of a sale entirely, expecting to get a better asking price or offer once the market improves. The term may be derived from the Yiddish word 'gezumph', meaning to overcharge or cheat. Scotland Scots law and practice makes the problem of gazumping a rarity in Scotland. In the Scottish system of conveyancing, buyers either obtain a survey prior to making a bid to the seller's solicitor or make an offer "subject to survey". Sellers normally set a closing date for written offers, then provide written acceptance of the chosen bid. The agreement becomes binding when a seller's solicitor delivers a signed written acceptance of a buyer's offer. Should the seller attempt to accept a higher bid after the contracts have been legally finalised by a written offer and acceptance, their solicitor will refuse to act for them, as this, according to the Law Society of Scotland code of practice, would be professional misconduct. As in England, all contracts for the sale of land must be evidenced in writing, signed by or on behalf of each party. In Scotland, the parties' solicitors sign on their behalf, unlike in England, where buyer and seller both sign a contract which has been produced in duplicate form, with the duplicates then being exchanged to effect a binding contract. It is often wrongly claimed that gazumping is a rarity in Scotland because it is said that an oral agreement on a property deal is legally binding; while the law on contract differs from the law in England, the rarity is due to the different system of conveyancing. In Scotland, however, an estate agent, acting on behalf of the seller, can initiate instances of another form of gazumping. Once a closing date for written offers has been reached and an estate agent has given an oral acceptance of the chosen bid, the estate agent can then attempt to induce a bidding war between the successful buyer and a rival, who may be fictional, in an attempt to increase the offer made by each party. In such circumstance, there is little recourse for a successful buyer who, despite having been informed orally that their offer has been accepted, is then informed orally that their offer has been rejected in favour of a higher bid. Such situations only occur at an early stage of the conveyancing process, prior to any written acceptance of an offer being given by