First agent reopens High Street branch to the public

How silly , for god sake why can’t they just operate from home , they’ll all moan when there’s another lockdown because the death toll will rise again , I have a multi branch site we have staff working from home and it’s working well , I just can’t understand the mentality , you can’t go and value , you can’t do viewings , so why you need to open your office , divert your phone to home and work from there

Almost as if his main claim is how clever he is to find some ambiguity in the rules. There's a lot of ambiguity if you look for it mate! Just stick to the clear broad rules!

Why is he going against Government rules? He will be told to shut down once the other local agents start calling the local constabulary! Complete tom foolery

Says two things - "I need money, help" and "that's all its about... money"... shut up shop, enjoy the time at home, there is no reason at all to open to the public for now other than desperation.

Had his five minutes of fame and everyone basically thinks he is a dickhead!

Manchester United is doing something similar, the challenge is in defence not attack

or is that Bone head!

Forgive the unprofessional response.

You are a tosser.

Come on respect the rules as a responsible business owner like the rest of us

This is encouraging people to come out of their homes to the High Street unnecessarily - that just doesn't comply with current rules. Buying a house to me does not feel like essential travel. Is he doing a complete clean down of the premises after every member of the public has been in to see him? What about the properties visited, are they being cleaned as well?

Whoever at the Council approved that needs to explain themselves (if they exist), if they have approved this they should have communicated that to the other agents in their region. This agent needs to be ordered to close and observe the lockdown measures with the rest of the industry, it is being opportunistic at the worst of times.

I understand that they are trying to make money but I suspect the public perception of this could have the reverse effect.

I would imaging their competitors using this again them after lockdown.

I think this is a very poor decision personally.

Any Estate Agent office that opens is breaking the rules and is encouraging people who go to the office to break the rules. Going to buy a house isn't essential business !!!!! it should close and work from home like all the rest of us.

The rules are crystal clear from central government and have nothing to do with the local concil. His office should not be open. He should not be viewing empty properties.

Anyone who doesnt think we are in for a huge second wave and second lockdown needs to be giving that some serious consideration as real possibility sadly. The virologists have said it would be likely anyway and only the most disciplined followed lockdowns and a bit of luck, the snuff out as they call it, would prevent one. The quality of social distancing out there is frankly a joke, essential seems to have become a word less and less people understand, and then when you combine that with the accepted risk that social distancing simply won't be possible in many environments (small estate agency offices with one door for example) and with reckless behavior like this, how could it not? HMG should start to be far more honest with the public about how bad this could get if people dont strictly follow the guidelines to the letter. Its all too nanny state at the moment and wave 2 and lockdown 2 will be far more damaging for peoples health and wealth.

This is the problem at the moment - some agents, some of the public etc seem to be self unlocking themselves. It's illegal - has the bloke got no morals or any idea that he could kill someone by a viewer passing on the disease. I hope another agent in Gloucester is reading this and phones the police.

Acting dumb is not a good look. The guidance is simple to understand and not confusing. Go home and wait, like everyone else!

I am astounded at the ignorance of the man.As previous commenters have said, the advice is clear and simple. Are his work operations more important than the health and welfare of the public, his clients and his staff? Take a look at the commentary on his Facebook page.

How ignorant and disrespectful of everyone else who are observing And following the rules. Perhaps this man feels he is more important than everyone else? I would imagine there will be many people in his community that will feel negative towards his company. Shame on you.

Catch 22 for them here: It may be possible to open the office to work in and I suspect that this is the reason the Council and the constabulary are intimating they can't do anything. However, anyone travelling to and from that business is going out of their home for non-essential work and they could be prosecuted. If Liddington Bone don't make it clear to their visitors that they are breaking the law, Liddingtons could be prosecuted for aiding and abetting. This is criminal not civil legislation.

They seem to have taken down their Facebook page with all the adverse comments and they are not answering their telephone. Maybe they'll be closed tomorrow!

I am in the same City. By opening up and shouting about it he has made the local buyers think we should all be open. We have even received complaints that we won’t do viewings when he is!! No respect for his colleague or the general public. I’m also not even sure his office is 8m in total!?!
Sadly I am not surprised that he has opened.