Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Hands up if you hate Foxtons
BBC News: Estate Agency Loses Out in Court
I do. I hated them before the documentaries came out showing their illegal fly boarding and sharp practices. I hated them even more afterwards. I hate their minis. I hate their salespeople. I bought a bottle of champagne when Inside Track went bust. I will buy a case of 12 bottles if Foxtons ever go bust.
Posted by doom&gloom @ 04:04 PM (2483 views) Add Comment
18 Comments
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1. Rental John said...
Stange thing that if you google 'Poxtons' it lists articles about Foxtons articles....
Old news article but still worth a read.... www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/janice_turner/article2599506.ece
I do not hate estate agencies as such - they have a job to perform, shame that they try to screw everyone involved...time for their come-upance!
2. doom&gloom said...
I don't hate any other estate agents. Just Foxtons. I know it's probably unfair.
@RJ. Good old article. Noted the 'dealt with Foxtons a few times and they're great (don't work for Foxtons honest' comments at the end...
3. Musicben said...
I'll join you in the Champagne drinking. I would suggest a new section to the website hosting pictures of closed Estate Agents. I could offer the Keatons Kentish Town branch as a start!
4. jack c said...
Every estate agent firm I have ever come into contact with (either on a personal or professional level) have always engaged in some form of lies and deceit. No transparency and no honesty = no repect in my book.
5. dude said...
It has always amazed me how EAs can get away with charging their fees based on the value of the property -- 1.5% or whatever of the selling price.
Surely they have the same amount of work to do regardless of the size of the place. In fact you could argue they have more work for the cheaper properties because there will be more demand.
It's a pity the Tesco idea fell apart. That did seem to scare many an EA!
6. micasasucasa said...
@4. dude said...
"It's a pity the Tesco idea fell apart. That did seem to scare many an EA!"
Exactly what I was thinking. Hopefully they will jump back in when the market levels out and we can get rid of all the underhand tactics that come from dodgy EAs on commision!
7. paul said...
HA HA.
8. larry pickleman said...
dude...the way they charge is the same as the way recruitment consultants charge - that's what makes both of them twisted and deceitful models, when it's a big deal, the allure of pushing it through writes the lies without a blink!
9. mark wadsworth said...
Tee hee. When we were selling our house, I asked three estate agents round. One of them, whom I know (and to quite honest I like him on a human level) said, nudge, nudge, you'll let us sell it then.
I explained slowly and patiently - "I want to sell this house for as much as I can as quick as I can. I will lie, cheat and do whatever it takes to sell it. Whether you come into the frame or not is of no concern to me. It is every man for himself"
EA "Ah well, at least you're honest"
Me "You weren't listening, were you? I just said that I would lie and cheat. What part of that strikes you as 'honest'?"
In the event, I sold it via the EA's across the road, who did, to be fair, a top job.
10. paolo88888 said...
Years ago there was a program on at 6:30 on Radio4 where a past legal case was acted out and then the panelists had to guess the outcome. One of these was this classic problem of multiple EAs wanting their fee, and the outcome was that it is the first EA to introduce the actual buyers to the property who gets the fee. That has been my understanding ever since. I haven't heard this being debated in parliament so I think that it is bad that a court has decided to overturn everyones understanding of what happens. The seller is in a difficult position - if they pay either EA, and the other one goes to court and wins, it is going to be very difficult to get the fee back from the EA the seller has paid.
11. Doghouse said...
Haven't got a Foxtons to hate, up here in the North East....so my pet EA hate is Swiftmoves - I questioned the inflated asking price of a house on their books last summer, to which one of their snotty agents replied "Well that's what houses are worth on that street." the same house has only just SSTC, and I wonder how much of a hit the vendor took (or if some fool is actually planning to part with 10-15% more than realistic value, and that's before you factor in potential falls this year). Smiling at the same old, overvalued Swiftmoves properties on Rightmove is a sad hobby, I know....but one that keeps me warm at night!!!
12. bystander said...
Loving the fact that the ex-owner of Foxtons has just passed up on a huge amount of money to buy his not insignificant pile from Mittal's boy. Lakshmi and his son can wave at him from their new purchase and the former owner can wave large denomination bank notes from the luxury of his new Rolls-Royce Drophead coupe. Once a greedy estate agent, always a greedy estate agent
13. Nickolarge said...
I think that this is a fair ruling. Foxtons failed to secure the sale which is part of what they are charging for. It is not just an advertising fee. Either the guy from Hamptons or the seller did something that Foxtons didn't to hook the buyer. At most, Foxtons would have been entitled to the advertising costs IMO.
14. hpwatcher said...
''... I hate their salespeople....''
Once I met one, who was nice. Most are quite young and unbeliveably arrogant.
15. Still-waiting said...
It's not just estate agents. All salespeople are economical with the truth. Otherwise they wouldn't sell anything. They'd be like the useless salesman in the Dilbert cartoons, who says stuff like "Well, my product is okay, but there's one made by my competitors which lasts longer and costs less - not that it matters because this type of thing will be superseded by new technology within months".
Champagne eh? Credit crunch hasn't hit you too hard then.
16. Isabelle Silva said...
I hate foxtons. Be carful because they are only nice at the begining. After you do buisness with them they are bastards. And be carful with their contracts...
17. Disgusted said...
I hate Foxtons. We've been contacted by 5 different agents for a 3-4 month short term let, non of them return calls. They are unprofesssional, have no standards, don't attempt to solve problems, have not kept us informed, kept us in the dark about everything. They are nice in the beginning and then once you've signed the contract, they don't give a shit anymore. They are REAL BASTARDS!!! Do not use them. I hope they go bust too.
18. Mike B said...
I know how to drive Foxton's under. They have to trade and there trade is near the edge right now so you drive away their trade. Foxton's has 40 branches so you target selected branches and you convince people not to use them. You protest outside and you get people to go somewhere else. You show people the facts and drive their business away and within a few weeks Foxton's will collapse.