Chasing unpaid fees is one of the hazards of estate agency.
We have to confess we rather like the style of this chase-up for payment.
Brace yourselves. Here goes.
“I’ve been made aware today that you have successfully sold your property through my company but have inexplicably opted not to pay us the £995 fee that is due.
“My team did lots of work to list your property, arrange viewings and to progress your sale, Ryan especially.
“We achieved your £81,000 asking price and you have not once complained about any aspect of our service.
“Our fee is already a fraction of what a high street estate agent would charge yet you have decided to simply turn your back on your obligation to settle your account despite a job well done on our part and a huge saving made by you.
“Consequently to your absconding to the Czech Republic without paying what you owe, the team here will not achieve their monetary bonus relating to your sale. This is not their fault but is yours. I’ve attached a picture of the team in question in order to help you visualize the human element of your deception.
“Integrity is sadly lacking in society these days and you yourself epitomize the sharp end of why trust is disintegrating in people. You are a fantastic example of all that is bad in today’s culture.
“Avoiding your legal and moral obligation to pay eMoov for work done is frankly despicable and I wonder how you are able to live with your conscience or if you even have one at all.”
So, will Karma prevail, asks this chase-up for payment which comes from none other than Russell Quirk, founder of eMoov which these days allows customers to choose between paying upfront or later.
Clearly, there’s a lot to be said for getting the money first!
The email emerged through the wonders of Twitter and was posted not by Quirk but by Times journalist James Hurley who remarked: “If you don’t pay your eMoov bill, expect the boss @eMoovCEO to drop you a rather angry line.”
We have asked Quirk if he wanted to comment.
Comments (28)
It has to suck being Ryan. Your boss can’t write for sh*t, that carny sideshow you work for just stiffed you for a bonus and somewhere Stephen Jury’s laughing his a*s off. Take a personal day dude, you earned it.
Wow Mr Quirk certainly is down on life isnt he? ‘Integrity is sadly lacking’, ‘Trust is disintegrating’ -the world according to Quirk is a miserable place. Luckily for the rest of us life goes on, our clients happily pay us for our services and we dont ever feel the need to lower ourselves to issuing threats of Karma will get you!!!
£995?? Their Fee is £679 – where’s the extra £316 come from?
IN FACT – Their CURRENT FEE is only £579… THIS is what their website states:
“£100 OFF”
“Special Offer”
“Ends Soon”
“Sign Up Today”
“Offer running for a limited time only.”
Just don’t ask when “Soon” is. Or “Limited time only”.
They don’t state an end date for this “Special Offer”.
And ASA don’t seem to give a fuppenny on the matter of “limited time offers” when you ask the question…
Just ask DFS. Their sale is older than I am.
I think you will find that THEIR permasale involves different products being offered at ‘discount’ prices to that of the previous ‘offer’.
The two are therefore unrelated.
I’m more interested – shocked, more’s like – that you have deigned to comment on a non-AM themed story, Digital Expert.
Change of tack?… or forgot which login you were signed in on?
Either way nails your colours firmly to the appropriate mast, I reckon.
Haha – why do you say that? I was making a joke, rather than looking for a barny with you! You should take it that way 🙂
You’re a ‘Digital Expert’ – people in your line you don’t ‘do’ funny!
We don’t do, we just ‘are’. 🙂
Should have been paid on exchange via the solicitors!
Any half decent sales progression should have a built in check ahead of exchange and then again ahead of completion that the solicitors have the vendor’s instruction to settle the fee from the proceeds of sale. If they haven’t then the alarm bells should start ringing.
Absolutely correct and any agent worth their salt should know if the vendor is going abroad when the sale is agreed….prepare, prepare, prepare.
or Scotland, if they move to Scotland you can’t chase them for it either.
“Quirky” indeed, but forget the thoughts you may have about emoov and the likes thereof.
You have to admit this was just seriously good reading and it certainly cheered me up considerably this Monday morning.
Well done Russell Quirk – please let me know if you are available for some freelance copywriting.
I would love to see the photo of the glum-looking team. Mind you, they probably don’t look too happy at the best of times.
Czech debt collectors…. need I say more
I wonder how much more a local agent would have achieved for the poor sellers?
So. If youre moving abroad eMove now do a third offering?
eMoov which these days allows customers to choose between paying
1. upfront or
2. later OR
3. Optional/not at all
Now thats cheaper than even the sell for £99 models
You’ve hit the nail on the head about this article/email, Robert.
He can’t really be serious….can he ?
I don’t suppose his petulant, grovel for cash was supposed to have been seen by anyone but the chap who got one over on him.
The fact the vendor then shared the email was the icing on the cake…. Czech mate!
Our Unique Money Back Guarantee
“If we don’t fulfil our service promise, we’ll sell your home for free.”
Russell Quirk, CEO & Founder
So cheap isn’t quite cheap enough for some, interesting that the fee comes in at over 1.2%
i thought this lad saved people ‘fasands of pands’ and here he is on Stephen Hayters full service agent average.
Jonnie
Why should the staff not be paid? If someone stole from Tesco the checkout staff would still get their wages at the end of the month as that’s not their responsibility is it?
When I worked at Countrywide we were not paid when a customer reneged on their obligation to pay 🙁
Emm; Quirky approach!
If you’re running a business propped up by other people’s money the very least a decent, intelligent and caring boss would do is pay people like Ryan the commission and bonus they’ve clearly earned. It isn’t Ryan’s fault the vendor took advantage of what was an ill-conceived, desperate, strategy for winning business.
Perhaps when Mr Quirk is next mouthing off about what agents do and don’t do for their commission he’ll factor in that occasionally people don’t pay.
Karma …….
Possibly the comment of the year!
A measured and superb response to a very disappointing situation.
Well done!