That still the case? So it was your mother's property? Or yours? How did she become involved. What they have done seems quite illegal to me. Let alone immoral. The shoe is on the other foot now; their reputation will be tarnished and not yours anymore!
The property is mine. These are the facts that I can figure out:
1. My mum went into town to make sure everything was ok: she asked them about it. My mum loves to get involved in my business.
2. They then gave my mum the whole spiel including everything I had said, that I did not understand the wording of the management agreement (my lawyer says otherwise), etc. Complete disregard for the privacy act.
3. The also gave her a massive story about how they spent so much effort driving the tenants around to look at other properties (That is not even acting in my interest) and how even though they don't have a written agreement, they should get paid for it.
This is where it gets a bit vague:
4. They told my mum that a normal commission is $10K, but the proper amount I should pay them based on the work done is $5k. They said that if we were to pay them cash asap, they would be kind and accept $3.5k.
5. Again vague here, but my mum panicked thinking the $3.5k offer would only be on the table for a limited time and offered to pay it in order to save me $1.5k. They then drove her to the bank, she withdrew the money, back at the office she handed it over to them.
6. At some point (possibly before going to the bank) they insisted that she had to get my ok first.
7. She phoned me and spent 25 minutes telling me everything the agent had told me on Monday. And how we need to do the right thing.
8. I asked her if she had gotten a receipt. She told me that we would have to pay $5k if we wanted a receipt (her words, I can't say they told her that, but bottom line they had not given her a receipt).
9. I told my mum to tell them, that "I was talking with a lawyer, would put together a package that everybody would be happy with and get back to them" get back her money and also to never discuss this with them again.
The poor agents who drove a potential customer around to properties that were in competition with mine. $3.5k hardly covers their effort. You got to feel sorry for the agent. My mum earns $400 a month......
I don't know what to do here. They have broken so many laws it is not funny:
As a professional business they need to consider 'Unconscionable-conduct' which is: persuasion under a position of power. They don't actually have to ask directly to be guilty of that. The way my mum was talking to me they must have spent an hour telling her about how unprofessional I was, and how I owed them this money (which is plain wrong), then she offered. (My mum used the term "you are just a little boy and you don't understand these things", ahh mothers don't you love them!).
The tax laws: obvious, taking money without a receipt.
Property stock and business act 2002: under the act they are breaking the law by simply asking for money.
Privacy act: my managing agent agreement states they will follow this.
Moral ethics: regardless of what the fine details of the law say, you do not take cash off an old lady!
I don't know what to do. Assuming they gave her the money back: I still want to keep the piece for my mums sake (they really are her friends not mine) but not too much. But it is the end for me. I am unsure of my action, but they have not done themselves any favours and likely lost my generous offer. Not walking in and asking some very hard questions will be very difficult.
If they did not give the money to my mum. Then the police will be informed immediately, as will the local papers, the real estate institute of nsw and the local court... That would be a horrible situation...
Any comments or suggestions?
Cheers -alex