Seller refused contact by estate agent for 10 months

What happened?

Aaron chose an online estate agent to help sell his home, but struggled to access the online system or communicate with the agent whilst the marketing and sales process was underway, despite contacting the agent several times.

Aaron thought he’d have full access to the agents’ online system so that he could see an overview of the sale process, including details about the asking price. Frustration grew as he attempted to communicate with the agent, who refused to speak to Aaron.

The agent stated that their system showed only one point of contact, and Aaron was not named. The dispute continued for several months, with Aaron even providing proof of ownership. In total, he experienced ten months of being kept out of the loop, receiving no updates about the marketing or sale of his property.

The difficulty in this case was that Aaron’s ex-partner was named on the system, with the agent claiming she was the only point of contact.

What the investigation found

Investigation into the dispute showed that both owners were registered on the online system, with Aaron’s ex-partner shown as the lead contact. The agent acknowledged this and admitted the proof of ownership document had been uploaded to the system, but no further action had been taken.

The agent stated that both Aaron’s and his ex-partner’s details were available on the system, but that the staff had failed to view Aaron’s details, which were on a different tab.

Outcome

The complaint was supported by the Ombudsman, and £250 was awarded to Aaron for the shortcomings in service.