PHOTO: Brisbane. FILE
A Brisbane real estate agency refused to repay a $24,500 deposit to a potential buyer after the sale of a block of land fell over, instead keeping $20,000 as commission and giving the land owner the rest.
After being told to repay the money by the Office of Fair Trading, the real estate agency took the case to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal.
Prestige & Rich Pty Ltd, trading as Stephanie To Realty, is based in Sunnybank in Brisbane’s south. Stephanie Elizabeth To is listed as the principal agent.
According to Stephanie To Realty, Ms To has 18 years’ experience in the real estate industry, has won numerous sales awards and worked for Ray White and RE/MAX before establishing her own office.
According to court documents, Prestige & Rich was selling a block of land in Brisbane and secured a contract of sale with Mr Jianjie Li, who paid a $24,500 deposit to the agency’s trust account.
The contract was terminated by Mr Li when he failed to get finance and the land owner’s lawyers told Prestige & Rich to repay the deposit to Mr Li.
Instead, Prestige & Rich paid $4500 to the land owner and took the remaining $20,000 for itself as a commission on sale, according to court documents.
Mr Li lodged a claim with the Office of Fair Trading seeking compensation for his deposit and the regulator ruled Prestige & Rich was liable to repay Mr Li his $24,500.
Instead, in 2018, Prestige & Rich took their case to QCAT, which was dismissed. Then they appealed that decision through the QCAT Appeal Tribunal, which was also dismissed.
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