Propertymark Speaks Out Following BBC Panorama Inquiry – TNT

Propertymark has issued a response to the BBC Panorama investigation aired on Monday night, which revealed potentially unethical behaviour at Connells and Purplebricks.

In the episode, titled ‘Undercover Estate Agent‘, reporter Lucy Vallance went undercover for six weeks as a sales negotiator at Connells in Abingdon, and found evidence that the estate agency favours buyers taking out mortgages brokered by the company itself, over the interests of other potential purchasers.

Vallance also spoke with a whistleblower who worked at Purplebricks, where staff were under pressure to sell add-on services and were incentivised by a commission scheme to get sellers to drop their house prices.

EYE’s report on the BBC Panorama exposé involving Purplebricks and Connells prompted a strong reaction from readers, with a notable number of comments shared, and now Propertymark has issued a response following the documentary.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark commented: “Agents must provide a full duty of care and ensure impartiality to all participants throughout the entire sales and transactional process. Buyers and sellers must have freedom to choose products and services that meet their needs and preferences.

“It is important that agents display an understanding of the impact of key factors which interact with the buying and selling process. This includes areas such as contract law, conveyancing, and mortgage application processes.

“Agents must adhere to the terms of undertaking full due diligence on all parties such as compliance, anti-money laundering regulations, proof of funds and the ability to purchase. They can offer to introduce services which provide appropriate advice and products, but there must be full transparency and absolutely no conflict of interest.

“Due to continuous progression within many areas of law, the housing sector has far greater levels of consumer protection in place than at any point previously, and these standards are constantly evaluated and evolved to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

“Should anyone feel a service offered to them might fall short on standards – they can raise a case with organisations such as Trading Standards, The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme as well as the organisations own internal complaints procedures. In addition, if the agent is a member of a professional body such as Propertymark, they may have additional options for remedy too.”