ASA
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Latest property news
Watchdog upholds complaint against OTM over ‘early upload’ properties claim
Challenger portal OTM has revealed how many of the properties uploaded to it every month are added 24 hours earlier than other portals.
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Latest property news
Purplebricks told not to claim it advertises on all the ‘major portals’
Purplebricks has been told not to claim on its website that it advertises its properties on all the 'major' property portals.
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Latest property news
Estate agent yet to amend ‘misleading’ claim on website following ASA investigation
A Scottish estate agency that had promised to take down a claim made on its website following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has so far not done so. The claim by Perthshire agency Next Home was brought to the attention of the ASA recently by a member of the public. Featured on the home page of the sales and lettings agency’s website, it claimed that “nine out of then sellers choose Next Home”. The complainant challenged whether this claim was misleading and could be substantiated. After being contacted by the ASA, Next Home provided the advertising watchdog with assurances that the claim would be amended and the matter was resolved informally. But the claim remains live on its home page at the time of publication (see right), while an amended version is featured on subsequent pages. These claim instead that ‘9 out of 10 sellers we visited in 2017 instructed us to sell’ with a qualification in later small print that the claim relates to 2017. Next Home has five branches in Perthshire including in Perth, Auchterarder, Crieff, Blairgowie and Pitlochry and is fond of making punchy claims on its site, although none of these others have…
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Latest property news
Online agent reported to watchdog over ‘misleading’ ads for parcels of land
An agent based in London that specialises in land and property for investment purposes has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a member of the public complained about one of its online ads. Exclusive Property Sales and Consultants sells land, commercial and residential investment opportunities and has an address at serviced offices near Victoria railway station. It describes itself as an online agent. ‘Misleading’ ad It was referred to the watchdog because, it was claimed, its advertisement for several parcels of land in the Home Counties could have been construed as misleading. The property advertisement was seen both on its own website and on Rightmove and Zoopla and, the complainant told the ASA, did not make it clear that access to the parcels of land for sale was only either on foot or by tractor/4×4 via third party land. “We brought these concerns to the advertiser’s attention,” the ASA says. “It agreed to amend the ads and remove any statements about the access or use of the land.” Following the informal agreement between the ASA and Exclusive Property Sales and Consultants, the offending ad appears to have now been removed from the company’s listings. Read more about…
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Latest property news
Be clearer about upfront fees and ‘local experts’ hybrid estate agents are warned
The Advertising Standards Authority has warned hybrid estate agenst to be clearer in their advertising about upfront fees and 'local experts'.
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Latest property news
Estate Agencies rapped by advertising watchdog
Coventry firm Lewis Oliver was reported for a cheeky newspaper ad that included a picture of a man’s torso wearing only swimming shorts headlined as “WOW WHAT A PACKAGE”. A roundel over the model’s crotch then said “Fully Managed Letting Service”. Two members of the public complained about the ad, claiming that the “image was irrelevant to the service being advertised and objectified the man” and was therefore offensive. The ASA has upheld the two complaints, saying that “taking the image, strapline and placement of the roundel into account, we considered that the ad was likely to have the effect of objectifying the man by using his physical features to draw attention to an unrelated product. “We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious offence to some people.” Lewis Oliver was told not to repeat the ad, which is due for renewal in a few weeks’ time when the advertising contract with the paper comes to an end. The ad has also appeared as a billboard ad (above) although this did not attract any complaints. Meanwhile, a Cornish estate agent has had both a tweet and a blog published by the business referred to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA),…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks told by ad watchdog not to repeat key claims about its fees
Purplebricks has had three complaints against it by Hunters upheld despite originally avoiding this by agreeing to amend its website.
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Latest property news
Leading property auction house reported to watchdog over ‘misleading’ listing
Leading property auction house Barnard Marcus has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority over a potentially misleading online ad.
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Agencies & People
Blurring of lines between traditional and online operations prompts ASA complaint about agent
Agency Howard Cundey agrees to remove references to Zoopla on its website after complaint to watchdog despite still being a listing agent on the portal.
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Latest property news
ASA rejects complaint against allAgents
Review site is successful in proving its ‘independent’ status, as used in its advertising and marketing, in a case involving negative Purplebricks reviews.
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