Parkview Spa seemed to appeal to the family. So we called the Marketing Manager from the head office of Bestech. He came to the sample flat and answered all their questions. He also gave them the actual stock of what was available - a penthouse each in C, D, and G tower, and a 3715sqft unit. The price tag for D block penthouse was approx 3 crore.

The manager1 invited them to the head office for negotiations and best price, and to seal the deal. But they dallied. Wanted time to make up their mind. The manager1 then offered to provide the printed the specs of the penthouse and other details to us the next morning, which we could then give to the Mr Bansal.

The next day at the appointed time we went to the Bestech Offices to pickup the spec sheets and penthouse details, and then drop them at Aashish Bansal's home. He could then make a decision immediately, or his parents (to whom he had given the Power of Attorney and who are living in a penthouse in Unitech Palms) could buy on his behalf - if he decided to buy this.

But, to our utter shock we found out Aashish had come earlier in the morning to Bestech, introduced ICICI as his broker, and had already done the booking for the D tower penthouse. We had been left out in the cold, and manager1 who had come and had actually sold them on the project was also left out too.

So the actual people who worked on the deal including manager1 got cold-shouldered, while ICICI and manager2 got all the credit - is it fair? If Aashish Bansal had not liked the 10 properties we showed him, but chosen an 11th property, we would not have held a grudge against him. That is a part of our business. But to buy the exact property, a penthouse in D Tower of Parkview Spa that we showed first, that we provided all details of, that we got company executives to describe to him, by dumping us and introducing a dummy broker is clearly cheating.

We talked to the senior company executives. There was no dispute that we got the client into the sample flat, we introduced them to the company, we helped sell the flat. We deserved the brokerage. But they were in a tough position - the client had cheated us, and had cheated their manager1, but he was holding cheque for a penthouse worth 3 crore that the company could ill-afford to refuse. The executives said the company would hold the booking till later that day, and credit it to us if Aashish would call and tell them to mark us as his broker. The price would remain the same for him.

We called Aashish and he took the phone, said he was busy and would call back later. Called his mother and she said the same. They just would not attend to us. Later in the evening he returned our call, and said he thought there was nothing wrong in what he did. And by that time in the evening it was too late to do anything about getting credit for the booking. The same night he boarded a plane with his wife and daughter to Plano, Texas. The next morning he must have woken up in Texas, and we woke up holding the bag back in India.

What recourse does a broker in India have? A few can get the actual, or threat of, violence to work for them, but mostly you have to let it go.

It is strange that in the US some people learn to play by the rules, but in India it is okay for them to bring their daughter to India after years and teach her that it is perfectly acceptable and so easy to shaft the locals. She will be back in coming years with this lesson about dealing with Indian property brokers, and implement the same next time too. And another thing she would have learnt is how to score free taxi service in India. The family of Aashish always came to see the properties in a big group - Aashish, his wife, his daughter, his sister, her husband who is a Colonel in the Army, their son, and Ashish's mother. And obviously they would not fit in the Santro that they own, so they would spill over and sit in our car. Why pay Rs 800 per taxi per day when your friendly broker will come to your house and pick you up. Then the broker will get you access into all these gated places, act as a guide giving you the pluses and minuses,and then drop you back home - all for free!

The lady executive, and partner in our brokerage firm, who arranged everything for Aashish Bansal and his family was heartbroken. Could not eat for two days and still feels sick at the mention of their name. But, in time you get over it and learn to move on.

Should there not be regulation that protects brokers from clients like Mr Aashish Bansal of Infosys?