Tiggs

what a load of nonsense.....aside from the passport forger (who should go to jail, odd that the worse implication of fake passports they could come up with was getting a mortgage) and the bloke underselling the probate house.... what was the problem?

just a load of agents cutting corners and getting a sale....if you are dumb enough to sign a lease with no break clause, buy a house after the survey has said its over priced or take an offer from an agent that is not what you want.....you're a bit of a muppet.

the most useless thing on the show was the "undercover" reporters......narrated like a kids play and they were as covert as Ronald Macdonald at a Burger King.

Petem95

Totally agree, the rest was pretty much what you'd expect from the EA's.

To be honest I felt pretty sorry for some of them - they were under pressure to get results, and if the rest of the industry is doing the same, then they suffer by not doing some of the tricks.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Can't wait for next week's shocker .........Double Glazing salesman caught telling fibs.

D

davyboy

I think it just showed that all Londoners are selfish greedy *****.

Daft Lad

The Zohan

Not many suprises in the show except the chap who got the forged passports, p60 and pay slips, i hope he gets a few years behind bars. Anyone forging passports should be looking at a terrorism wrap imho!

BOB.T

I thought it was refreshing to see the light move from the motor trade

Also, I'm sure with about 2 seconds of looking you find dodgy outfits in any industry so this show was nowt new!

MY00PPP

Yeah - agreed it came as no suprise. But surely that is a bad thing right?.

When it effects the money in your pocket and the potential problems over paying on a property brings (negative equity, reposession if the interest rate goes up etc) then these little tricks have a big impact.

I don't blame the agents themselves, sure they are earn a low basic and have to make the shortfall up in bonus, it's the environment they are working within that forces such behaviour from them.

Of course the owners of the agencys couldn't give a toss as it is making them money whilst keeping their hands clean.

You have fresh faced grads day one out of uni taken in by the nice shiny mini and the chance to earn cash...they just get along for a ride.

What if I found out that some agent had done a shaddy deal and I had paid 50k more for a place than it was worth. you would be a tad upset.

Needs better regulation IMHO... the biggest purchase of your life and you are trusting it to the hands of a 21 year old newbie hungry for cash to pay the rent on their place. conflict of interest.

just m2pw.

camk

What about the fact they are working for you in selling your house as an agent and then lie to you regarding offers and how much its worth. They up the figure on the estimate so you sign up with them then try to drive the price down to get a quick sale.

On the reverse side they hoodwink surveyors with false house prices.......if that is not much then I'd hate to think what some of you guys get up to in your jobs.......I'm shocked that people think its OK and acceptable.

davyboy

....thats becuase the people saying that "it's no big deal" are in the business!

Alas

Think the stuff about the "Good Old Chap" who would have been stiffed by 50k on his 190k flat was pretty bad. Taking severe advantage of people that maybe could'nt stand up for themselves.

mad_dr

EAs who behave like the ones on this programme are scum. If they ALL behave like that, they're ALL scum... IMHO of course.

They are paid to look after the interests of their customers, not to stiff them, break the law and make a fast, dishonest buck.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I am at a loss to understand how it can be deemed to be completely acceptable to lie, cheat and consistently break the law - just because they are under a bit of sales pressure.

I am with camk - what the hell do you guys do for a living if you think that a bit of ducking and diving is perfectly acceptable.

I am sure that for most of you if you found your Mortgage Broker/IFA was spilling the beans on your net worth/earning potential then you would be pretty pissed off (as well as on your way to the FSA with a big fat complaint in your hand). And then we would have ten pages of 'what is this country coming to' posts on Snet!

Or maybe if you found your signature had been forged on a lease document - would that be OK?

Whilst the journos were a bit Jackanory in style they had a lot of courage and are now facing personal law suits because of the programme. In my view it was a story that should be told.

BOB.T

I don't think any of it's acceptable, it's just what estate agents do isn't it? Alledgedly, imho, you haven't see me, roight!

The Zohan

I said i was not suprised, it is however not acceptable. The only times i have ever used estate agents i have always got a reccommendation and usually the same names crop up good and bad.

What does seem a shame is that one of the biggest agents (Foxtons) also seems to be so poorly managed and run with open dishonesty.

I do wonder what if any effect the docco will have on their business. I for one would not consider selling or buying through them.

Luan Pra bang

A hell of a lot of estate agents think it OK to lie cheat and steal. Getting friends to buy cheap houses after they have conned the owner into accepting a low offer happens all the time and I think every boss of every estate agent does it. Tiggs as an IFA thinks that if you a stupid enough to be conned its your own fault. Lots of IFAs think this way since they make lots of money by conning clients and trying to make it seem like they are your best friend instead of a theif but for the rest of the world integrity and honour count for a bit more.

ScooBStu

It isnt a small matter in my opinion - Its completely shocking. I do however think that people need to do more research in to the value of their own property before being conned by the likes of these people. It is usually easy to have an idea of the value of your property by searching the websites. I hope all existing customers ring up today and take their houses off the market from these people!!!

davyboy

A bit tricky if they have signed a contract!

However, I'd love to listen in to some of the conversations that are taking place today in the office

Scooby Roo

So you think it's ok to be taken for a mug.

I take it from your unbiased comments that you're an estate agent.

What the programmed showed was the underhand way in which housebuyers and sellers are treated for the gain of who.......the estate agent.

Passing on confidential information of peoples borrowing capabilitities was against all that these instutes allegedly stand for.

And the Foxston weekly meeting was laughable what a bunch of umped up knobjockey's

And I for one are shortly going to be treated as a mug when I sell my place. I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to it.

Roo

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Agree with the posts on here - totally unacceptable for ANY business to run that way. OK, buyers and sellers may be to blame to a certain point as if you stick to your guns, or just walk away and refuse the prices the EA's give you then you cant be caught, but how many people are just so excited about buying a house or desperate to sell that they get conned ?

Part of the problem seems to be that they let any to55er become an agent - definitely needs more regulation in place, and more accountability if its found that agents have been up to no good.

But... what the EA's do is nothing compared to some of the scams banks have going on repossessions - getting their chosen surveyors to massively undervalue a property ( owner doesnt have a choice who surveys it, and the bank wont accept another survey other than theirs ) - property is then sold cheap to a developer, who backhands the bank manager and the owner still owes the balance of the debt.

Tiggs

oh dear....its retard wednesday.

i never said i support what they do.

i said the passport guy was doing something shocking and i'm surprised they focused on the mortgage issues when there are much bigger ones such as terrorism.

i said the people signing contracts for stuff they didnt want were muppets.

and the show showed nothing new to warrant a TV show. it may be wrong but i dont rate watching someone photocopy a new moving date on a signed document as being great TV.....its simply not important enough. Why not do a show on people dropping litter..thats wrong as well....and equally boring.

i dont work as an estate agent and never have......i would never sign a rental deal for 12 months, i would never pay more for a house than a survey said it was worth......and i thought it was a crappy show.

"And the Foxston weekly meeting was laughable what a bunch of umped up knobjockey's"

why? thats sales, all sales meetings are like that whether its houses or widgits.

camk

Well well well....that is very interesting. No axe to grind or conflict of interest there then .....move along now , nothing to see here

Tiggs

complety unrelated.....my company does not do what most people would regard as "normal" IFA work - we are highly speacalised and dont encounter the issues that some IFAs do with regards to problems.

i could be a postman.....i still think its crap TV

Luan Pra bang

That kind if indicates that you diddn't see a problem. Also some people actually believe that their estate agent is honest. Also for some people faking documents and all the other tricks were a surprise hence their justification in puting it on television. The two threads on here about the program suggest that for some people it was an informative and enlightening program.
HTH

2000TLondon

Didn't see it, but..............

I wouldn't enlist Foxtons as agents prior to that airing, the "shops" look like tacky 80's wine bars and they all toot round in those horrible Minis like they are a chapter of hells angels.

And TBH I thought everyone ALWAYS thought of Estate Agents as cut-throat and generally a bit w@nky, as a generalisation!

Over here they have a QUALIFICATION and the whole thing is much more open, you see what the current owner paid for the house, what they owe, what the neighbours houses went for and when, what the average for that area is, and you have a BUYING AGENT working for you who gets paid by the SELLER. All very clear, apart from my agent was suffering with the onset on dementia......

Tiggs

i dont see a problem worth a TV show.

there are FAR worse things going on in that industry they should have picked up on.....passport man and probate house were two things they should have run with more.

instead they thought it would be good TV to show a sales metting where someone gets a high5 (GOD FORBID!) and do their "undercover estate agent" bit.

for me it was crap.....when i see an "undercover" show i want to see shocking things going on, i'm sure it exists but adding 10% to a comparable for a surveyor isnt it ((IMO)

camk

But you suggest its OK to cut corners to get things done , I'm sure your customers would be interested in that. ...


I would agree it's unlikely to get a BAFTA but if it makes people a little less naive its a good thing. A nice little wake up call for us all who interface with the 'Financial Service Sector(including housing)', caveat emptor

Trout

iTrader: (1)

....so forging documents and openly committing institutionalised fraud and you ask what was the problem?

And when it is questioned you call those who question it retards.

I think the reference to good or bad TV reeks of back peddling

Tiggs

i dont say its ok....i say i dont think its good TV as its not bad enough and they missed the more serious issues they could have focused on.

i watched it hoping to see some shocking stuff going on and saw very little.

good example...the US buyer. He sees a house Foxtons are selling at £500k (forget the right numbers but it doesnt matter).....now Foxtons have overpriced it, i dont see a huge problem with that. if i try and sell my £10k car for £30k are i breaking a law?

US bloke likes it and its worth £500k to him (must be, because thats what he offered).........his survey says its worth £470k - at which point he needs to make a call (funnily enough my house was overvalued as the seller and agent rated the location above what the survey said - i aggreed with the seller and paid "too much" for what i wanted- and would do so again.)

now foxtons trick the new surveyor with false comps (stupid of them and stupid of surveyor and stupid of buyer - unless he doesnt care)

and US man gets his house, one assumes he wanted it and can afford it and if he doesnt and cant why did he buy it?

now there are stupid things going on there (by ALL concerned) but thats not a good use of an undercover reporter in my opinion.

Tiggs

"so forging documents "

i dont think that what i saw forged was bad enough to warrant a tv show.

would i do it? NO
if someone in my firm did it would i sack them? YES
have i done it? NO

is it good use of TV.....no (unless every other ill in the world has been dealt with)

not sure i need to backpeddle when the posts that followed mine all agreed with me!