Private sale

[tidyspidey]

We have our house up for sale with an estate agent who we’re not entirely happy with for various reasons. We’ve still got 8 weeks left of our sole agency agreement but have (through very random/lucky circumstances!) found a private buyer ourselves.
What’s the best thing to do here? Just tell the agent we’re taking it off the market? I really hate the idea of lying to them or feeling deceptive, but I also don’t want to pay thousands of pounds when they haven’t actually done anything that’s lead to us selling our house.

Hopefully someone with more experience of this will also post, but would your buyers have known the house was for sale if it wasn't for the EA's online listing?

if they haven't gone via agent at all then just tell agent you are taking it off the market. I sold my flat privately to DHs friend. I have asked him jokingly if he would like to buy our house too and he told me he might and ask him first.

If the buyer hasn’t contacted the EA at all then as long as your contract states you can end it early without penalty, you should be fine. You don’t have to give a reason.