers from people that have already viewed. ' amongst other things.

Should I tell the branch manager I know it's not true? Supposed to be seeing them tomorrow.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 09/10/2015 17:24

I would print off the email and go back and see the vendor. Be incredibly pleasant and ask them to look at the email and are they sure they are happy to wait.

I think you need more evidence tbh.

Acer77 · 09/10/2015 17:24

This is outrageous!! Glad you've got something in writing. I would tell them you've been to see the vendor and they say they are happy to wait until you've got your finance via your own broker next week. Then report them to the ombudsman and their head office. And watchdog!!

orchidnap · 09/10/2015 17:29

we had the same issue with them. we viewed a property, and went in to make an offer that day straight after the viewing. The woman in the branch said we had to see their mortgage advisor, so we declined. she then said "ok well you need to being your ID, your mortgage in principle, and your proof of salary in to the branch to be qualified by our mortgage advisor, for money laundering laws." DP then said "if i can just stop you there im a solicitor, so I know the money laundering regualtions, and know thats nonsense, and we wont be seeing the advisor"

They then passed our offer on and said it was acceptable in value, but we needed to sell.

We then sold, and called them up asking them to pass it on, and was told it would be, and someone would call me back. The person we had been dealing with had left apparently and we needed to speak to the new person.

No one called back so i called the next day, and got the new person on the phone, and he said "i dont know if its been passed on or not, it might have" I said surely he should know if it was him dealing with it.

we put a note through the vendors door stating everything that had happened and that we were interested.

The next day we got a call from a different branch, and the person who had apparently left, saying our offer was accepted. We instructed solicitors, and asked if we could view again on Saturday as there were some alcoves we wanted to measure as if our wardrobes wouldn't fit, we would sell them to our buyers who have asked about them.

We got their early, and found the man showing another couple around, and he said that the woman from the other branch (a good 10 miles away) was showing us around. it all seemed a bit odd.

She turend up and was telling us how we would be in for xmas etc. we measured, and left. i then realised id left my notebook, so we went back and the vendor was there so we got it back, and we apologised to the vendor for our note, and she was very cagey and told us to have a chat with the agents on monday. It was all odd. we waited till monday and was told no, everything was fine, no one else was interested and not to worry about the other viewing. monday afternoon we called them just to pass on an email address change for us, and were told the property had gone to someone else, and we couldnt increase our offer as theirs had been qualified by the advisor so the vendor was going with them.

Original poster
TomHaverford · 09/10/2015 17:50

Thanks for the advice about the email. I will pop round and see the vendors to confirm its absolutely not true before I tell the estate agent.

Orchid- that sounds like a complete nightmare! They really have you over a barrel when it comes to offers. We have had a similar experience with another we'll know estate agent when they didn't submit our bid (which I know is illegal). They told us someone had offered more but some other things didn't add up so I went and asked the vendors and they said they never received the offer which the EA later admitted. You really are at their mercy!

OP posts:
BumWad · 09/10/2015 18:13

My goodness that is disgusting! I hope you get it sorted OP and get the house!

cittigirl · 10/10/2015 08:39

Countrywide are horrendous. I won't go into detail but they lied to me and it ended up with a battle with their legal dept and me having to pay out an extra few hundred because of their deception. Complete b@@#@#.

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