An open letter to estate and lettings agents

You, your agency, and most lettings and estate agents are misleading consumers in criminal breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations so you risk being fined or imprisoned. You probably regard the risk as small because all your colleagues and competitors have been doing the same thing for years and regulatory enforcement by the OFT, trading standards departments and other regulators has been very feeble.  However, you and your agency face other large risks: accumulated civil liabilities, and prosecution for failing to provide for significant liabilities and for failing to disclose them to your auditors or to your professional negligence or legal costs insurers.

Update 2 on estate agencies' misleading practices

This is an update on Will civil claim bankrupt Foxtons, Countrywide and LSL? published on 29th October 2013.

Update 1: Most estate agents have not complied with the ASA's adjudication

This is an update to my first post Will civil claims bankrupt Foxtons, Countrywide and LSL?.

Foxtons, Countrywide and LSL have failed to comply with the Advertising Standards Authority's adjudication about the transparent disclosure of tenants' fees.