Agents Tackle Rogues
HONEST: Dean Sanderson feels you have to be transparent as an estate agent
Estate agents themselves are calling for the industry to be regulated after
a week, which exposed some of the worst property dealings.
The BBC Whistleblower programme which uncovered the unscrupulous tactics of London-based
Foxtons as they tried to close sales and let property was followed by the jailing
later in the week of Runcorn agent Janice Griffiths, who admitted stealing nearly £100,000
from her clients.
Griffiths was also caught by TV cameras as she undervalued property to sell on
to a developer in return for a cash "finder's fee".
At present anyone can set themselves up as an estate agent in England and Wales
and there are no official qualifications and regulations governing the industry.
The National Association of Estate Agents does have its own training programme
but membership is voluntary. There is also an Ombudsman estate agents scheme,
but Ombudsman Stephen Carr-Smith can only pass judgment on agents who are members
of the scheme - and the rogues clearly are not.
Suspicion
Today Dean Sanderson, the NAEA local chairman,
said: "The problem with programmes
like this and high-profile court cases is that every agent is then viewed with
suspicion when the vast majority are working hard to serve both buyers and sellers.
"It is high time the industry was formally regulated with clear rules and
severe punishment for those who break them."
And he admitted he had been approached several times to take back handers to
put a deal through.
He said: "I have been approached with everything from offers of cash to
a holiday. I even regard someone saying `come to my club or restaurant and I
will look after you' as a bribe.
"You have to be firm and stay totally honest and transparent."
Londoner Max Pathan moved to Manchester last year. He has been trying to buy
a house in the Old Trafford area and suspects he may have missed out because
of the estate agent.
He said: "I offered above the asking price on a three-bed semi but was told
someone else had offered more.
"I increased my bid twice but still missed the house. I asked to meet the
vendor but was told he was away.
Denied
"But when I drove past the property the lights were on so I called in and
explained who I was and he denied having had offers higher than mine.
"Now there may be an innocent explanation and a breakdown in communication,
but it does make you suspicious."
At present buyers like Mr Pathan have little redress should they want to complain,
but the NAEA wants a formal body where aggrieved buyers and sellers can report
rogue agents.
Stephen Tipping, head of estate agency at Edward Mellor, the Stockport-based
chain, said: "The tactics revealed in the BBC programme were not only immoral
but also illegal.
" As a founder member of the Estate Agency Ombudsman Scheme, we have always
looked to make our working processes as fair, legal and transparent as possible
and provide the opportunity for anybody with a grievance to pursue the matter
through an independent review body."
"As is always the case, the programme centred on the agents t shamefully flouting
the law and not on the hundreds of agents who work hard every day to make buying
and selling of a house as simple and stress-free as possible and, as a result,
it is unfairly the case that the reputation of the industry as a whole is in
question."
