A couple were unaware that their estate agent had ceased to trade, because they were still able to view a live website.
But that was just one problem for the vendors.
The other was that they had handed over £499 upfront to put their flat on the market with Simplisold, a low cost, fixed fee agent operating in the Glasgow area.
In a curious story, the sellers only had one viewing – last November – although it seems their property had been on the market longer than that (this seems to have been a remarkably sluggish affair).
Attempts to contact the agent from December onwards resulted in nothing.
They finally found out that the agent was no longer in business when they called the number on their For Sale board that they still have outside their home and found it unobtainable.
In June, the pair apparently complained to one of the ombudsmen – but allegedly heard nothing from them either – while the owner of Simplisold, Laura Simpson, 34, has opened a letting business, Angel Lets.
She is adamant that all customers were told Simplisold was closing, and added: “A refund of fees is not possible, as they had a huge amount of marketing, almost two years, for this fee.”
You might feel there are a few morals in this tale.
And Eye is intrigued to know whether Foxtons is now doing business in Scotland.
Take a look at the report in the Scottish Daily Record:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/money/judge-estate-agent-customers-oblivious-4298779
Comments (9)
Funny one, this – according to Companies House, Simplisold Limited are still an active company. The article states "…the pair apparently complained to one of the ombudsmen – but allegedly heard nothing from them either" Simplisold ARE STILL Members of TPO. From the Simplisold (now renamed Angel Lets) Facebook page, April 15: "Big announcement for Simplisold Sales!! – we have now gone into partnership with the highly successful Hemmings Hanlon Clark as of this week for sales – all current and future Simplisold property sales clients will transfer over to the this brand immediately with more website coverage than previously.
For Lettings, I will concentrate on this solely and nothing will change for any of Simplisold/Angel Lets Tenants or Landlords, but all advertising and admin will now be under Angel Lets brand. This page will also change to Angel Lets and all enquiries can be directed via this page or to info@angellets.co.uk or 01355 377007.
Thanks for your continued support over the years and we look forward to an exciting future for the company so watch this space for ongoing property updates!
Laura Simpson
Company Director
Angel Lets Ltd
Simplisold Ltd"
Pick the meat off THOSE bones, y'all – I'm on a few days holiday! ;o)
Absolutely right HOUND
May I suggest the same aplies in lettings of course, with fees being charged to Landlords and tenants alke to cover the costs of abortive viewings
erm….she had 3 shops "Simplisold had three branches in East Kilbride, Cumbernauld and Glasgow" so the blanket the old "online" debate is patently wrong. There are lots of different models out there at the end of the day it is the customer who decides which is the better one for them.
@ric fail to see your logic in a good or bad market there is always space for new entrants to offer a new proposition, love the line "all this online nonsense" it made my day and sums up a rather prehistoric view held by some on this new fangled technology. There is plenty of space for traditional ,online and hybrid agents the strong will survive the weak will die,thats the free market.
Really Chris thats what you are going with, the old "prehistoric" agents rhetoric? As far as it goes most estate agents are also online, they just happen to believe, as do 98% of house sellers, that in order to best represent them, their choice of agent, needs to have an office or solid market presence within at least 50 miles of the property being sold. Easy are exchange and mart, nothing more.
@realagent I was making a specific comment based on a specific post ,you will note I said held by some not all. I would rather be an example of Amazon or expedia but thats just a personal preference.As I said there is room for alot of models in this space,are shops essential ,I think for a certain segment of the market for sure ,but in the digital age with internet savvy consumers and a wealth of data already freely available more and more people in our view will try something different and if it works for them it will continue to grow until it becomes part of the norm.
Just shows that *no sale no fee* gives consumers much better value where low cost agents takes their fee regardless. Even at 2% no sale wouldnt have cost the sellers a penny.
Absolutely!! How many other industries offer such a fee structure………… use us, abuse us, bleed us dry and if you don't achieve your goal …..sack us, stay put and you lose nothing…….there is a lot to be said for No Sale No Fee, try and sell your car this way…..NO SALE NO FEE in the car industry! (HEY hold on…..business idea!)……..all this online agent nonsense (or cheap fee agent) would not be mentioned in a bad market……..typical good market and lets hate the high street estate agent…….www.easycarsale.com
Absolutely!! How many other industries offer such a fee structure…………
Why might that be then Ric? We all know the longer term figures, value 3 to get 1 instruction, sell 50% of what you list. Who pays for all the abortive costs?
NSNF actually is a complete nonsense from a business viewpoint, and hardly a good deal for the consumer, where the successful seller pays for all the ‘free’ work you do!
Keep your motor trade example going for a moment, your car is in for repair, the garage call you to say you can collect it, and when they present you with the bill, they tell you that they’ve had another car in that they’ve been unable to fix, and didn’t think it fair to charge that customer, so they’ve added the labour costs for that other customer on to your bill. How would you react? Yet that’s what we expect our successful sellers to do.
Go back 40 years in this industry, and NSNF was NOT the norm, agents either charged an agreed up front marketing budget, or a withdrawal charge if the property was removed unsold.
I personally think that there will be loads of online agents closing as it's simply too crowded now, yes high street agents is a crowded place as well but they have enough profit in the sale to keep going. It's very easy to get excited with your first few sales of £400+vat and think you are making money but when the tidal wave of RM fees creeps up on you it's hard to sustain the business. There are the main onliners, my site was one of them, they will continue to remain in business but they still run the risk of RM pulling the plug on them then it's goodnight sleep tight. They will be tired by then as well as many of them are 8am – 8pm 7 days a week.
The next step will be nothing upfront then £200 when you sell, it's going to lead to many disappointed vendors and landlords, they will then return to the high street. Just my opinion.