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Original poster

estate agent got our offer wrong

108 replies

abouquetofsharpenedpencils · 20/08/2021 22:35

Hello,
Please can anyone advise? I am a first-time buyer.
We viewed a house at £240k last Thursday. Owner is desperate to sell as the previous buyer pulled out at the last minute and he wants to have everything completed by the 30 September in order to avoid the stamp duty.
We loved it, put a formal offer forward of £238k on the Saturday.
We emailed this to the estate agent on Saturday very clearly stating £238k and our reasons for being a bit lower (20 year-old boiler).
Received an email from the estate agent 2 days later saying that our offer had been accepted.
Over the moon. Have since started the whole process of instructing solicitors, mortgages etc.
Today the estate agent tells me somewhere along the line there has been a mix-up and the owner never actually received our offer of £238 k and has sold it to us for 240k. He also said the owner will not consider anything under £240k.
He then said that after putting in my offer of £238k, I apparently rang back later and verbally increased it to £240k. I absolutely did not do this. We are borrowing maximum on the mortgage and are using every penny we can scrape together. Why would I do that if my offer had already been accepted??
It just doesn't make sense. I am feeling uncomfortable now and very stressed. If this is just a genuine mistake then ok, everyone makes mistakes, but why didn't the owner get our offer? I thought they were supposed to send our formal offer letter to them.
And the bit about saying I rang back and verbally increased it is just absolute rubbish. They have asked me if I can just pay the £240k but I am feeling really unhappy about the whole thing. It is their mistake after all, I have evidence in the form of emails stating the offer and amount and their email back saying it has been accepted.
I have no experience in this area and confrontation makes me feel physically ill. Can I contact the seller and discuss the matter with him? Or this is a big no-no? I would really like to know what they have said to him.
Apologies this has turned out so long. Thanks for reading to the end Sad

OP posts:
LemonSwan · 20/08/2021 22:41

Its the estate agents fuck up. Its their problem.

They can take the 2k out of their sales fees.

Say no its 238k as originally stated. Please confirm or not.

StartingGrid · 20/08/2021 22:42

The estate agent is an absolute shyster, are they registered with any association on their website? Look up the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team and tell them if they don't rectify this you'll report them and name and shame them publically too. Definitely contact the seller too, you have nothing to lose if you can't make up the difference.

goodbyestranger · 20/08/2021 22:44

Agree. Stick to your guns - agent is trying it on.

Yafilthyanimal · 20/08/2021 22:44

Did you speak to the Manager of the Estate Agents?

onlyk · 20/08/2021 22:44

Go back and say as per the email the offer is £238k if the seller wishes to pull out then that’s their choice but by the sounds of it the estate agent hasn’t presented your offer to the seller which is something they are legally required to do.

Either someone has f*cked up and they want to avoid an awkward call to the seller at a cost of £2k to you or they are trying to squeeze an extra £2k out of you.

Yafilthyanimal · 20/08/2021 22:45

Also, not sure how seller will complete by September. That seems impossible!!

surreygirl1987 · 20/08/2021 22:53

That's absolutely awful. I wouldn't trust anything that EA says and I'd get in touch directly with the seller directly so they can't be lied to by the EA about it.

Completing by end of September sounds crazy though...

Original poster
abouquetofsharpenedpencils · 20/08/2021 22:55

Thanks everyone
I feel really miserable about it so your messages mean a lot
@StartingGrid I will check that, thanks
I spoke to a few people and then got put through to the Director - he apologised about the mistake but said basically at the end of the day, the owner will not go under 240 and asked if i could pay 240.
I said I was not happy about it at all and he said he would call me to discuss it further on Monday.
@Yafilthyanimal The previous buyer backed out of the sale but had got over halfway through the searches, so I am due to purchase those off her and continue with the sale that way which will speed things up.

OP posts:
Unsure33 · 20/08/2021 23:07

Your solicitor should have had a memorandum of sale from the agent . What did that say ?

Unsure33 · 20/08/2021 23:09

Trust me you won’t complete by the end of sept either . We have the simplest purchase ever and it is SOOOO SLOW !

Lotsachocolateplease · 20/08/2021 23:12

On Monday when he phones make sure you stick to your guns and say that as agreed you will pay £238k - this was the offer accepted and you have the emails to prove it. It’s up to them to rectify the issue not you.

seven201 · 20/08/2021 23:16

I'd be dropping hints to the estate agent that if word gets out about their fuck up then they'll be losing a lot of future business! Ask them to absorb the 2k out of their fees to make up for their cock up.

alphabetspagetti · 20/08/2021 23:17

Did you call from a mobile? And have you only got a mobile number for the estate agent? If so, you can easily show that you don't have any outgoing calls to their number at the relevant time and, if that is challenged by the estate agent, ask them for evidence that they have a call from you?
If they or you used a landline number, this can also be used to demonstrate this but it's just a lot easier with a mobile where your call history is immediately available.

0DimSumMum0 · 20/08/2021 23:25

Just wondering why the previous buyer pulled out of the sale, maybe they felt uncomfortable too? I think in your position I would feel the same and feel totally played. It sounds like it was obvious that it was always going to be 240 and the agent knew that. Ask them to absorb the mistake or pull out.

upthekyber · 20/08/2021 23:25

I have manage to get from offer to completion in 6 weeks without paper work in place so it is possible if everyone pulls together.
But the story is all over the place, they didn't present your offer then claim you offered 2,000 extra over the phone, why on earth would you counter offer when they have already admitted they didn't give the offer so wouldn't have told you the offer was unsuccessful and needed upping.
They are trying it on.
If the sellers are that desperate they would be fools to turn you down for 2000. Stick to your guns and ask the estate agents to meet you all half way by reducing their fee to the sellers

Original poster
abouquetofsharpenedpencils · 20/08/2021 23:46

Thanks all, great advice.

@Unsure33 yes, the memorandum came through on Tuesday, it said £240,000 . I assumed it was a typo but emailed them to say it was £238,000 but she didn't get back to me. It was only when I called the estate agent again today about something else, that it cropped up again.

@alphabetspagetti good point!

@0DimSumMum0 it has crossed my mind.

@upthekyber exactly, it makes no sense at all. Reading between the lines, someone somewhere has messed up and they are now trying to shift it on me.

Thanks for the comments too on the completion date.

Sad
OP posts:
TheRebelle · 20/08/2021 23:49

Get your solicitor to tell their solicitor that you only ever offered £238k and you cannot go 1p above that so they either take it or leave it, their solicitor will likely point out its not worth losing the sale over £2k. Don’t let the agents do it or they’ll tell the seller you’re messing around and they won’t own up to their mistake, they work for the seller, not you.

TempNameChangexx · 21/08/2021 00:14

Maybe the contract with the vendor has got a clause where the estate agents get more commission if the selling price is £240k or more...
My sister once had an estate agent try that on her, absolute shysters....

donquixotedelamancha · 21/08/2021 00:15

If the sellers are that desperate they would be fools to turn you down for 2000.

Yeah, that. The EAs don't want to look like muppets.

Rosecottage888 · 21/08/2021 00:40

If you have confirmation from the estate agents and it was their error then the extra 2k should absolutely be coming from their fees!

Original poster
abouquetofsharpenedpencils · 21/08/2021 08:48

I hardly slept at all.

@TheRebelle Good advice, thanks- that’s what I’m afraid of, that they will go back to the seller with some cock and bull story.

@TempNameChangexx Shock what happened with your sister if you don’t mind my asking?

OP posts:
surreygirl1987 · 21/08/2021 08:55

@therebelle yes great advice! And forward the email chain as well!

sweetmacadamia · 21/08/2021 09:07

Use your solicitor and also threaten the estate agents with reporting them to their governing bodies because they won't like that and may even stump something up to prevent it. Been there done that

Lampzade · 21/08/2021 09:20

@TheRebelle

Get your solicitor to tell their solicitor that you only ever offered £238k and you cannot go 1p above that so they either take it or leave it, their solicitor will likely point out its not worth losing the sale over £2k. Don’t let the agents do it or they’ll tell the seller you’re messing around and they won’t own up to their mistake, they work for the seller, not you.
This
AliMonkey · 21/08/2021 09:23

We had similar - we made an offer subject to them including various things (eg curtains, blinds). EA just told them the £ not the proviso. Only realised when we got to the fixtures and fittings list. We stuck to our guns and seller left 80% of what we asked and dropped price a bit for rest. They realised wasn’t worth losing sale. Given they want quick completion, I’d stick to your guns.