A former trading standards officer is launching training courses for agents on how to face up to their duties of disclosure and comply with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
David Beaumont will be holding two-hour courses next month in Bristol, Leeds, Tunbridge Wells, Watford, Durham and Dudley.
He said: “The OFT has issued guidance, but it is really guidance for trading standards officers on how to administer the law, and is not much use to estate agents.”
Beaumont said the consumer protection legislation changes agents’ obligations significantly, but there is currently very little information and advice for agents.
Both sales and lettings agents are affected by the scope of the legislation, which obliges agents to provide potential buyers and tenants with any and all material information that could influence whether they decide to try to buy or rent a particular property.
But Beaumont said that his attempts to mass-market his courses had raised a few complaints from agents, whose compliance officers objected to having been sent unsolicited emails. EAT also received a query from an agent who thought the email had come from Trading Standards, and wondering how their email address had been obtained.
Beaumont told EAT he had not intended to upset anyone, and had obtained the email addresses, publicly available, from the Property Ombudsman’s website.
He said: “We all receive unsolicited emails on a daily basis that are of no interest or relevance to us, but in this case, the legislation is of complete relevance to all agents.”
A spokesman for the Property Ombudsman said: "A third party has admitted to TPO that his staff harvested some business email information from its online member search facility, intended to allow consumers to locate member agents, to use in a promotion campaign entirely unrelated to TPO. Steps have been taken to ensure that no such data can be accessed in future."
The courses, designed to show agents how they can minimise their risks, cost £40 plus VAT per place.
For information on the courses, use the email address below.
David@tradingstandards.biz
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Comments
Hmm, could have been penned by himself............nice advert
I've heard David speak on numerous occasions about agents' duties and responsibilities under the various bits of legislation that impact on this business, and I would strongly recommend him. A word of warning, though: he doesn't employ the usual array of tired old rock-star gimics so beloved by a lot of self-appointed gurus in this business. So, no pump-up music, no striding about the stage with a radio mike, no idiotic rhetorical questions, and no childish stand up/sit down audience games. Just a lot of useful information allied to good solid common sense (he's from oop north, after all).
When did Beaumont leave TS as if it was before these Regs came in how is he qualified to know how his ex colleagues are going to administer them?
And even if it was post their introduction how does he know their approach hasn't changed?
Main point though is I'd like to know what "steps" TPO has taken to stop unintended commercial use of its member listing details, which the public needs to see.
Only way is to stop them seeing it, isn't it?
I like the bit where agents complain about receiving unsolicited emails! Bet it was someone from Black, Kettle and Pot Estate Agents.