advertising standards authority
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Latest property news
Two agents investigated by ASA over misleading online property ad complaints
Two agents have been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week for misleading online property ads following complaints from the public. The more serious of the two was a complaint about two digital adverts by Lincoln-based agency Mundys Property Services. One featured the claim that it offered “100% tenant satisfaction – Let with confidence – 100% of our tenants would be happy to let through Mundys again” and a second that included the text “Mundys… A customer survey about our services produced a 100% satisfaction rating”. The claims were based on a 2013 survey of tenants moving into properties let by the company. The complainant challenged whether the “100% satisfaction” claims were misleading because the survey didn’t canvass the tenants about the company’s overall service. After being approached by the ASA, Mundys said they would removed the ads and would not use the claims again – although at the time of publication the ad remains on one of its website home pages (pictured, left). Online property ads In a less serious case, Reeds Rains Ltd was referred to the watchdog after a complainant spotted a listing on Rightmove for a rented property that featured an expired 50% discount…
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Latest property news
Phew! Property auction guide prices are not misleading, says advertising watchdog
A complaint against leading auctioneer SDL Auctions by a member of the public to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that its listed property auction guide prices were misleading has not been upheld. In an important judgement for the property auction industry, the ASA did not agree with the complainant, who had attended an SDL auction in Birmingham on the 6th July. The complaint in effect challenged the bedrock of the auctioneering industry – that houses often sell for much more than their guide price, and that guide prices are often changed during the run-up to auctions as vendors change their minds on their desire reserve price. £1 properties During the auction, at which several properties were offered with a guide price of £1, the complainant said many properties offered at the auction sold for significantly more than the guide price, and challenged whether the auction brochure’s guide prices were therefore misleading. After examining SDL Auctions’ catalogues for the auction and other paperwork, the ASA has concluded that because the company defined the difference between a guide price and a reserve price prominently in its catalogues, and because it routinely updates properties’ guide prices during the run-up to auctions to keep…
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Latest property news
Online agent YOPA investigated again by advertising watchdog
Online agent YOPA has been investigated by the advertising watchdog just two weeks after being reported for potentially misleading claims on its website. This time the London-based sales and lettings agency was reported by a member of the public for a mailshot sent to them that advertised its sales service but, they claimed, wasn’t clearly marked as marketing material. After being approached by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), YOPA has now promised not to repeat the mailshot and that future advertising of this kind would be clearly marked as such in future. YOPA has been reported five times since it started two years ago including three times this year and once in 2016 and 2015 all of which have been informally resolved, although this hasn’t deterred investors – both Savills and LSL have put substantial amounts of money into the firm. Online agents Among the online agents, Emoov leads the pack for complaints to the ASA with ten referred to the watchdog so far including two serious complaints, one of which was upheld and another upheld in part, and eight informally resolved cases. Not far behind it is Purplebricks, which has had been referred to the ASA nine times including…
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Latest property news
Watchdog investigates two property companies over website and text adverts
Two property companies have been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week, one over charges made to a tenant and the other over the costs of calling a number listed within an advertisement. James Park Homes, which operates sites in Lincolnshire, the Lake District and Nottinghamshire, was referred to the watchdog after a park home resident complained that their monthly bills, despite being listed on the company’s website to include water rates, instead had the charge added on top. The ASA approached James Park Homes about the adverts and the company has promised that in future they will be accurate – and that any qualifications and limitations relating to ad claims will be clear in the future. Builder Linden Homes was also referred to the ASA over a text sent to existing customers asking them to call an 0845 number. The person complaining said the text did not make it clear how much the number would cost to call, which it complained was misleading under the ASA’s advertising code. The ASA raised these concerns with the company, which has given assurances that the 0845 number is no longer in use and that its systems have been updated to…
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Latest property news
Two high-profile agents investigated by Advertising Standards Authority
Hybrid agency YOPA and London agency Marsh & Parsons have crossed swords with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week after promotional material they had produced were objected to by members of the public. YOPA was reported to the watchdog about a data table published on its website. It featured comparisons of different estate agents including their number of properties for sale and average listing age. Two complainants, who said the comparisons were based on YOPA’s national figures against their competitors’ local one, challenged whether the comparison was misleading “We raised these concerns with the advertiser,” the ASA says. “YOPA confirmed that the ad had been removed and that they would not compare their national data with competitor’s local data.” Advertising Standards Authority A direct mailing by Marsh & Parsons, which is owned by LSL, was referred to the ASA after a letter addressed to a complainant offered to rent out their property because “we couldn’t help but notice that your property is currently on the market for lettings”. “I’d love to meet you and let you know how Marsh & Parsons… can expose your property to the widest range of tenants,” the letter went on. The only trouble was…
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Latest property news
Advertising watchdog says Purplebricks LPEs ARE ‘local’ and ‘expert’
Four complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that Purplebricks LPEs are neither ‘local’ nor ‘expert’ has been rejected by the watchdog. The complainants, who included Plymouth Trading Standards, property consultant Alexander Dawson and Chris Wood’s PDQ Estates, said calling Purplebricks’ agents ‘local’ and ‘expert’ – as featured on the company’s ‘meet our experts’ section – was misleading and could not be substantiated. During the ASA investigation, Purplebricks said ‘local’ referred to their agent’s local knowledge instead of their geographical location, and that they ensured each LPE had relevant knowledge of their patch. Purplebricks also told the ASA that its LPEs offer an “equivalent service to traditional estate agents” including doing valuations and preparing property listings, although it said there was no ‘set radius’ each of its LPEs covers, and that coverage depends on the sales volumes of the area. The company also said Purplebricks LPEs have “strong knowledge of the local property market” and “strong valuation experience” and that agents on average have between five and ten years’ experience working in the industry before joining Purplebricks. But they don’t have to be qualified – LPEs can join Purplebricks without any qualifications but must pass all National Association of Estate…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks TV ads ARE misleading, says advertising watchdog
The long-running complaint by the Charter for Independent Estate Agents (CIELA) to the Advertising Standards Authority that Purplebricks TV ads are misleading has been upheld. Two ‘commisery’ adverts aired in March this year – one featuring a man screaming into a cupboard and another a woman falling into cake – were reported to the ASA by CIELA because, the now ‘on ice’ members organisation claimed, the adverts were misleading. It said the comparison in the ads between Purplebricks’ flat fee and traditional agents’ commission structure were not accurate and therefore misleading. The ASA has upheld this complaint – a valedictory win for CIELA only two weeks after it was announced it had not attracted enough members to go to full launch. Within its judgement published today, the ASA says that although it “acknowledged” the difference between flat fees and commission payments, it says flat fees are relatively new in the property market and that, because people move home infrequently, they wouldn’t be familiar with how a flat-fee worked, or that it is different from a commission. “We considered that it was not sufficiently clear in the ads that the fee payable to Purplebricks was not conditional on the sale of…
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Latest property news
Online estate agents help create ‘surge’ in complaints to advertising watchdog
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld 45% more complaints against estate agents so far this year than it did during the whole of 2016, it has been revealed. Thirteen complaints have so far been upheld during 2017 compared to nine during the whole of the previous year, while 52 complaints have been ‘informally resolved’ rather than going to full adjudications. The Daily Telegraph says this is due in part to the ‘surge’ in complaints against online estate agents to the ASA including Purplebricks, Hatched, HouseSimple, EasyProperty and YOPA, some of which were upheld and others not. One complaint about Purplebricks still going through the adjudication process is the one made by SW estate agent and former NAEA Propertymark Vice President Chris Wood about online agent representatives who described themselves as ‘experts’. Chris, who has been leading a one-man campaign to call out Purplebricks over the past year, says a decision is expected “very soon” from the ASA on his complaint. In December last year Chris also complained to National Trading Standards’ Estate Agency team about Purplebricks’ LPEs not being individually registered individually with the industry’s three redress schemes. “A decision from NTSEAT would be better because they have more…
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Agencies & People
Three agents investigated after being reported over misleading claims
Claims made in three different estate agents’ leaflets and circulars distributed in Scotland, Sheffield and Somerset have been challenged by members of the public for being misleading and reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). After being approached by the watchdog the agents have promised not to repeat the claims made in the leaflets, which included competitor comparisons, inaccurate information about a portal listing and claims about ‘prices achieved’. Happy Sales & Lettings, which is based in Sheffield, distributed a leaflet that listed a number of competitors’ sold and unsold properties in a table format. One of the competitors, local firm Crucible Sales & Lettings, challenged whether the information in the leaflet was both misleading and the information verifiable. Happy Sales & Lettings said the leaflet was no longer being distributed, and promised to ensure future competitor comparison information was clearly signposted in future ads. Lewis Gray was reported to the ASA because the company claimed in a circular that it listed properties on Zoopla when it did not, and has now removed references to the portal in its print and online material. And Scottish RE/MAX franchisee John Slaven had his circular challenged after a member of the public spotted…
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