Estate Agent wont put offer to Vendor

[wormhandler]

I was looking to purchase some Buy to Rent property and spotted a cheap 4 bed house advert. I called the Estate Agent and arranged a viewing. Immediately prior to the viewing they lost the keys. I persisted and finally got a viewing, the agent was non informative, curt, evasive and unfriendly except 'we are selling on behalf of a company'. The place was like a demilitarised zone, holes in walls, doors blanked off, not good. I drove away and thought it through. Then I fell in. It was a cannabis factory, and the 'company' was the police selling the house under The Proceeds of Crime Act.. I made a low bid. However, the agent has totally refused to pas the bid on to the vendor using a variety of excuses, like 'We discussed it and you only wanted us to put the offer on file, as there is a better offer from another source'. I smell a rat, but for sport have pressed them as hard as I can to get the offer passed to the vendor. Surely they are obliged to pass the offer on? Any tips? I am not optimistic of success........

[Cinderella66]

Do a land registry check to establish who the current owner is. It's possible it is in the hands of a trustee in which case the LR entry may show the previous owner rather than the trustee. But it's worth a shot.
The link explains how this is dealt with. Check chapter 5 which may help you work out who is dealing with this. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/proceeds-crime