麻豆约拍

If a company tried to take you to court, alleging you'd broken the agreement you had with them, would you fight back? Well, Rachel went to Freystrop, just outside Haverfordwest, to meet one couple who did just that. Mike and Avril Perry have recently been locked in a battle with a local estate agents. The dispute has ended up in the courts and the Perrys wanted to share their experiences.

听

It all began five years ago when the Perrys bought a plot of land off the beaten track, about five miles from their home. The plan was to build a dream home for the family. Mike explained to us he was planning to do the majority of the work.

鈥淲hat we planned to do was to get a nice sized family home on the front there. A lovely quiet location in a beautiful spot,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were really excited, and really looking forward to it鈥� he added.

But then disaster struck when Mike broke his back while helping a friend hitch up a horsebox. Mike was hospitalised but even after the rehabilitation process it was obvious he wouldn鈥檛 be able to do the manual work required. Avril explained what they did next: 鈥淎fter that we realised there would be no way we could possibly look to build it, and Mike couldn't do it, so we thought probably the best way at this particular moment was to sell the plot鈥�. They opted to use West Wales Properties. They liked the services they were offering and how professional they seemed. The plot was put on the market for 拢125,000. They had plenty of viewings and even a couple of offers but they were just too low.

With Mike still not fully recovered, and no offers near the asking price, the situation wasn't hopeful. Then they got an offer from an unlikely source, as Mike told us. 鈥淚 had a phone call from a person I work with and he'd heard in work that we were selling the plot. I explained everything to him about where it was, what it was like, what planning permission was on it. They made an offer, it was accepted and at that point then we thought, you know, great, it was nice to find a buyer for our plot鈥�.

Mike also added that he felt obliged to let the estate agent know that they鈥檇 managed to sell the plot privately. 鈥淲e'd had a look at the contract. We had an offer from somebody who wasn't anything to do with West Wales Properties. We thought the offer would go through to a sale, so we didn't see any point in them continuing marketing the plot for us,鈥� he said.

The couple decided to terminate the contract giving 21 days notice in writing as required. As they'd sold the land privately they assumed they wouldn't then pay the commission fee - a total of almost 拢2,000. But, West Wales Properties wrote back saying, in their opinion, the terms of the agreement meant the couple were liable for the full commision fee.

The dispute dragged on. When the Perrys exchanged contracts with their private buyer three months later, West Wales Properties was still sending letters claiming they were entitled to commission. The tone of the letters worried Mike. 鈥淚t became a little bit sort of threatening then when they started referring to court action and so on,鈥� he said. But, then their fears became reality. A letter arrived stating that unless the Perrys settled immediately, West Wales Properties would take action against them, they decided to defend themselves against the small claims action.

Avril explained what their day in court entailed:

鈥淲e had Mike and myself one side of the desk and West Wales properites the other side of the desk, two representatives of the company and the judge. It was informal once we were in鈥�.

It was up to the judge to rule whether West Wales Properties had the right to refuse to cancel the Perry鈥檚 contract and keep their rights as sole sellers. After considering both sides of the argument, the judge came to his decision.

鈥淭he result was that the case was dismissed. And that we had won鈥� explained Mike.

So it seemed that the hassle and stress the couple had experienced was worth it.

West Wales Properties say that they believed the sale was agreed while the contract between themselves and the Perrys was in place. They believed that meant they were due a commission fee. They also say that as the Perrys refused to pay them the commission they had no alternative but to seek the view of the Local County Court. They added they were very disappointed with the Judge鈥檚 decision to dismiss the case.

Even though their official timescale of 21 days to lodge an appeal has expired, they say that they鈥檝e been advised they do have grounds for appeal 鈥渙n points of law鈥�. They say they originally took the view that they could not afford the time and effort to pursue an appeal, but changed their minds when they found out the Perrys intended to tell us their story. They add everything they have done has been in good faith, and they鈥檝e spent a lot time effort and money in marketing the plot over the 14 plus months, and in return they haven鈥檛 had a penny.

They say that if they win any appeal they would donate the 拢2,000 fee to a local cancer charity.