Sonia said about Statons Estate Agents LLP

Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer )Date: 9th Sep 2015

Statons in Radlett contacted us to advise of a property that was being marketed more discreetly and not online. Following the viewing, our offer was accepted and we proceeded to survey which cost us approx �750.

Initially our house was down valued and our buyer couldn't raise the outstanding amount so
Gavyn the branch manger called me to say that in order for the sale to go though he would negotiate a �25,000 price reduction on our onward purchase if we took less for ours. This indicated that there was scope for some negotiation. In the end we didn't need to because the second valuation on our property was valued to our asking price.

The survey on our onward purchase revealed a number of gas and electrical safety issues that would need to be investigated straightaway. In agreement with the agent and vendors we arranged for reputable electrical and gas engineers to visit the property to investigate the issues. We were open and transparent and forwarded the findings to Statons, Radlett. We agreed that due to the signifcant unforeseen additional costs we would request a price reduction. Gavyn at Statons explained that it was fair to request a price reduction but not until we were ready to exchange. So he said he would not mention it to the vendors until it was appropriate to do so. All the time assuring me that it was perfectly right that we should request a price reduction.

Unfortunately we lost the buyer on our property and had to switch to our back up buyer which we did all within 24 hours and were proceedable again. Statons were informed straightway and our agent advised that they were happy to verify our buyers details. But Statons in Radlett despite telling me that they had verified the details with our agent never did. They advised us that they were being forced to market the property for a back up buyer in case we lost our buyer. This we said seemed fair although it made us feel somewhat insecure in our position going forward.

A few days of dodging my phone calls later, I received a call out of the blue from Gavyn at Statons to say that although we were ready to exchange in 12 days the vendors had chosen another buyer who was paying more.

We became victims of gazumping but without the opportunity to enter any negotiation and properly understand what had gone wrong. Days before the terrible phone call from Gavyn that ended everything in a matter of minutes, Gavyn had led us to believe that the house would be ours.

But without any warning from Statons, Radlett we were left high and dry with a bill of �1,500 because not only did we pay for the survey but also we had to pay our solicitors abortive fees which came to �600. We were almost there in the process, Gavyn only had to explain we would lose the sale if we asked for a price reduction and we could have made an informed decision. But he didn't which was extremely disappointing and caused us a great deal of stress.

We felt that Statons at Radlett had been most unfair to us since we had invested so much time and money in the process. They knew we were serious buyers with everything in place but their lack of transparency and lack of open communication cost us dearly. The lived up to the stereotypical behaviour expected from an estate agent - Not to be trusted in any circumstances! We won't hold out for an apology for the way we have been treated because that I'm sure that would be asking too much from Statons in Radlett.

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