Can Estate Agent withhold Potential Buyer's details?

FredBloggs said:

It transpired that she had made her offer weeks before the EA had told us, that they were in rented accomodation and that the EA had told them that we had already accepted an offer higher than theirs.

In retrospect I can also see that from day one the EA was guiding us to the purchaser. We were happy with the price we got but looking back it is plain to see how we were being used and lied to all along.

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Surely another reasonable interpretation is that the EA was just trying to maximise the offer from the potential buyer in question by bluffing them?

MrMan said:

That isn't unusual, because they have already formed a relationship of sorts with the EA so it is natural for them to use that Ea for their own house. If there were underhand dealings originally I would complain, but you would need some form of proof other than a conversation.

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It was more than a conversation - there were a number of things coming together - but I had no proof that would stand up to any legal scrutiny. Anyway by the time our suspicions were underlined by this conversation we had moved on. As i said we were happy with the sale price for the house but certainly feel like we were used by the EA.

ClubMan said:

Surely another reasonable interpretation is that the EA was just trying to maximise the offer from the potential buyer in question by bluffing them?

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Firstly theirs was the higher offer. Secondly he didn't tell us about it until the last moment. And thirdly imho he had no interest in them as they hadn't a house to sell. My view is he reckoned his commission on an extra 10-20K on our sale was worth less to him than his commission on the sale of the purchasers house.

I may be wrong on this but I doubt it.

Having sold my house a couple of years ago I'd never trust EAs.

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I may be wrong on this but I doubt it.

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These two quotes kind of sum it up for me. I'd never trust EA's (general sweeping statement), 'I could be wrong' but nonetheless I'll stick with my generalisation that they are all crooks.

It may not be the correct strategy to contact the vendor directly but I believe you are entitled to the information. He is acting as your agent. i.e. on your behalf . He is not a neutral third party. Give him 24 hours to give you the information or go elsewhere. There are plenty of them looking for business.

MrMan said:

These two quotes kind of sum it up for me. I'd never trust EA's (general sweeping statement), 'I could be wrong' but nonetheless I'll stick with my generalisation that they are all crooks.

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Why are you so defensive about estate agents? I never said they are all crooks or indeed called any one of them a crook. You are putting words in my mouth.

The fact that I'd never trust EAs is not a sweeping statement it is a statement of fact. There was too much that went on that I was not made aware of with this particular sale. My biggest problem when you employ an EA who is supposedly working for you and you then find out hes working for the purchaser you begin to wonder who they were working for all along.

I said I could be wrong because I don't have cast iron proof but I doubt it because all the circumstantial evidence indicates I'm right.

And I know EAs are fine upstanding memebers of the community. You just have to read what the Property Editor of the I Times said recently to see how true that is.