The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has censured an estate agency over a direct mailing leaflet which featured a property it suggested was on the market with it when it was not.

The complainant was said to be upset at having their property appearing in the direct mail as it was not even for sale at the time and they wanted it taken off Gascoigne Halman’s database.

Database error

When the ASA contacted the firm, its management explained that there had been an error in its marketing database but confirmed that both the complainant and their property had since been removed from the system.

The ASA accepted the explanation and the case was resolved without any formal action being taken.

Gascoigne Halman is an award-winning 23-branch agency based in the North West. Since 2015, it has been part of the Connells Group, with their website boasting that their highly dedicated and professional staff have “The skills and the training to achieve your property goals.”

It is not, though the only estate agency to fall foul of the ASA, over the years there have been quite a few cases that have been reported in The Neg.

Gascoigne Halman, however, is perhaps best known for taking OnTheMarket to court in 2017 in a hotly contested test case, claiming its controversial ‘one other portal’ rule was anti-competitive. The agency eventually lost the case.