We Name and Shame the Guilty Parties

Elliots Estate Agents of Norwich

A quick profit but no damage compensation

Our correspondent writes ...

I put my house on the market with a company called Elliots Estate Agents of Norwich who assured me they had lots of buyers waiting for a house like mine, and offered me a ridiculously low commission fee.

The valuer traipsed around my house in high heels, put a hole in my kitchen floor, and then stepped backwards onto my encased, closed and out-of-the-way laptop. The pinpoint pressure caused the screen to stress, giving a cracked appearance.

I have been fighting Elliots ever since to get compensation to replace the computer.

Their IT man took it away and inspected it leaving me with no internet access for 48hrs. He then concluded it must have been out of its case, standing open. As if you would leave a laptop open on the floor with its screen laying flat!

I have made numerous calls to Elliots - all to no avail. They say I should claim on my house insurance, then they would pay the excess! I have no wish to lose my No Claims Bonus, and why should I!

Elliots then informed me the laptop was hidden under a rug. Strange! I don't have a single rug in my entire house!

The fact is that the valuer was the only person to enter the living-room that day and the photo in the details sheet clearly shows she took the picture from the point where the laptop was left, up against the wall in a bright purple neoprene case.

I eventually terminated my dealings with Elliots because, amongst other things, the office girls always treated me as though I was a liar.

Elliots motto is 'Expertise in every department' - well they certainly demonstrate a high degree of expertise when they try to avoid paying for any damage they caused.

I would like to make other people aware of this company.

Editorial comment:

They say you always get what you pay for so it may be that a low commission rate for selling a property means you shouldn't expect the estate agency to reimburse you for any damage they cause. But why not?

Elliots' website claims they offer 'a truly professional service' so why do they employ a clumsy valuer and then refuse to accept responsibility for the torts of their employee?

With every justification, our correspondent is absolutely right to resist any attempt by Elliots to defraud his insurance company and jeopardise his No Claims Bonus to boot. Of course, this would be an inexpensive solution for Elliots but it may be they are an inexpensive company - or cheapskates, as we might call them!

In our view, Elliots' employee did not take due care and this resulted in her damaging an expensive piece of equipment. So there is no reason to dither - they should pay for their negligence.

In this instance, it may mean they have to take a loss but so what? Estate agencies make huge sums of money (often) for doing very little work.

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