'We beat Halifax's demand for £650'

Angela Hill and John McLeod were selling their £44,950 two-bedroom flat in Grantham, Lincolnshire, to buy an £89,650 house, both, through Halifax, Grantham.

When Halifax's buyer for the flat dropped out, the couple found a new buyer themselves, introduced to them by a neighbour. According to Hill:"We told the Halifax we would resubmit our offer for the house we wanted. The man at the Halifax asked about our buyer and we told him we had found one privately."

There was no sole-selling-rights clause in the contract, so the couple were astonished, after they had moved, to receive a bill from Halifax for a selling fee of £650 plus VAT. When they ignored it, they were taken to court. Judgement was given against them and the bailiffs arrived. Although Hill insists: "The Halifax didn't do anything, it was a private buyer," the agency maintains it continued to progress the sale.

It says: "What they should have done is to inform us they no longer wanted to continue with the agreement. The couple didn't inform the branch."

Finally, after a second court hearing where the couple was helped by a Which? advisor, Halifax dropped its claim. Clearly the moral is, put everything in writing.

Which?: 020 7770 7668; www.which.net.