Estate agent T&Cs... do they or we have a leg to stand on?

[brogueish]

Our property has been on the market for 15 weeks. Lots of viewings, some 2nds, but no offers (apart from two that turned out to be "misunderstandings" ). We're in an area where properties go quickly, it's reasonably priced etc.

We've just had two other agents round who both immediately said that the issue is not our house but the one next door - it's in a state of disrepair, although someone lives there. We had raised the house next door with the original agent but they reassured us it wouldn't be an issue...

We've given notice and we're off the market. However they have only now supplied a copy of the contract and the T&Cs, which we hadn't seen before or been made aware of. Turns out we granted them sole selling rights for 2 years, and are expected to pay them fees if we sell as a result of any "introduction" (including seeing the for sale board or on Rightmove!).

This sounds crazy and a massive over-reach, especially as the T&Cs were not mentioned or supplied until we gave notice! Is this standard practice, and are they really enforceable??

Oh just to clarify we did sign the contract but that was one page - the T&Cs are on a separate page and we had not seen these. We did not have a copy of the contract.

Surely you signed a contract, and therefore should have read it then?

Its not normally 2 years, i thought standard was normally 8 weeks before you could switch.

Did you sign any contract with them?

We signed a contract but that was one sheet of paper. The T&Cs were not on that sheet of paper. We've only now had sight of them.

Cross post! Tricky, they should have given you all the details, but then again you should have made sure you knew the terms off your own back. Can you prove you didn't see this before signing?

Did you tick a box or sign next to something that said you had read the t&cs?

You need to look at the wording you actually signed next to

No mention of any additional T&Cs on the contract that we signed, just the details and dates of marketing, notive period for withdrawal and fee payable.

No mention of any additional T&Cs at all. Pages aren't numbered. Not sure how to prove a negative!!

That’s insane - two years?! That’s certainly very abnormal. The ones we looked at were 8 weeks. We went with an online agent in the end. Can any of this really hold up in court? If you perused other lines of sale, are they really going to bother taking you to court which would be more costly to them than your fees. It seems highly unlikely..

Can they prove you saw the t&cs?

If it’s not standard practice and you didn’t explicitly see it I would go to the ombudsman for advice and write a strongly worded jog on you cheeky b reply. They can’t have money for nothing and posts are easily removed from rightmove when the property is taken off the market.

Which agent is this OP

Thanks so much for your qs and advice so far, it's hugely appreciated.

That contract clearly says 12 weeks I'd be tempted to utter the immortal words "see you in court matey"!

Definitely contact the ombudsman. Sole selling rights (as opposed to sole agency rights) are generally frowned upon.
I made a point of checking with our agent before signing that we definitely were not giving sole selling rights.
You should be able to challenge it if they did not give you sight of the T&C at the time. Good luck.

@inappropriateraspberry and @littlejalapeno We didn't see the T&Cs so I'm not sure how they could prove otherwise - equally I'm not sure how we could prove that we didn't see them, if that makes sense.

@Lazypuppy no, no box to tick

@Squirtlesquad I think it's visible on the snip, they're a franchise.

Cross-post. Unfortunately your contract is explicit in giving sole selling rights and not sole agency. It is bad practice but you did sign up for it. Still worth contacting the ombudsman.

@SerialRelocator

Definitely contact the ombudsman. Sole selling rights (as opposed to sole agency rights) are generally frowned upon. I made a point of checking with our agent before signing that we definitely were not giving sole selling rights. You should be able to challenge it if they did not give you sight of the T&C at the time. Good luck.

This!

Are the full terms printed on the back? Not uncommon for that. Also, you can clearly read the EAs name on the form so you should probably get MNHQ to remove the picture.

They're chancers. Unless they can prove you agreed to anything beyond what is on their form they can forget it. The onus would be on them to prove you had read the Ts and Cs on the balance of probabilities. They are highly unlikely to be able to prove they even sent them to you before you served notice.

@serialrelocator Thank you, I see that phrase now, but it only mentions being applicable for 12 weeks on the contract - the T&Cs state 2 years?

I’m interested as to how the other agents will remedy next door being in disrepair?

By introduction I think they mean someone they have introduced you to, not anybody at all.

They’re having a laugh. Deep breath and off to the ombudsman. Don’t let them intimidate you. It’s not on the contract, they didn’t make you check a box to prove you agree and they can’t contradict the terms of the contact you did sign, so they don’t have a leg to stand on.

@wowfudge I don't think there was anything on the back, if there was I know that we would have looked at it. We didn't have a physical copy of the contract though, just a photo originally and now the scans. Thank you, that's really reassuring! 12 weeks is reasonable but 2 years is insane and we would never have agreed to!

OP - I still think you need to get the photo removed as it names them. If you get into any kind of dispute that could muddy the waters.