Two property firms investigated over property advertising
The Advertising Standards Authority looked at complaints about ads made against BTL specialist RW Invest UK and agency giant Sequence.
Two property firms have agreed to make changes to their advertising material after complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Both cases were resolved informally after the firms accepted the advertising involved was either misleading or failed to give full information.
In the first case, RW Invest UK, a property investment firm, agreed that its website listed a property in Manchester city centre with an amount that was below the actual asking price.
After contact from the ASA, the company removed the ad and said it would ensure prices were correctly listed in future.
The ASA said it was satisfied with the response from RW Invest, and added: “We consider the matter closed.”
Failed
Sequence, trading as William H Brown/Barnard Marcus, also found itself the subject of attention from the ASA, after a complaint about an ad.
An unnamed person said that an online Sequence ad for the auction of two parcels of land failed to make it clear they were in the Green Belt.
A potential buyer might be unaware that Article 4 restrictions on permitted development applied, when making a bid, the ASA said.
“We spoke with Sequence UK and they said that they would arrange an announcement to be included around web listings in future alerting potential buyers around potential planning restrictions. As such, we considered the matter closed,” an ASA spokesperson said.
The ASA can reach an informal resolution of a complaint about an advert with a company, or move to a formal investigation and ruling if this fails.
Sequence changes Rightmove listing after complaint
