Complaints from other RTA clients
OTHER RECORDED COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CLAIMANT
GRAHAM SHORT SAID:
I have had my property on the market with them since december 2007, have only had contact with them once since then and that was because i rang them for a update in febuary 2008. no one has ever been to look around or make any offer even though i was told there had been 47 responses it is now mid june and i have had no contact from them since then.is it that they just like collecting 750 for nothing knowing that they will cash in later?
June 15, 2008 9:26 PM
JAMES COULSBY SAID:
been on with rta now for 3 years and they have contacted me once! and only sent me one viewing!. i found that i am not even being advertised on the internet! When i confronted them about my concerns they asked me for £500 to come off the market! i am now looking at other agents and hopefully i will be sold soon! if you are thinking of going on with rta then dont!
July 30, 2008 2:33 PM
PAMELA CRAVEN SAID:
i am on with rta, and against my better judgement i chose to use them above other agents because they valued me at a higher price. after several price reductions i am now regretting it!! i feel conned and now to make matters worse i have found that i also have a £500 withdrawal fee despite paying £1,000 upfront. i wish i had realised that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is.
August 1, 2008 4:57 PM
J LAM SAID:
I was with RTA for 3 years and they also contacted me only once, now they want a £500 termination fee for not being able to sell my business, BEWARE DON’T JOIN RTA!
August 6, 2008 10:20 AM
KEVIN AND SUE JONES SAID:
We have had our property on the market with RTA for just over 2 years and in that time only had 2 people view.
They also want £500 from us for a withdrawal fee.
When we wrote to them asking them to justify this ammount we recieved an aggressive extremely rude and unproffesional response from P O Reilly.
We would strongly advise anybody thinking of signing up with RTA NOT to!!!
August 11, 2008 10:27 PM
EDDY AND JAYNE SAID:
our business is on the market with rta- europe, same company as rta uk, paid an up front fee. had no viewings, staff dont seem to know what they are doing. major lack of commnication. be advised do not use rta. we are very dissatisfied customers. one of there reps said we hadnt paid our upfront fee so thats why they hadnt bothered, when we produced our invoice and receipt they looked sheepish as they had no record of it!!! professional guys this lot! do your homework before using them.
August 19, 2008 6:16 PM
MRS K WHETTON SAID:
I have read with interest everybody elses experience with this company and i have had a sightly different but also bad experience.
I was told when i signed up with RTA that because they were so confident that they could sell my business they would not charge me an upfront fee. I have recently found out however that i now have to pay to withdraw after i was assured it was no sale no fee.
September 26, 2008 11:40 AM
M. ALI SAID:
I was with RTA from Feb 2006, We accepted a offer in June 2006 but it didn’t materialised, so in Nov 2007 I wrote to them to stop marketing my business, but did not had any response. In July 2008 I received a call from RTA that some one wants to view my business (strange) but as expected nothing came out of it I wrote to them again in Sep 2008 requesting them to stop marketing my business and today I have received a letter from them asking for £500.00 termination fee.
Is that legal? Is there any way out of it?
September 30, 2008 2:38 PM
JOANNE GREENSLADE SAID:
I too have had trouble with rta , paid over £1000 and nothing useful, i rang them for updates, never rang me , stroppy staff, , no viewers and took it off businesses for sale .com as didnt think it worked , so whose gonna see it ???rubbish marketing , i also paid £587 to remove it from them!!!, waste of money , DONT GO WITH THEM .
January 16, 2009 1:58 PM
MR MOSELEY SAID:
paid 4500k to put my pub and club up for sale in feb 08 have had no contact from them exept when i rang them to ask how things were going .the rep told me it would sell quick .since then i dropped the price myself by telephoning them ,still no viewers or calls or contact to date feb 09
March 1, 2009 1:37 PM
ANONYMOUS SAID:
RTA are really bad, if fact so bad that when I got an offer from them (for the 4th time) to sell my business. I booked an appointment with them and they didn’t even check I was already on their books. The guy arrived and I had him hook line and sinker. He even said there was no end fee to come off their books after a year. I taped our conversation. They came over as most efficient –NOT – I spent £2000 with them and received one buyer at £130,000 less than I had it up for and then I would bet it was ficticious as when given the guy’s number I could never contact him. I haven’t communicated with them for ages. I better watch out though cos this withdrawal fee was very well hidden in the original contract. I presume most of their work is checking up on people who might have sold their property themselves in order for RTA to make a crooked killing. I have experienced everything that other people have over a 2.5 year period.Stay well clear they are a joke.
May 22, 2009 11:38 PM
GILL DRAPER SAID:
I have been to court with rta on the 28th of October and have won. If you need any help email me, meanwhile here is a summary of my case.
Me and my partner own a pub in Cambridgeshire. On the 23rd of November 2006 we asked for a rep from rta to come to see us, we had flown in from Spain as the people renting the pub wanted to come out so we decided to sell it.The salesman arrived and the first thing he said was I need an upfront fee. We said we can’t give you anything so he said he would up the withdrawal to £6000 + vat. We did ask him what this involved and he said as long as you do a year you don,t pay the withdrawel fee. The money is just to cover there costs.I myself initialed the changes on the contract but my partner didn,t. I think this is why they only took me to court. They valued our pub at £470,000 which we thought was excessive it is wet sales only it has a three bedroom apartment upstairs and a beer garden and car park.We reckon it was £100,000 to much, we had one viewing in the twelve months and they had to get our number from Bt because rta didn,t send them any details so they stopped asking and got the number themselves. After that we had no more phone calls so in October 2007 we sent a registered letter informing them that as from the 23rd of November we no longer required them to advertise our property. They sent us a letter asking for £6000 + vat about a month later which we ignored because the rep told us if you do twelve months you don,t pay. They then sent us another saying they had passed our debt onto a debt collector who sent us a letter asking for £7400, which we ignored. In January 2008 rta rang us and said they had a Mr Johnson who wanted to look round the pub. I told them that he couldn,t because we were no longer on there books, the girl told me yes you are as you havent paid the withdrawel fee. I told her I wasn,t paying because of what the rep said and she said she would contact there legal department, so I said carry on. We then received about a month later a bill for £20,000 + vat, because we had stopped them earning there commision. When I was back in England I contacted our solicitor who said he had to read the contract four times before he understood it and that we shouldn,t have signed it. Then rta decided to take us to court in the small claims which is no more than £5000. The first hearing had to be adjourned in front of Judge Farquot because our solicitor forgot to tell us we had to be there and we were in Spain. Rta tried to claim £1000 expenses which the judge said was excessive and awarded them £200.
We went back to court the 16th of September in front of judge Dak at Huntingdon county court, when we won using the 1999 consumer protection act as a defence. They appealed and on the 28th of October we went Peterborough county court in front of judge De Mille,we won and were only awarded £80 costs for one flight for me from Spain. I have now received the letter with the cheque from them and have framed it. We have suffered for three years with this and now its time for other people to use our defence and make them pay. I will do everything I can to help other people to take them to court,
November 20, 2009 9:51 AM
Hill & Dale outdoor clothing, Halifax
Time with RTA: Two years three months.
Number of viewings by potential buyers: Two.
Owner Andrew Brennand says: “Wish I’d never bothered. I want my £785 back.”
Bridesmaids and Butterflies, Manchester
Time with RTA: Five months.
Viewings: None.
Johanna Browne: “I paid around £500. It’s hard to tell if it’s them or if there’s just no one who’s interested.”
Lizard Engineering, Helston, Cornwall
Time with RTA: Six months.
Viewings: None.
Nigel Pryor: “They came here, took more than a grand off me and I’ve heard nothing more.”
Cross Keys pub, Pocklington, York
Time with RTA: Nine months.
Viewings: None.
Steve Vaughan: “I paid around £800. Just after I wrote to cancel the contract they said they had four interested buyers but none turned up.”
Poachers Pets & Aquatics, Warrington, Cheshire
Time with RTA: 19 months.
Viewings: None.
Sandra Ormsom: “I can’t remember the fee but when I tried to take the business off the market they threatened to charge me £500, so I’ve just left it with them.”
T Miles bookseller, London
Time with RTA: Two years.
Viewings: Six.
Brian Cross: “I paid £600 plus VAT. None of the viewings resulted in any offers.”
Executive Choice Windows, Crewe
Time with RTA: Six months.
Viewings: None.
Adrian Jardine: “They didn’t even say in ads that three years of the lease are already paid. I feel like I’ve paid around £900 for rubbish.”
Capital Kitchens & Bathrooms, Grantham, Lincs
Time with RTA: One year.
Viewings: None.
Bob Duncan: “The contract ended six months ago so I don’t know why they’re still listing us. I paid £400 plus VAT.”
Blackpool Ladder Centre
Time with RTA: One year.
Viewings: None.
Steve Turner: “I’m very angry, I hear nothing from them.”
Bown Roofing, Birmingham
Time with RTA: Eight to 10 years.
Viewings: None.
Colin Bown: “I’ve given up on the £1,500 or so I paid. Once they called to say a buyer was interested, but didn’t even book an appointment.”The ads didn’t even say the lease was paid for three years
CATHERINE SAID:
I have had the same trouble with RTA, tricked into signing papers not given time to read now they want £2,385.00 and are taking me to court. Called them next day after they visited and they refuse to cancel. Have to wait the outcome of the court case – anyone want to come along????
March 7, 2009 10:57 PM
DAVID VANDOME SAID:
RTA has also had me. They don’t seem to have advertised my business anywhere except on their very inaccessible web site. I have been with them for nearly three years and they have never been in touch or arranged a single viewing. I looked at the small print in the contract and noticed a termination fee clause. The salesman assured me that the fee would only be requested if I cancelled by instructions in the first year. Sadly I am told that I must now pay £500 to terminate our agreement. All the staff at RTA are very polite, well spoken and obviously very intelligent. What a shame that they don’t use their talents to better effect.
March 8, 2009 9:42 PM
DAVID SAID:
There is for sure something urgent that needs to be addressed about the misrepresentative business practices of RTA and the true destination of the upfront so-called “advertising” fees -I am a lawyer and find the paperwork not easy to intepret so how on earth is the ordinary “man in the street” expected to understand the same ,especially when little or no time is given to the customer.Would love to know how many actual sales are generated by this company in proportion to legal actions for recovery of fees ???!!! I encourage anyone to defend themselves vigourously if they feel that they have been misled/mistreated.
March 16, 2009 9:27 PM
DAVID VANDOME SAID:
Since posting my dissatisfaction with RTA on your blog, Mr O’Reily from RTA has written to me threatening legal action unless I remove the posting. He says that RTA has invested well over £500 advertising my business and that my statement is totally inaccurate. I have asked on several occasions for details of their advertising campaign in relation to my business but to date they have not come back to me with actual dates on which they have advertised. I am unable to prove that they have not advertised my business so I would like the posting removed. Mr O’Reily also argues that their site is very accessible. When I said their site was inaccessible what I meant was the details of the businesses for sale was not readily available. In order to obtain business details from their site, it is necessary to register and accept their terms and conditions.
March 19, 2009 6:04 PM
DAVID VANDOME SAID:
I have been with RTA now for nearly three years. I have had no viewing, no updates. The two times they have contacted me is when they were trying to sign me up, despite the fact that I was already on their books. I now dread the mail in the mornings, for fear it is court papers suing me because RTA could not sell my business. When RTA valued my business at £75,000 more than I thought it was worth, I thought by now that I would be “living the life of O’Reilly”, not being threatened by him.
April 16, 2009 7:57 PM
PHILIP SMISSON SAID:
I’m so angry with RTA. I am in the same boat as many others having had my business massively over valued, the contract mis-sold to me with regard to cancellation fees and a complete lack of clarity when asked what the upfront fee was used for. I’m very interested in what David (above) said regarding challenging the validity of the contract but have no idea how to begin other than taking expensive legal advice. Perhaps a group of dissatisfied RTA customers could get together and challenge this absurd company.
May 14, 2009 7:03 PM
MR & MRS LAWRENCE SAID:
We asked RTA to sell our business a seaside cafe in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth in July 2006. We paid £500.00 plus Vat for the service they offered.
The rep said if we changed our minds and wanted to take it off the market we just needed to let them know in writing no problem! A month or two later we had 2 different parties who were sent by RTA to veiw our business who did not seem the slightest bit interested in our business. In fact one of them a man who came on his own didnt even want to look around he said he wasnt really interested in buying our business he just came for a day out! We decided to cancel our agreement and in December 2006 we wrote to RTA. No Reply. We wrote again No reply. We wrote a third time recorded delivery!
We recieved a cacelation invoice for £500.00 + Vat.
We were absolutly Shocked we could’nt even find our business on their web site and we have never seen it advertised anywhere. Not once has RTA ever contacted us as far as progress reporting is concerned, no updates nothing only demands for money if we cancel or telephone calls asking us if we want to sell our business. Well its now May 2009 we decided to keep our business we have now bought the business next door and have doubled the size of our business. Its now worth three times what they are advertising it for. We just want them to F*** *** and leave us alone to get on with OUR business Businesses like RTA need to be investigated to find out how much money they have obtained through their false claims. We feel conned and we would like our initial £500.00 +Vat back. Do you think they have actually sold a property since being in business or do they rely on Mugs like us who fall for their B** **** to line their pockets? RTA you should be ashamed of yourselves!
May 21, 2009 7:45 PM
MICHAEL TAYLOR SAID:
One visitor and 5 phone calls in 2 years. Cannot get out of the contract unless I pay £600. Already paid them £2,000. Would you believe they rang me asking if I wanted to sell for the 3rd time. In the end I let them come and see me without telling them I was already on their books. Very nice guy and mentioned nothing about paying to get out of the contract. Taped our conversation makes very interesting listening if you guys want it. When I asked, he said all we need is a letter after a year and we can part company. No way does that happen. I reckon they just concentrate on the people who have left them and then proceed to sue them if the go elsewhere.
If fact I have just had a call 30 minutes ago which prompted me to write here again They are asking me if I want to sell, so I’m about to set up another meeting with them when they ring back.
I see there may be one or two satisfied customers but in all honesty there dealings are not honourable.
June 15, 2009 5:19 PM
MR BASRA SAID:
Hi all very interesting reading I have been taken to court by RTA for the withdrawal fee after being with them for over 3 years I have had probably 5 viewings all of them being a complete waste of time I was told that I must keep with them for at least a year after paying the fee the agent a mr P Croft came across so niice but turned out a liar an dissapeared anyway they sent court letters to my old address even though they had been communicating with me at my new address they even got a county court judgement in my name but a different address. I could of left it at that but they sent bailiifs to that address where an old man lived trying to take his TV !!
I couldnt have that so I have had the judgement set aside and im going to fight them in court I am just waiting for the new court date !
Any advice please for me they want £650
How can I win this apart from being honest I am 100 percent sure the judge cant allow this company to rip off innocent hard working business people especially when we are the ones who have given RTA the full oppurtnity to sell our business
3 years !! what do they need the whole decade !!
Mr Basra
July 6, 2009 11:42 PM
JOHN VARNEY SAID:
Prompted by your investigation I have looked more closely at the contract I signed with RTA. I see there are many onerous conditions that I should have challenged. One cannot apparently escape the unreasonable £500 for cancelling the contract for any reason.
I would say I was victim of a smooth salesman who went off with £1500 and a contract he had not cautioned me on. Although we had another agent, we may find that we are liable for two lots of fees.
I have written to RTA and we will see how things turn out.
October 15, 2009 2:24 PM
TINA PAPWORTH SAID:
Hello, I signed up with them in Nov 2008. Sales man very nice and I assumed it was like any other agents agreement.
Nearly a year later I wanted to terminate the agreement as I realised they did not advertise, did not send one potential buyer and after paying £700 plus VAT I never heard from them and always had great difficulty getting in touch with them. I even pretended to be a 3rd party interested in buying my own business and they said it was not available!
I read this blog and then tried to cancel my agreement with them. I wrote an email saying as a single mum of 2 and about to have my family home repossessed and go bancrupt I needed to sell quickly and had to take the property to auction. I wanted to be released from the contract because they did not fulfil their agreement as the sales man mentioned ‘national advertising’.
They said no.
After a year I found a private buyer and sold the business in Dec 2009 13 months after siging their agreement and not having heard from them once except to not release me from the contract.
I also assumed that after a year I was released of the agreement but got a letter £17’000 from me or they will take me to court!!!
Their contract may be water tight but I am going to attempt to take them to court and ‘out’ them as small business con men.
It is outragious that they target such people or anyone at all. It is simple to do the job they say they will rather than ‘steel’ our money with indimidation and threats of legal action. I am hoping a judge will see them for what they are and finally do something to stop this.
If anyone would like to HELP me please do!!
Sorry for ranting but its simply so unfair.
February 12, 2010 9:39 PM
MRS WARRIOR SAID:
I have only just cancelled my cheque of £100 as I felt pressurized by the RTA agent and then discovered all the bad publicity linked to them. Today I had a phone call from the agent telling me I would be sued personally and continued to speak to me in a harassing way. I remained polite but was left feeling threatened & victimized. I now have to wait and see what they actually do decide to do.
April 16, 2010 6:36 PM
Paramjit Kooner has had just three viewings for his off-licence in Birmingham since 2004, yet RTA is now demanding £11,900 because Paramjit has ended the contract.
Tim Cuffling used RTA to try to sell his B&B in Bourne, Lincs. “In that year we received no feedback, no prospective buyers and they even called us twice to ask if we were interested in selling our business,” he said. “Unbelievably, they are now demanding £500 plus VAT to terminate our agreement.”
Suzan Arnavut, whose family dry cleaners went on the market with RTA back in 2005 after a visit from one of its sales reps. “After this visit we did not hear from RTA in three years and one month,” said Suzan. “Then we got a phone call from them asking if we still have the business, and we said we’d sold it. “Not long after this we received a payment request for £3,625.”
Paul Hill, who paid RTA £587 to sell his cafe-bar in Falmouth, Cornwall. Within days of signing the deal, Paul had second thoughts but was told that the contract was “final and irreversible” unless he paid a £1,000 cancellation fee. So he stuck with RTA for a year. As the anniversary of the contract approached he rang again to say he wanted out. But because he didn’t cancel by recorded delivery letter, RTA sued when he put his cafe on the market with a different firm.
JOHN BARKER SAID:
I have just found out from the court that RTA withdrew the court action on the 19th Nov, they never told me. The date is 2 weeks after I sent them a copy of my defence and a week after their Andrew Downey rang me asking for a settlement as he was so confident they would win. He offered to save me money as the court were going to award them £4000, I replied that I had a better money saving idea as I wasn’t going to pay them anything, hope you`re reading this Andrew, turns out I was right! (conversation recorded)
My defence was
1 Poor service under Consumer Protection Act quoting Gill Drapers case
2 Salesman lied – had witness
3 Contract Unclear, Misleading and Unfair
At court I would have used the later evidence of the proof of their salesman lying from this site
This is the second case they have withdrawn against me. Hindsight suggests they`re just playing numbers games – sent out 10 summons, 8 people pay.
Dont give in to this bluff, get a defence together, put up a fight, don’t be intimidated by these tactics
January 27, 2010 10:21 PM
EBS MUM SAID:
19/08/2005 – Agreement signed
12/01/2010 – Letter received from them after almost 5 years saying that it was no longer viable for them to market my business so they were withdrawing and asking for £1000 plus VAT
14/01/2010 – I wrote saying that they were not currently marketing, hadn’t actively marketed since 2008, so were not acting as sales agents so had already withdrawn without notice so the agreement no longet stood
02/02/2010 – Letter from them saying they had just tried to arrange an appointment for a buyer to view (what? after 5 years? and after doing no marketing for a year? business not on your website and your staff don’t tell you it’s on the market when you ring posing as a buyer? and you rang the business rather than my mobile as you’d been instructed? i think not!) so they had increased the bill to £4k plus VAT.
Time on market : 4 years and 6 months
Number of viewings : NONE
Number of times contacted by RTA : NONE
February 3, 2010 2:59 PM
JC SAID:
again i am a victim put my business with rta some 5 years ago a 6 month contract was signed no contact from them so i put it on the market with another agent last thursday got a phone call from rta hi there havent heard from you for some time do you still want to have your business on our books if not you will have to pay a cancellation fee i replied put it in writing this morning i received by recoded delivery a letter saying that they will not market my business any longer and that they were giving me 28 days notice of termination of contract and i had to pay them £500 plus vat for this within 28 days how can people like this get away with this can anyone advise me of what i can do please
June 30, 2009 11:43 AM
KEN BRYAN SAID:
Hi JC it would usefull to have a chat ive just had a judgment overturnd (set aside )and im going back to court with them soon same thing as you but they wont £26000 from me they say i never cancelled but i did some four years ago no contact since then a bill in march this year how can they say it was never cancelled when no contact in four years its going to take some explaining i think
July 4, 2009 8:54 AM
XAVIER PATTERSON SAID:
I have a client who was asked to sign an RTA contract to be held by the rep so that if he decided to proceed he would not have to revisit the premises. The client determined not to proceed and telephoned RTA the next day. They initially claimed over £5,000 and have now issued proceedings fo a little over £1,000.
Has anyone had a similar experience and does anyone know of any Trading Standards authorities who have taken an interest in RTA ?
As an aside they have been bullying, obtuse and insulting throughout.
August 14, 2009 3:10 PM
T.TIMEN SAID:
my husbend signed a six month contract with RTA in september 2008 they took £1000 never heard from them again .we soild the business for less the half what they said in JUNE 2009 .got a phone call in mid July asking if we had sold the business my husbend said yes got a letter wanting £4995 for breaking the contract .I have phoned trading standrds they will not get involved.
Has anyone got out of this without going to court or paying them.
September 9, 2009 3:00 PM
JOHN BARKER SAID:
Yes I am another victim. I had two business`s for sale with RTA, salesman says there`s a withdrawal fee if I cancel within six months, seemed fair- signed- BIG MISTAKE.
Reality – no buyers and stuck in never ending contract.
What it actually says is
1) if we sell you pay commission (no problem there)
2) 2) if you sell/withdraw/close down etc you pay the withdrawal fee – this lasts forever
The second you sign that contract you will be owing them eventually, unless you stay for sale and unsold forever
Even worse -you withdraw and say I`m not paying withdrawal fee and original contract stays in force.
RTA took me to court for the first business and withdrew their case a week before the hearing. Wether it was the amount (£2000 sale £500 withdraw) or other reasons I do not know.
Is it all bluff or has anyone knowledge of them winning a case ?
I have now received a summons for the second business (£3000/£1000) and am about to go to court with the defence of
a)a witness to testify that I was told it was 6 month withdrawal
b)the contract is unclear and unfair.
c)poor performance/results
I have spoken to Trading Standards and they say they will not get involved in contract terms between one business and another
October 29, 2009 2:19 PM
T.DENNY SAID:
I also have fallen foul of r.t.a. I was going to put my Hotel on the market with
them the rep called and wanted £1500.00 to market my Hotel this was 6pm I said I would think about it and discuss with my wife.
He asked me to signe the papers and give him a post dated cheque as he would not be in the area for a while, that way I could feel safe and if I decided not to go ahead I could phone and the cheque would be returned
I phoned them the next day and stated I did not want to proceed, they stated I had no choice and would have to pay so I stoped the cheque and was then bonbarded with rude and threataning phone calls I put it in the hands of my Soliciters it all stoped.
A year later the phone calls have started again demanding money from a with held no to my moblie. t.denny
January 15, 2010 3:36 PM
