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Agents still flouting money laundering and data protection laws

29 November 2010
Written by rosalind renshaw

Some 6,500 estate agency businesses across the UK, with just under 12,300 premises between them, have now registered with the OFT’s anti-money laundering register.

The OFT is now waiting for 23 businesses to respond to questions as to why they haven’t registered, but is aware that there are other unregistered agents out there, who are illegally trading.

Meanwhile, the Informational Commissioner’s Office (ICO), to which all estate agents must also be registered, has reported that just over 4,000 estate agency businesses have now signed up.

Both sets of figures show that there are still hundreds, and probably thousands, of agents who are flouting the law.

There are currently 7,926 member firms signed up to the Property Ombudsman scheme, who have 11,290 offices between them.

The Ombudsman figures are at puzzling odds with the OFT’s, as the latter shows fewer estate agency businesses but more offices. Furthermore, the Ombudsman’s figures are not the complete market, although it believes more than 90% of all sales agents are signed up with it.

The OFT figure of 12,300 offices is also somewhat adrift of the 14,850 estate agency branches which subscribe to Rightmove, which claims 90% of the market.

Agents who have not registered with the OFT face fines of £2,000 plus £1,000 for each additional unregistered premises.

Agents who are not registered with the ICO run the risk of being clobbered by fines of up to £500,000.

In September, both the OFT and ICO launched campaigns aimed at reminding agents of their legal obligations.

On September 17, the OFT warned that it would contact agents it believed were not compliant and give them 21 days before applying the fines.

The OFT has now confirmed to EAT that it has since sent out 100 letters to unregistered estate agents warning them of the need to register and the consequences of failing to do so.

A spokeswoman said: “To date our contact with those businesses has been successful, with over 77 of those contacted now appropriately registered, with responses awaited from the remaining 23.

“Work to ensure that other unregistered businesses register is ongoing.”

In September, the ICO reported that just 3,734 estate agency businesses had registered with it. Since its campaign began, a further 342 have signed up. Any business that handles personal data must be registered or face huge fines.

PS. EAT has given up trying to work out (a) how many estate agency businesses there are and (b) how many estate agency offices there are. So, let’s turn it over to our readers. The winning answer (not that we’ll know, obviously) will get its sender a free guided tour of the Office for National Statistics.

Comments

  • icon

    Does anyone remember the planning laws on boards? No no seems to take any notice of them now...

    • 03 December 2010 16:48 PM
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    Looking forward to the moans when this lot find out about the Anti Bribery Act becomes law in April next year!

    • 02 December 2010 14:26 PM
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    Whether one agRees or not with the rules is not the question. Just sign up, be professional and follow the law. Simple.

    If you disagree with these silly things then write to the government and do somethiNg about it, or better still, study, get qualified, join the NAEA and have a voice in the industry. Remember, the government do listen to professional people, not those that flaunt the law. Simple.

    • 29 November 2010 23:30 PM
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    "Fines up to £500,000", I will police it for %!!

    • 29 November 2010 12:29 PM
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    Its all a waste of time because like the HIP`s fiasco no one is going to police whichever system is chosen. Now where did I leave my fire extinguisher?

    • 29 November 2010 12:10 PM
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    I agree, 1 complete registration is required, currently 3 all doing a slightly different role that could easily be encompassed into an effective single body, perhaps most sensibly under the Ombudsman office, even that is inconsistent with the RICS scheme an alternative.

    How is the public who all this purports to protect ever to understand it?

    1 place all Agency regulation, simple and effective. Then the organisation would have teeth to deal with those that do not comply and operate unfairly against the majority who try to act within too many laws.

    • 29 November 2010 11:33 AM
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    ...I am waiting for the NAEA to launch its own version of the Information Commissioner's Data Protection guff.

    Don't laugh - they may have plans.

    • 29 November 2010 10:54 AM
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    Sorry. Is it just me or, if we HAVE to register with all these different agencies, wouldn't it be more efficient to just have ONE agency that covers ALL the areas that have COMPULSORY registration. We fill in one form, pay one fee, and they waste (yes WASTE*) less of our time, and run themselves more effectively!

    * I say waste because 1) I registered with the Data Protection using the "Application for registration form" rather than the registration form they would then send me (sigh!). Then they return the forms with another agents cheque and details, and send my cheque and details to another agent, who's details and check were sent to yet another agent - great Data Protection there, guys. 2) The OFT send me stroppy letters about registering; then stroppy e-mails and threats of penalties. I ring my bank to cancel my cheque assuming the application is lost on the post, and am told the OFT already cashed it because they DID have my application and had already processed it. If I ran my business this way, I'd be out of business !)

    • 29 November 2010 10:42 AM
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    The stealth tax is required to run the Gestapo Officers to spy on wicked Estate Agents!

    • 29 November 2010 10:38 AM
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    Not sure whether we need to register as I have only read 598 pages of the simple Government document of 5,938 pages long that tells me whether we should register.

    Please give us more time as we are now knitting jumpers for our troops and time is limited as we are also trying to run a business.

    • 29 November 2010 10:35 AM
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    Stealth Tax??

    • 29 November 2010 07:33 AM
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