A former Palmerston North real estate agent is on the verge of bankruptcy proceedings after failing to correspond with a couple he owes $12,600.

Taranaki couple Vince and Roslynn Goodall have filed to put Mark Ferguson into bankruptcy, and Mr Ferguson had to respond to the order by last Monday to arrange a payment plan.

Mrs Goodall said they had not heard a word from the former agent or anyone representing him, nor had the couple received any payment of the money he owes.

The couple were taking care of the legal work themselves, as their usual lawyers in Inglewood were unable to help as they were former clients of Mr Ferguson, she said.

While they were unsure of the next step in the legal process, the Insolvency Act shows the Goodalls can apply to the High Court to have Mr Ferguson's assets held by the Official Assignee, which would render the former real estate agent bankrupt. The assignee handles the assets while people owed money apply to have any debts repaid from those assets, as long as they can show they are owed money.

Mr Ferguson was ordered by the Real Estate Agents Authority to pay the couple $12,600 after he was found guilty of requesting the early release of deposits in relation to property deals in October 2010.

He traded as Ray White Taranaki at the time, but moved on to work for JVL Prestige in Palmerston North after the decision.

After publicity around the unpaid debt, his employment at JVL ended.

Once he left JVL, it appeared he went into real estate consulting for a short time. However, the online presence for the business has been erased in the past month.

About the same time Mr Ferguson finished working at JVL, three properties he owned at Waitarere Beach were put on the market.

According to Quotable Value, they were all mortgagee sales and were the only properties he owned in New Zealand.

According to an article published last month, the Real Estate Agents Authority has put Mr Ferguson's name on a list of agents who have committed some of the most serious offences against clients.

- © Fairfax NZ News