Please could I have opinions on this situation with estate agent?

[BillyL]

I'll try to be brief!

I moved house in July last year. I arranged the 2 viewings that I had for this house with the vendors' agent, LL.

This afternoon the vendors have rung me to say that an agent they previously had their property on with, RR, are demanding £8000 off them for introducing me to this property. The vendors wanted to know if I'd had any dealings at all with RR in the viewing and purchase of the house.

I didn't. I used an agent, CC, for the sale of my own house, and as stated above, the vendors' agent LL for viewings and offers etc on this house.

However, in 2021 I did have my previous house (the house that I sold to move here) on the market with RR. I sold it through them, and arranged a viewing on this house through them as they were, at that time, the selling agents.

I cancelled the viewing because I was ill, and shortly after took my house off the market because of a fairly major health issue. I didn't know at the time, but the vendors of this house also took it off the market.

I put my house back on the market at the beginning of 2023, and the vendors put theirs back on with LL.

So as far as I can see, RR have no skin in this game? I'm sorry if this has been a confusing (and boring!) read but I'd welcome any opinions please?

Just to add - I put my house back on in 2023 with agent CC, not RR.

some agents have a contract with the vendor that if the house at any point in the future sells and they introduced the buyer to it in the past in some way, then the vendor has to pay some form of commission. There are also some other stupid contracts EAs make up too, you can google them.

But this is not your problem. This is the vendor's problem. They should have asked you when you first viewed it as it is always likely this could happen if they put the property up and then took it off the market, only to put it back on the market with another agent.

Just tell them what happened anyway. They are probably just trying to see if they owe the first agent any money. I don't know if your cancelling the viewing the first time means anything , depend son the contract between the vendor and the agent. Ultimately, it doesn't affect you.

Similar happened to me. I viewed with on agent and didn't offer. Months later I viewed again with a new agent and the first agent got the commission.

It may be as described above, but it’s not your problem. We viewed a house with EA1, loved it but didn’t proceed due to a change in personal circumstances. 18 months later bought it through EA2 because that’s who happened to be selling it at the time. As far as I know EA2 got the commission…

Thanks for the replies.

So it's conceivable then that agents RR could get £8000 for doing next to nothing?

Logically I know this isn't my problem, but as is usual with me, I'm convinced everything is my fault!

It sounds to me as if the vendor is just trying to get information from you to strengthen their case against RR.
You can help them out by giving them all the information you have about the sale of their property.
But don't muddy the waters with information about the previous sale of your house and your dealings with RR at that time.
This is not about you, and you'll be helping the vendor out by giving them evidence that RR did not introduce you to the sale.

No, RR actually have to have conducted a viewing with you in order to be able to argue that they introduced you to the sale. There is also a timescale within which they could conceivably claim. They’re trying their luck. Help the vendors and the EA who sold to you out by clicking informing that you did not have a viewing with RR.

Thanks so much for further messages. I've sent an email to RR so hopefully that's the end of it for my vendors.