Are Andrew Grant - Hereford Right For You?

My elderly father was selling my grandmother's house after she was moved into a nursing home. He approached Andrew Grant being what he thought was a reputable local estate agent, avoiding the online cheaper services in the expectation he would pay more but receive a better service and achieve a higher asking price. Speaking to him a few days later he tells me the house is to be sold via AG auction house as "it's faster and cheaper as you pay no agency fees, these are paid in full by the buyer." His trust was misplaced. AG auction house is in fact an entirely separate company called I AM Sold Ltd based in Newcastle (not the local business he thought he was supporting) who charge a fee of 4.2% for their online auction. Given I moved house last year and paid a fee of 0.6% I was staggered by this extortionate fee. Obviously any buyer will see this too and, as Dad found out, factor this into the bid they make - so the bid is in fact market value less 4.2%. It is the seller who loses out and AG and I AM Sold Ltd who prosper at their expense. The referral to an auction house unnecessary as the house is in a desirable location and has been maintained to a good standard but needed updating. It would have sold on the open market...the only difference would be that your fee would have been c3.6% less. Your defence of "the fees were explained, the contract is clear" is weak and tells half the story. You explained the fee the buyer would have to pay. You did not explain the adverse effect this would have on the likely sale price and in turn the sum that would end up in Dad's back pocket. The telephone call with I AM Sold lasted a matter of minutes - no face to face lengthy discussion about such an important and costly decision, again what my Dad thought he would receive with AG. This has made my Dad feel foolish and AG have profited from his lack of commercial know-how. Greedy and aggressive practice. Shame on you at a time when you are advertising the fact that you have been awarded for being a trusted company. Be honest with your customers and act in their best interests, not your own.

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Fantastic estate agents headed up by the wonderful Julia. Bought and sold our house in Bromsgrove through them over a 10 year window. No messing, fair service all round, great communication throughout and no regrets using their services. Thank you again.

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This company in my opinion has always needed a crash course in business ethics... oh and law.

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An excellent example of good old fashioned slimy estate agents, thankfully a dying breed now. Push their 'modern auction', which is actually just a way of tripling their fees. One particular agent lied to the vendor's solicitor, saying I had pulled out of a purchase when in fact I had refused to accept their change of sale type and demand of £5000 to proceed. I asked twice on the phone what this payment was, and he pretended not to know. Claimed that the massively increased agent's fee hadn't affected his advice to the vendor. Needless to say, their completion was held up as their next buyer took much longer than we did to exchange contracts, and I bet they didn't pay as much either! Only winners were Andrew Grant. Go elsewhere if you want an honest agent.

In response to your comment, you can ask the vendor's solicitor why they told my solicitor they thought I'd pulled out, and then ask Duncan Saunders why he has failed to respond to my request for him to deny that he said this. I find it hard to see sincerity in your offer to discuss, as you have my contact details. You obviously don't intend to do anything about this, just weak public platitudes in response to a negative review.

Third Party Review - this review has not been verified by GetAgent.