Agent Angst

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

I reached out to my regular travel agent for tickets to Israel, and she quoted me a price on a certain flight. However, my husband checked Expedia and saw he can get that same flight for much cheaper. Am I obligated to the travel agent, even though we had not yet come to any commitment? 

In the case you described, when you merely reached out to the travel agent but did not finalize any deal, you have no obligation, not even lifnim mishuras hadin, to use the travel agent’s services. It would be, however, appropriate to let the travel agent know that if she can match Expedia’s price, you’ll gladly give her the business, since one should always prioritize supporting a fellow Jew.

My neighbor and I both appreciate the fact that we have cleaning help that we get from the same agency. The agency sets the prices and no one can “steal” another’s help. However, my neighbor is still upset with me because I often give my cleaning help little bonuses, or gifts that she feels is undermining the point of using an agency. I don’t see my gifts as competitive. Am I in essence “stealing” from my neighbor by upping the ante?

That would depend on the policy of the agency. If, according to their rules, you’re not supposed to add a bonus or a gift to the cleaning help, then your neighbor is correct in claiming that you’re inappropriately upping the ante. If, however, the agency has no rule about this, then your neighbor can have no claim against you for what you’ve been doing.

We recently finished renovations using a frum contractor, and he subcontracted the various workers such as plumbers, electricians, tiles, etc. Soon after we moved in we had major plumbing issues. We called our contractor assuming he would deal with this, but he just told us we needed to take it up with the plumber who did the job. Isn’t the contractor responsible since he hired the plumber?

In most cases, the contractor is the one responsible for anything that goes wrong with the home as long as it is under warranty. Sine you weren’t the one who hired the plumber, it’s the contractor’s responsibility to contact the plumber and arrange for the issue to be resolved.

I listed my house with a neighborhood real estate agent. But then someone in shul approached me on his own and offered me a good deal. The agent says I’m still obligated to pay his percentage. Who is correct?

This will depend on your location and on the laws of your state. In New Jersey, almost all realtor contracts are “exclusive right to sell,” which means that once you signed a deal with the agent, he has the exclusive right to sell your home. If you broke the contract and sold it through someone else, you’re still obligated to pay the realtor his commission. In other states or countries, the law may be different.