Agent ad fees

Hi all,


Just received an invoice for REA costs and advertising cost is about $200 more than we agreed on also + GST. The Auction Authority form I signed has price including GST. So total advertising cost came about 15% higher than what is listed on the authority form. Are the agents just trying it on or does this happen often? Should I complain?


Cheers

 

Push back straight away. No ifs or buts.

 

You should be charged what you agreed on.

Let them know.

 

Thanks guys, good to know that I can push back on rubbish like that.

 

They’re pushing back pretty hard. Saying we agreed over the phone, which obviously never happened… don’t know what to do now.

 

It's what is in writing that counts

 

The conversation should now go: "I am sure that you must be mistaken and may have called someone else. If you still believe that this is the case, I am now going to cancel the agwncy agreement".

 

Thanks again guys. I’ve already sold the place so they deducted costs from the deposit, I can’t rip up the agreement now haha

 

or flip it to your solicitor who's handling the process for you?

 

You agreed to pay x and there wasn't any changes.

Like if I agreed to pay $10,000 for a car and when it came to pay they said that will be $10,001 I would ask them to rectify as we agreed on $10,000 not $10,001.

I have heaps of arguments over small amounts of money as I argue of principal. One time Harvey Norman charged me two delivery fees for my couch, bed and fridge when I moved to Melbourne. I queried it and they said the furniture and electronics cannot be done on the same truck which I thought was weird but I guess I have pay or not receive.

Well on delivery day only one truck came with all my items, I went to Harvey Norman that afternoon (needed a microwave) and argued with them about $50 (maybe $70 cant recall) delivery fee. The sales guy wasn't going to refund me the money but I said that I had queried you over the charge and you said it would be two and yet it came on one. He said that they were charged 2x which I asked him to produce the invoice for it which he said he wouldn't do and tried to divert attention by saying like he wouldn't pull up the Westinghouse invoice (fridge).

I explained that I am not querying what charge Westinghouse has charged you for the fridge we agreed on the price for that already and I know you made money off me on that transaction. 5-10 minutes of me arguing at the front counter in front of all the customers and I got my $50 back which I used to buy a microwave (part of).

TLDR - Both parties agreed what the marketing plan was and if they made a mistake or suppliers increased their cost well they should of got it in writing the changes otherwise the original sticks.

 

Ok so now they’re saying that the original price didn’t include brochures and that came to about $500. Who doesn’t include brochures in their original marketing estimates?

 

I would say that brochures are marketing. So unless they were explicitly excluded, it should have been included in the price.

 

How many and what sort of brochures were they? I would hope 2 page double sided in photo colour gloss.

From when I worked as a REA the price would reflect what I mentioned above;

Below is the price when I worked as a REA 2 years ago so I doubt the A4 double sided has gone up that much.

Brochures A4 Standard (2 Sided) 100 $110.00
Brochures Premium Gloss Layout 100 $500.00

Usually it would be itemized what was included (like ours was)

DETAILS COST
Premium Day time internal/external photos (10 Images)
Brochures x 100 (2 Sided)
Copywriting
Window display (Including digital screens x 3 offices)
Floorplan (Standard 35sq home)
Internet 5 sites as per below including Highlight loading for 60 days
(Includes 60 days in Highlight position) Highlight costs $(Removed) of charge)
6 x 4 Photo board
Email Newsletter Complimentary
Auction Invites to Buyer Database Complimentary
Just listed & Auction Drop Cards Complimentary

 

Unless they have specific authority in writing that you agreed to pay extra for marketing brochures, I don't think they have a case. Here is the marketing quote I got:

Internet – listing on up to 10 sites - $2,821.00
Boards - $484.00
Brochures - $125.00
Artwork - $447.00
Copywriting - $225.00
Photography - $220.00
Estimated Cost: - $4,322.00

We ended up agreeing to $3,703, which is the amount on the Exclusive Authority. The Exclusive Authority is basically a contract in writing, so any variations should be in writing too.

It's pretty wrong they are stuffing you around on marketing costs after the sale. I bet you would never deal with the agency again? Is it worth losing a customer over $500?

 

You are legally obliged to pay for only what you agreed to.

 

It’s an obvious stitch up, and I will never go back to that agency again. I don’t know if I can be arsed chasing it though as it’s the holiday season and I need to relax…

 

you don't need to chase it up, just tell to transfer the $500 as it wasn't agreed on otherwise you will need to take further action.

 

You need to document in writing to the licensee that the agency has deducted an un agreed fee of $500 of which payment is to be placed back into your account or via cheque within 5 working days.

If they are part of a franchise group, email a copy to the head franchisor advising them to follow the matter up.

The agent can only deduct fees that have agreed to in writing by both parties. What this agency is doing is a breach and can get them into hot water.

At least by doing this now you can make a decision in the New Year as to what to do if the reimbursement is not made.

 

If settlement hasn't occurred instruct your solicitor to issue instructions matching the agency agreement.

Are you going to be using this agency again?