10th
Jun 2015
The stock listed Foxtons estate agents is in danger of receiving legal bills that could add up to a massive £42 million.....after charging a landlord £616 (inc vat) to fix a light.
Dr Chris Townley decided to appoint Foxtons to manage his property but was staggered when he was handed a bill for £550 plus vat - £616, for such a relatively simple repair in 2013.
Townley however demanded a refund from the agents as he felt that the work was substandard, eventually they very reluctantly gave him the contact details of their maintenance contractor. The contractor refused to refund Dr Townley and told him they had charged the agents £412.50.
Unsurprisingly Townley went straight back to Foxtons and they admitted that they had added a 33% commission , as well as an extra 10 % management charge just because the invoice was above £500. The final "over charge" to the landlord came to £203.
Dr.Townley engaged Leigh Day Solicitors who sent the agency a claims letter stating that details of the commissions was not included in the landlord's contract.
The solicitors have said that the agents could expect to receive thousands of claims from their landlords as they are in the wrong by not declaring a conflict in interests as they receive commissions from both landlords and their contractors; this could cost them tens of millions in legal fees.
Dr Townley said: "When I first heard there was a commission I was not happy, but thought it may be 2 or 3 per cent. When I found out the real amount I thought it was shocking."
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