I agree with deepsea . . . . there are always three sides to these stories:

The SalesPerson's;

The Broker's;

and then there's that irritatingly stubborn, inalterable and persistent set of facts commonly referred to as "THE TRUTH".

So far in this thread, we've only heard the SalesPerson's viewpoint, and even then, only in the form of the original thoughts on January 31st . . . . nothing more? It may well be that if s/he didn't understand how Commissions were supposed to flow, then there may have also been a mis-interpretation of these other money related matters that have come up since the audit discovered the mis-appropriation of the Commission.

We know nothing about these other expenses that have now come to light; but it may well be that the Broker simply forgave or totally ignored (you can't get blood out of a stone) the need to be compensated for these items UNTIL the discovery of this Wayward Commission was made . . . . and THEN, the time for the Brokerage to have such a charitable attitude was over.

We need to know the terms of whatever Independent Contractor Agreement may have now been enforced and then hear "The Rest of the Story !"

deepsea: All commission here also must run through the brokerage. I have no idea how something like that got missed for so long but all registrants know that commissions must be paid through the brokerage so I do not think that RECO would be too understanding. Of course the brokerage will not likely want to have to deal with RECO either so the best idea would indeed to be to go in and come to an agreements of some sorts.

As far as the amounts that they claim are owed, as has been pointed out many times, the contract would be the best place to look. If there are monthly dues and a minimum notice required, then there could be dues still owed.....or there could be unpaid dues still owing....as Vermont pointed out, we have only heard one side of the story.

I appreciate the many different viewpoints and comments from everyone. When I left the brokerage there was no mention of any outstanding expenses due. When the trade record was signed off the week before I left the brokerage, there was no indication of additional deductions for unpaid office expenses. When the broker contacted me two weeks ago there was no mention of any office expenses that were due. I asked if they only needed me to pay the broker's portion of the commission that was due, but the broker insisted he needed the full amount of the commission and would then give me my portion as per the original trade record. Once they got the certified funds, suddenly the trade record changes.

Again...what does your independent contractor agreement say about what happens to your unclosed business when you leave the brokerage? All your answers are there.

The commission belongs to the broker, not you. The listing agreement or buyer broker agreement that caused the commission to be owed was made between the client...and the BROKER...so the extent of your rights to that commission depend on what it says in your buyer broker agreement.

Once you know what it says, then you'll know what your next steps need to be.