Trading standards warns agents to expect sanctions after TV probe
The National Trading Standards team says estate agents will face sanctions if they are caught conditional selling.
National Trading Standards enforcers have warned estate agents caught using conditional selling practices they will face sanctions.
A statement issued by National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team (NTSEAT) in response to this week’s Panorama TV investigation, says that agents are in breach of professional standards if they do not pass on all offers to sellers.
Both Connells and Purplebricks featured in the BBC documentary aired on Monday evening.
Undercover
An undercover Panorama reporter working as a negotiator at Connells in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, revealed evidence, including recorded phone calls, that the company’s employees were involved in conditional selling.
A senior branch manager was shown favouring prospective buyers, if they were planning to take out Connells in-house services, like conveyancing or mortgages, because it made more money for the company.
The programme had also spoken to a whistleblower at Purplebricks, who alleges that the firm incentivised its staff via a commission scheme to “get sellers to drop their house prices” after initially over-valuing them, and had been putting staff under pressure to sell ‘add-on’ services.
We view this practice – known as conditional selling – as unacceptable and are aware that it is a significant problem.”
And now the NTSEAT says: “Estate agents who do not pass offers to sellers because the prospective buyer chooses not to use additional linked services – such as mortgage advice or conveyancing – for which the agent may get a fee, are in breach of their professional requirements and can face sanctions.
“We view this practice – known as conditional selling – as unacceptable and are aware that it is a significant problem that can cause considerable financial loss and emotional turmoil to buyers and sellers,” the statement reads.
“The practice often goes unnoticed and unreported, as offers on homes may be turned down for lots of reasons and most prospective buyers rightly assume that, if an agent tells them their offer has been rejected, the process has been honest.”
