Hi Trev,

While the Exclusive Sale Authority used by estate agents states that the estate agent is entitlted to a commission on the obtaining of a "binding offer" (see the fine print in the Exclusive Sale Authority for the definition of this term), there is good authority to say that if there is no eventual sale the estate agent is NOT entitled to a commission.  A vendor should never cave in to an estate agent who claims to be entitled to a commission under such circumstances, particularly if the estate agent was, shall we say, "very convincing" in winning the listing on the basis of a property value assessed by the same estate agent.