The OFT is warning consumers who sign 'sole agency' agreements with estate agents to be aware that they could end up paying twice to sell their home.

Sellers who sign a ‘sole agency’ agreement with an estate agent are liable to pay the agent their fee even if another estate agent ends up selling the property. With the growth of internet property retailers, it is critical that consumers signing such agreements understand the restrictions they place on them.
If consumers have signed a ‘sole agency’ agreement with an estate agent but sell their property through an internet property retailer who is in fact acting as an estate agent, they may end up paying two sets of fees. Consumers using only an internet property retailer, or only one high street agent, do not face this risk.

Some internet property retailers claim not to be estate agents when, in the OFT’s view, they are, and this may be important if the consumer has signed a sole agency agreement with an estate agent.  Internet property retailers who engage in estate agency work must be careful not to mislead consumers by claiming on their websites that they are not estate agents. The OFT will seriously view any claims made by an internet property retailer which mislead consumers over their potential liabilities. It would also consider enforcement action under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002 for breaches of the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and, given that contracts are being entered into at a distance, the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.