Agent loses private sale fee court battle

An agent has lost a court battle against a vendor who sold her property to a buyer who viewed it through a rival agent.

Tyneside agency Keith Pattinson took Sharon Parker to court after she refused to pay a reported fee of £1,500 plus VAT which she says she already paid to the other agent.

I had my house for sale with a different estate agent in 2008 and added Keith Pattinson in 2010 because I was desperate. The other agent conducted a lot of viewings with potential buyers and Keith Pattinson arranged three but cancelled them all on the day they were due to take place Parker has told ChronicleLive, the online version of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

I finally had an offer from one of the buyers sent by the first estate agent but I was shocked when Keith Pattinson claimed they wanted a cut because of one telephone call she says.

The call in question was when the potential purchaser could not contact the originally-instructed agent because it was a Bank Holiday, but instead contacted Keith Pattinson.

After some negotiation over the price I accepted the offer but stressed to Keith Pattinson that the buyer had viewed through the first agent. I was very confused as both [agents] were asking for payment and I told them to sort it out among themselves she says.

The sale went ahead back in 2011 and Parker eventually paid the first agent, only to receive a bill some six months later from Keith Pattinson seeking £1,500 plus VAT. An accompanying letter claimed Parker had sold the property privately.

Keith Pattinson sent further letters demanding payment, including one which said that if she paid by a specified time the firm would remove the VAT as a gesture of goodwill.

The agency then took Sharon Parker to court, almost three years after the sale, but a judge has dismissed the company's claim and has refused it the right to appeal.

A spokesman for the agency has declined to comment on the case.