26th Feb 2025 (12 weeks ago)
My property was listed with Rettie for 10 months before I decided to go with another estate agent.
Within a week of my property being listed, I had an offer on the property. I accepted and instructed my lawyer to sort all of the paperwork from my end, which was done within two weeks. I also made an offer on another property at this time.
After 5 weeks of waiting the buyers withdrew from the purchase leaving me with no other option than to withdraw from the offer I had made and leaving me to foot the legal fees I'd acrud being proactive in preparing for the sale. This could have been avoided if Rettie had the buyers sign to commit to the purchase earlier but this was not done. By the time the property went back on the market, it was put back on in it's original place online, meaning it has slipped way down on any listings when searching. Over the next 10 months I had 6 viewings, 1 of which was the same person viewing twice so a total of 6 people viewed the property in total over 10 months. It took over 6 months to have a for sale sign put up.
After 10 months I was contacted out of the blue to say I hadn't paid the initial marketing costs which was an oversight on their behalf apparently. At this, I asked that we cancel the contract and we go our separate ways and was then sent a bill for Retties £510 cancellation fee. Unlike other estate agents, if you're not happy with the service you recieve, you can either lump it or cough up more than the initial marketing fee to end the contract. When I asked what this was for I was told it covered the cost of marketing (I'd already paid £485 for marketing costs), for contacting an extensive list of prospective buyers (three of the six viewers contacted Rettie about the property) so successfully arranging 3 viewings in 10 months from their list of buyers and, other expenses that would be absorbed through sales fees had the property sold.
Had my property sold in the first week as it almost did, this would have been another 5 star review. Unfortunately, when things don't go as planned, that's when you learn about an organisation's customer service and the service I have received has been terrible. To insist on me paying £510 for a discretionary fee which no other estate agent charges to end a contract when all you did was arrange 6 viewings (I done the viewings myself) and take 6 months to put up a for sale sign is disgusting. Hopefully you have a property that sells quickly with no issues, but if it doesn't, beware, this could be you next.
I'd have rated the service a 1 star, but up until recently, the staff I dealt with have been friendly and easy to deal with. Unfortunately, not all of their staff understand customer service and are more interested in taking every penny they can from you while failing to deliver the service they advertised.... Read more