Easy Key

Keepmoat Easy Key was described as the ideal, stress free way of selling my home and getting the best price for it. The Keepmoat Sales Executive, Mandy Merrin lauded in how she would arrange for three independent valuations of my property and she would keep in regular contact with the chosen estate agent to ensure they were doing the utmost to ensure that my property was sold. Keepmoat would cover all the estate agent fees and pay for an EPC survey. After all, it was in Keepmoat’s best interest that my property was sold quickly to enable me to purchase their new build.

The Keepmoat website says;

Easy Key: Helping you sell up and buy new in a matter of days
Have a home to sell?

  • We arrange for estate agents to value your property
  • We handle all negotiations of your sale
  • Your estate agent’s fees paid in full
  • Your advertising fees paid in full
  • We’ll recommend reputable solicitors and mortgage advisors
  • We’ll provide friendly support every step of the way

Discover a stress-free move when you buy with us.
http://www.keepmoat.com/offers/easy-key

It sounds great, however in my experience it’s all cobblers. Keepmoat have failed to deliver on all but one of these promises.

From agreeing to use Easy Key to sell my property it took three weeks before the property was listed on any website. Even then, I only managed to get it listed by paying £318 out of my own pocket. Left to Keepmoat, my property might never have been marketed at all.

Initially, I believed Your Move, the estate agent, to be causing the issue, but as the scenario played out it was clear that Mandy’s misinformation was the root of the problem.

I informed Mandy that I would be using the Easy Key service on or around 24th May 2013. Here is the email chain, I haven’t edited the responses except to remove personal information and names of people who appear in the emails but are not part of the issue.

Mandy’s grasp of grammar, punctuation and general sentence structure really is that bad. Having been responsible for writing correspondence for a blue-chip company in the past, I would have been ashamed and seriously reprimanded if any email responses had gone out to a prospective client spending six figure sums in such a non-professional manner.

Sent 31/05/2013 11:21am
Hi Mandy,

 Just to keep you updated.

YourMove are coming to value the house on Monday. I’ll let you know what they come back with.

I seem to recall that you said you had it valued by 2 or 3 agents. Will they contact me directly also? I just need to try and shuffle work around their visits and the more notice I have the better.

Regards, Mike.

 

Sent 01/06/2013 16:43
Hi Mike

No just Your Move at the moment still in negotiations with Blundells so we will see what they say when they do the valuation

Mandy

Mandy Merrin
Home Sales Executive

Mike from Your Move came and valued my property and discussed an enhanced marketing package. He indicated that usually the developer is happy to cover the costs of this if I went ahead with it, As Keepmoat were keen for me to sell quickly, I called Mandy and discussed, she said that Keepmoat would cover the costs and I agreed with Your Move to take the enhanced marketing option.

Sent 07/06/2013 19:09
Hi Mandy,

Your Move have been and taken photos today.

They have asked me to pay for the enhanced package I spoke to you about up front (£225 + vat). Is this something I pay myself and that you refund me or should I ask Your Move to invoice you directly?

Mike from Your Move has indicated that you usually ask me to pay directly and then you refund the fee. Can I please clarify this?

Thanks.

Regards, Mike.

 

Sent 08/06/2013 12:32
Hi Mike

That’s great no you don’t pay anything Keepmoat pay this he has to liaise with my line manager no we have never done it this way not on my sites anyway he needs to speak to Suzanne Gagen regarding the invoice like they did at the Hillsborough branch I tried to get hold of him the other day and left a message but he never got back to me

Regards

Mandy

Mandy Merrin
Home Sales Executive

I forwarded Mandy’s response on to Mike at Your Move to keep everyone in the loop.

Sent 08/06/2013 13:21
Hi Mike,

I enquired with Mandy from Keepmoat regarding the fees. She has advised that you usually invoice them directly and has provided relevant contacts.

I have attached Mandy from Keepmoat’s response below.

Regards,

Mike Simmons.

cc. Mandy Merrin

Mike from Your Move responds

Hi mike,

i’m certain the neighbours of yours did it that way. i will sort with keepmoat.

Regards

Mike Reynolds | Valuation Manager | Your Move
5 Market Street, Chapeltown, Sheffield, S35 2UW
Tel 0114 2570696 Fax 0114 2571411
MULTI-AWARD WINNING UK ESTATE AGENCY

After giving the go ahead to Your Move on 3rd June and the property not being listed yet, I make a quick enquiry to Mandy. I’m not totally familiar with the processes of buying and selling a house, so I’m really just after some guidance.

Sent 12/06/2013 16:24
Hi Mandy,

Is it normal to take this amount of time to get a house to market? It’s not yet on the websites. I’ve sent Mike an email which will hopefully give him a prompt, but if it is taking longer than should be expected is it worth you giving him a nudge also?

 Regards, Mike.

 

Sent 15/06/2013 11:03
Hi Mike

Only just got on line I have no phone connection either at the moment I haven’t been able to get in touch with him I will send an email and see if I get a response it is chaotic at the moment here as we are due to open this weekend

Regards

Mandy

In my absence, my Wife, Ayshea sent the following email in response. The property is still not being marketed.

Sent 15/06/2013 12:03
Hi Mandy,

Mike from Your Move has told it needs to be sorted by Monday at the latest. I got the impression when speaking to him that if it wasn’t sorted by then it’s a case of it’s not going to be marketed.

I’m not very happy with “Easykey” so far, to be completely honest I haven’t found it easy it all.

Mike told us it really needed to be sold within the first month. We were told that out house would be on the market by the 7th, then we were told by Mon/Tues this week and it still not on. The clock is ticking and I’m getting worried that we won’t be able to sell the house in time. We are having to chase them (I got the impression Keepmoat would be chasing the estate agents) and we seem to be getting nowhere.

As you can tell we really want the plot we have chosen. We have done everything we can do to get increase our chances of getting a quick sale. We have re-decorated the kitchen and hallway. Changed the back bedroom back into a bedroom (was being used as an office) including putting down a new carpet. We are getting highways permission for a dropped kerb. We have advertised our house on Facebook, Gumtree, and Sheffield Forum so far. Along with the usual cleaning, tidying, and de-cluttering.

So far the work done seems very one-sided.

Ayshea.

 

Sent 16/06/2013 11:04
Hi Mike

Have they not got this on the market yet? We market it what I told you I have been really busy and have others to deal with too I will again chase him as this should have been on the market by now! We don’t normally use their branch but they like to market it because they market that area but I am not happy about this ideally yes we need to sell as soon as possible but they should have had it on by now

Mandy

Getting increasingly frustrated, I give Mandy a call. She advises me that I am supposed to pay for the EPC survey and reclaim the fee from Keepmoat upon completion of the house sale. She is sure that it is this that is holding everything up. It’s taken her over 2 weeks to come up with this little gem. I email Mike at Your Move passing the information on and asking him to bill me for the EPC survey.

Sent 16/06/2013 18:08
Hi Mike,

After speaking with Mandy, I understand that I need to cover the cost of the EPC and the rest is invoiced to Keepmoat.

I assume that Keepmoat will be liable for £225 + VAT and I will cover the additional £40 + VAT.

Please contact me as soon as possible to arrange payment and get the property advertising live.

Regards,
Mike Simmons.

CC Mandy Merrin

Mike from Your Move responds. At last, it seems I am getting somewhere.

Sent 17/06/2013 09:31
Hi Mike,

thanks for your email.

this is my understanding of how it works (as i mentioned with your neighbours at No25), this is why it confused me that they told you they would not cover this off. We certainly do not invoice for the marketing packs though. I am looking to get a definative answer today for you as i finish today til the 27th.

Best regards

Mike

Mike Reynolds | Valuation Manager | Your Move
5 Market Street, Chapeltown, Sheffield, S35 2UW
Tel 0114 2570696 Fax 0114 2571411
MULTI-AWARD WINNING UK ESTATE AGENCY

 

Sent 17/06/2013 11:30
Thanks Mike.

Keep me updated. If you need to speak with me for any reason to speed up the process, I’m on 07790xxxxxx.

Regards,

Mike Simmons.

 

I emailed Mandy again to update her. At this point I am under the impression that Your Move are the ones holding everything up and the comments below are unfair to them to say the least. But in the spirit of openness and honesty, I have pasted the email verbatim.

 

Sent  18/06/2013 07:40
Hi Mandy,

Mike from Your Move called me yesterday and said he had been having problems getting hold of the contact that you had provided and that his calls weren’t being returned.

To try and get things moving, I asked for the property to be listed under a basic package and that I would pay for the EPC. With this I was told that the property would be live on the website by last night.

Surprise surprise, this morning it’s still not listed.

I’ll be calling their office again this morning when it opens, but in the meantime can you let me know when you can get another estate agent on the case as I’m getting to the stage where I just want to drop this comedy outfit altogether.

Regards, Mike.

I received a call from Your Move accounts asking me to pay for the enhanced listing. It is apparent at this point that Keepmoat haven’t paid it. I advise the team that Keepmoat have agreed to cover it. This is in turn passed on to Sophie at the estate agent’s local office and she gives me a call. I advise her that I will forward Mandy’s email to her where she has agreed that Keepmoat will honour the fee.

 

Sent 19/06/2013 11:21
Hi Sophie,

I’ve had a call from your contact centre regarding payment for the enhanced listing.

Keepmoat have advised that they will pay the fee and Mike was arranging this. I have attached an email (below) from Mandy Merrin at Keepmoat who has confirmed that the process is to speak with Suzanne Gagen, also of Keepmoat.

Mandy can be contacted on 0114 2453026 if further clarification is required.

Regards,
Mike Simmons.
________________________________________
From: Mandy.Merrin@keepmoat.com
To: m____________@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: RE: Your Move Valuation
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2013 11:31:55 +0000

Hi Mike
That’s great no you don’t pay anything Keepmoat pay this he has to liaise with my line manager no we have never done it this way not on my sites anyway he needs to speak to Suzanne Gagen regarding the invoice like they did at the Hillsborough branch I tried to get hold of him the other day and left a message but he never got back to me
Regards
Mandy

I receive a swift response. Hopefully all is now in hand.

Sent 19/06/2013 11:27
Hi Mike,

I have passed on the information to the payment team, thank you.

Kind Regards,

Your Move Sales & Lettings
5 Market Street
Chapeltown
Sheffield
S35 2UW

Mandy can’t believe the service we are receiving and arranges for another estate agent to value the property.

Sent 20/06/2013 11:26
Hi Mike I don’t believe this I have given details to Reeds Rains so they should be calling you to arrange a time it is the land line number that I have given Your Move or mike has not contacted me at all the other branch that I normally use I have no problems with they have already sorted 2 this week for me so why is it taking him so long! I will try to get hold of him this morning 
Mandy

 

Sent 20/06/2013 11:45
Thanks Mandy.

The property has eventually gone live on the websites yesterday (Your Move, Zoopla and Right Move), although I think it’s around 3 weeks after you first instructed it.

They wouldn’t list it until they confirmed I had paid for an EPC. I’ve now paid this out of my own pocket to at least get some advertising in place.

They still haven’t listed it with premium features yet. Can I pay this out of my own pocket and claim back from Keepmoat?

As you are aware, timescales are tight and through no fault of my own I’ve lost 3 weeks of potential advertising time.

If it’s quicker to call me when you get a spare minute I’m on 07790xxxxxx.

Regards, Mike.

Mandy now responds saying that Keepmoat don’t pay for enhanced marketing packages and if I want this I have to pay for it myself.

Sent  20/06/2013 12:27
Hi Mike

Just spoke to Sophie at Your move she says it is all set up on the internet etc if you want the upgraded package you would have to pay for this we only reinstate the EPC my line manager is now on holiday so I cant ask if we would be able to do this but I think this would be very unlikely as we pay a standard fee to the agents it is the first time I have come across this because we have never had a problem with the package that they provide let me know if Reeds Rain have contacted you

Regards

Mandy

It’s at this point that we realise that the issue all along has been that Mandy provided us with some incorrect information and decided to go with the flow instead of correcting it. After 3 weeks of Easy Key hassle, I’m sure you can forgive Ayshea for her short sharp response.

Sent 20/06/2013 13:16 
That’s not what you told us Mandy, you agreed to pay for the upgraded package – the entire time this has been the issue with payment. Your-move said they could not get payment from yourselves for the upgraded package. Now your saying you wont pay for it. If we knew this 3 weeks ago we could have had our house on the internet 3 weeks ago.

I’m sorry but this is a joke. You should have said 3 weeks ago that you were no longer prepared to pay for the upgraded package and saved us all this hassle.

 

And now Mandy resorts to a mainly nonsensical email and blatant lies. As you can see for yourself from the emails above.

Sent 20/06/2013 13:26
Hi Mike
No I have never mentioned an upgraded package I know they do a package as to what I have never known we only get told the basics from our line managers as they deal with the contracts and no one has ever mentioned that there was a problem with the package that they offer which is on the internet anyway and the normal run of procedure as to selling the property
Your move told me this morning that they offer the guided tour and big billboard advertising as the upgrade but as far as im aware we have never offered this as a company. Do you still want to proceed? As you know it was on the basis that you were still going ahead even if yours didn’t sell is this still the case?
Kind regards
Mandy

Then shortly after without a response from me, Mandy emails again

Sent 20/06/2013 14:14
Hi Mike

I have spoken to head office about your package they have agreed to upgrade it I will contact Your Move to go ahead I think with all the messing around and confusion it is only fair that we do this for you I hope this meets with your approval
Many thanks
Mandy

I am then copied into an email from Your Move to Vanessa Burling who is the Regional Sales Director for Keepmoat. It’s still not clear how payment is going to be taken.

Sent 21/06/2013 11:01
Hi Vanessa,

We are currently advertising __ ______ Avenue, Sheffield. The clients Mr and Mrs Simmons are hoping to take the enhanced marketing pack. However, there has been some confusion as to who is making the payment (£225+VAT.)

I spoke with Mandy Merrin yesterday who confirmed it will be Keepmoat making the payment, and Michael Simmons is eager to get things moved on his property as soon as possible. In order for me to proceed with this I do need an email from yourselves confirming you are happy to pay, so we can raise the invoice.

Kind Regards,

Your Move Sales & Lettings
5 Market Street
Chapeltown
Sheffield
S35 2UW

 

I forget exactly how the rest panned out, but the outcome remains that I ended up paying for the upgrade package and I am trusting that Keepmoat will refund me upon completion. Meanwhile, I have received a  call from Reeds Rains to come out and value the property. We are going on holiday the same day that they are coming to make the valuation, so Ayshea emails Mandy for Advice.

Sent 21/06/2013 20:30
Hi Mandy,

Reeds Rains are coming out next Friday at 2 p.m.

Just to clarify is this just for a valuation or do you want to put the property on the market it with them as well?

If you want them to put it on the market as well I will need to give them our house keys when they come to see us so they can take photos and show people round whilst we are on holiday. This would need to be done at the 2 p.m. meeting, I just want to clarify things beforehand as we will need to set-off around 6 p.m. next Friday so I want to make sure everything is agreed before we leave for our hols.

Ayshea.

 

Sent 22/06/2013 11:01
Hi Ayshea
I think we will just let them do the initial valuation especially with you now getting the upgraded package from Your Move hopefully we will start to see some interest are you leaving your keys with Your Move for viewings?
Regards
Mandy

As Mandy has no intention of marketing the property with Reeds Rains and we know from our own research that Your Move has valued the property at around the correct level we ask her to cancel the viewing. We don’t want to waste Reed Rains’ time chasing a lead that we know will bear no fruit. We ask Mandy to cancel the valuation. She fails to carry out this request, but does respond to the email.

Sent 22/06/2013 13:53
Hi Mandy,

We are not currently getting the upgraded package, but hopefully will be soon. I have forwarded you an email we were sent by Your-Move.

As it is just for a valuation then please cancel it as it isn’t really of any use to us.

Yes, we will be leaving a set of keys with Your Move.

Ayshea.

 

Sent 22/06/2013 14:31
Hi Mike

Yes it was sent to me yesterday the email and sorted with the sales director so hopefully they will get this done for the beginning of next week
Thanks
Mandy

A couple of days later we notice that our property has been removed from the Your Move website and the other major players. I email Your Move to enquire.

Hi Sophie,

I’ve noticed that __ _______ Avenue is not listed on your website any more. I’m hoping that this is part of the upgrade package process and is normal, but considering the service I’ve had from Keepmoat can you please confirm that they haven’t randomly asked you to delist the property or anything like that?

Also, have you managed to acquire any feedback from Mr M______ who viewed on Friday? He seemed genuinely impressed with he property, so hopefully he may pursue further.

Regards, Mike.

Sophie promptly called me and resolved the issue although she was unable to confirm why the property had been removed. I’m willing to bet that interference from Keepmoat was responsible.

So, there you have it. The very inappropriately named Keepmoat Easy Key.

 

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