When a Real estate agent works for the other side can I get a reduction in commission?

I recently sold  a property in Ipswich and enlisted a local Real Estate
agent to handle the sale. It became obvious right from the start he was
working for himself and the  buyer and not for me the seller who employed him.

 

He was really trying to get the sale for his commission and to get the property cheaper for the buyer. Why then would I pay him his commission ?

The first offer the buyer made the agent insisted I accept the offer. The
more I said no,  the more he would say that I will never get my asking price,
He said I wont have another offer and she lives in Emerald so I had better sign now. I wont get the asking price even though we agreed on the asking price. I have a few investment properties so knew what the prices were.

I found out later the buyer In fact worked in Emerald but lived in Ipswich. So
there was no urgency in getting her to sign a contract to buy. He made out she lived in Emerald and I was letting a chance to sell go by.

The agent asked  my husband  if you don't accept the offer will we be
talking about this in a few months? It was pressure from him all along

When I sold the property I asked the agent to put on the ad Under Contract
under offer but he refused. He said the computer would not allow it. This
is ridiculous as other agents do it. He could have put under offer on the sign at the property

The reason an agent doesn't put under offer on a property is that he gets
more people into his office with inquiries

Why pay commission to an agent who didn't do as I asked

I have contacted the office of fair trading and I was told there was nothing they could do.

I said that about 15 years ago I had an agent not disclose he was the one of the buyers of a block of land I was selling. His name was added AFTER I signed the contract.   I also had my signature forged on the contract and changes made with my signature forged.  Nothing was done about this 15 years ago by the Departmnet of Fair trading so nothing has changed.

A consumer has rights as well I believe. So I insisted the Office of Fair trading take this matter further and they said they will investiage more. I employed the agent to work for me and not the buyer and himself just to get the commission.

I have not paid the agent for the sale of my property in Ipswich until I find out what the office of fair trading decide to do.

 

Today I received a letter from the principal of the agency who states

And I will add that whilst some clients have tried to avoid paying us in the past, just like yourself, we have never missed out on what is owing to us or reimbursement for expenses incurred in recovering these monies.

 

Do I have any rights in demanding a reduced commission to pay them?