Spicerhaart has found itself in hot water with the advertising watchdog. Once again, the problem was caused by a touting flyer, using what looks like handwriting.
It sent out five mailings, all intended for sellers who had their properties with other agents. With the heading IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE HOME SELLER, the mailings told the recipients in a handwritten style font to contact ‘Lesley Miller’ at their local branch as soon as possible, or as a matter of urgency.
It emerged that three of the sellers did not even have their homes on the market.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the mailshots could have been upsetting both for people with their homes on the market with other agents, and for people who were not selling.
The mailings, from five separate branches, drew five complaints including one from another estate agent, and raised three issues. The ASA upheld the complaints.
Each mailing consisted of an envelope with a compliments slip for a local Spicerhaart firm inside. The wording typically said: “Call me ASAP about the sale of your home? Many thanks Lesley Miller.”
One mailing was sent out by haart in Camberwell Green; another by Darlows Llanishen; a third by haart’s Leagrave branch; a fourth by haart’s Swindon branch; and the fifth by haart Plymouth branch.
All five complainants challenged whether the adverts were obviously identifiable as marketing communications.
Matthews Estate Agents and three members of the public also challenged whether the adverts were likely to cause undue distress, particularly to the vulnerable and the elderly, because they implied that the properties to which they were sent were for sale or that problems had arisen with ongoing sales.
Matthews Estate Agents and two members of the public additionally challenged whether three of the adverts misleadingly implied that ‘Lesley Miller’ was based at the branches referenced in the adverts.
Spicerhaart told the ASA that it would have clear that the letters were marketing communications. They said they had made amendments following previous ASA adjudications on similar mailings, and had put procedures in place to ensure that advice was sought from the Committee of Advertising Practice’s Copy Advice team before adverts were published.
They highlighted that the ads were sent in branded envelopes and gave a business return address on the back, and said the Copy Advice team had previously approved envelopes of that type. They said each envelope would also have had business mail franking as opposed to being stamped. The front of the compliment slips were heavily branded, with the logo clearly displayed together with the business name, address of the local branch and website.
The firm also told the ASA that the said the adverts were intended to be sent to recipients whose properties were currently being marketed for sale by other agents. Such properties were usually identified by the presence of a ‘For Sale’ board, and addresses for those properties were added to a list operated by the local branch.
A central department then used those lists to send marketing communications to listed properties.
However, three of the properties where the mailing was sent were not for sale. They had apologised and said the addresses had been removed from their marketing lists, and steps had been taken to reiterate to branches the importance of ensuring the lists were up to date.
The company also confirmed that Lesley Miller was not physically based at the branches referred to. Ms Miller was their new business manager based at their head office in Colchester. They said they did not agree that the reference to her in the adverts implied that she was based at all the relevant branches.
They acknowledged that the adverts listed the addresses of local branches, but said they made no express reference to Ms Miller being based at the branches, nor did they assert that she held any particular role at the branches. They said that calls to the phone numbers on the adverts went through to Ms Miller and her team, who were first contact for queries arising from the adverts.
The ASA noted that in 2009 and 2010 it had ruled that similar mailings by haart were not obviously identifiable as marketing communications because they did not make clear their commercial interest in the recipients’ property.
In 2011, however, it considered that a haart mailing was obviously identifiable as a marketing communication because handwritten text on the compliment slip stated “We would love to help you sell your home” and therefore their commercial interest in the recipients’ property was made clear.
However, in the latest instance, the ASA said it was not clear that the agent had a commercial interest in the recipients’ property. It was not clear that the mailings were obviously marketing communications.
The ASA also felt that the mailings conveyed a sense of urgency and were likely to cause distress without justifiable reason to people both in the process of selling their home through other agents, and also to recipients who were not selling their homes.
For example, a private tenant who received the mailing might have thought the landlord had put the property on the market; and someone vulnerable or elderly might have thought someone was attempting to sell the property without their knowledge.
Finally, the ASA said that the adverts were misleading in relation to Lesley Miller, as recipients would have thought she was based at their local branch.
The adverts have been banned.
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Comments
the new business department in spicerhaart are paid to make outbound calls to numbers uploaded by branches of people currently on the market or that are considering selling, the call agent will pretend to be based within the branch and tell the vendor they have applicants that would be interested in the type of property being sold. The end game is to book and appointment for a valuer to go and see the vendor and get a spicer or haart board outside their house.
The applicants mentioned do not exist and the call agent is based in Colchester Essex and not the branch they say they're from.
I think this is all wrong and spicerhaart should take an ethical look at their practices.
@ Mmmmm, love your plan, where do we sign up ;)
@ A Big Corporate employee, you have my sympathy, I managed an office for Haart several years ago, not long after they took over Woolwich, big mistake, I lasted less than a year before I'd had enough!As you obviously have a conscience, and care about standards in the industry, go and get yourself a job with a good independent, you won't look back!
@ PeeBee, Thanks :)
I note that Mr 'All a bit Sad' has gone quiet!
Its OK in Japan
@ All a bit sad - if it were a flyer, I would tend to agree - but it isn't.
Its a hand written note requesting an 'urgent call' or similar which can cause worry to people, especially vulnerable people.
Being a competitive industry does not mean that anything goes.
Your comments are ironically all a bit sad. Still, I suspect you work for Spicer Haart, either that or you are insane as no one would take the trouble to post such meaningless drivel unless defensively.
I have a plan.
a) A fixed penalty system of £100 for every hand written blatant tout proceeds of which go to the Estate Agency Foundation
b) Then all we need, is a few packs of Spicer Haart compliment slips....
We are positively encouraged and targeted to door knock / post comp slips etc. I hate it - but its the culture.
The sad fact is, it works and until there are penalties, we can't afford to let the other big corporates steal the march on us by taking the moral high ground. I get paid for instructions and this is the easiest way to generate them.
ASA toothless? Your Move may disagree regarding tenants fees - now its a very pressing for all lettings agents. Disregard at your peril. Once TSO get round to it, it will become expensive
This practice only serves to undermine the agent who carries out the same. Let them get on with it. I always warn vendors to expect it without naming names and explain how unprofessional it is and that it can worry some vulnerable people. We advise that if received, its just a cheap attempt to get attention.
When the message arrives, the vendor tends to be more outraged and more inclined to dismiss it and labels the agent 'unprofessional'. Forewarned and all
The more we talk about it, the more PR SH are getting.
Being the complainent from Plymouth I can assue stonehenge that the PTO were contacted. They responded with an acknowledgement but nothing since.
The response of All a bit sad dismays me being so aperthetic as to not care about the behavour of Spice Heart. It is no wonder that Estate agents are seen by many to be on par with double glazing salesmen. Thank goodness that the Agent that was responsible for our sale P Homes was totally professional in all matters.
The ASA it appears to me is completely toothless so perhapps the estate agents should get together and use any clout that they may have to change the situation and get your industry a better reputation.
Hound
For what it's worth, I'm with you all the way on this one.
@stickersonboards
You are about to receive a bundle of fines from the council unless you use the same board for 'for sale' and 'sold'
I suggest a meeting with the planning dept and quick to seek clarification on what you can and can't do. Good luck
As Ray Evans hints, looking at the tone of his two posts, 'All a bit sad' probably doesn't think about anyone other than himself, and comes across as exactly what gives this industry it's bad reputation.
Good sales people are good listeners, and have empathy for the people they deal with, so standards really, really do matter!
It's unfortunate that the attitude of 'All a bit sad' is somewhat prevalent in our industry. The ends justify the means, it doesn't matter what you do ' just sell some houses' and yet this is the exact same attitude that gives us a bad name.
To ignore guidelines and procedures under the guise that 'no one got killed' and that it's therefore acceptable is wrong. To declare that anyone who complains has nothing better to do is a sideways call to arms for us all to indulge in this behaviour and to hell with the consequences, that too is wrong.
Does it really matter? Silly question really...
@ All a bit sad on 2013-09-20 11:13:34
Have you ever given a thought to your elderly, ill or less than 'street wise' clients?
He typed B*tt*ck on the internet!
Hound
It really, really doesn't matter. Stop being precious, stop worrying about bits of shiny paper and sell some houses!
Someone with nothing better to do than complain about a flyer should be laughed at and told to get over themselves. Taking any notice just encourages people like this. Anybody who seriously thinks that getting a canvassing letter through the front door is upsetting probably needs help. They're the same people who write in and complain about a buttock appearing on TV before the watershed.
We work in a competitive sales industry. Get a grip.
Yes.....our branches are in East London? Do you know what they are for? Cheers.
It begs the question why apparently have none of the complainants actually made representations to TPO?
@ All a bit sad
Does this really matter???
Actually, it does, I don't think there is a bit of advertising material or an agents website that doesn't include the word 'professional' somewhere.
Professional means maintaining certain standards, and following accepted guidelines. So if we want to be thought of as 'professional' (and maybe improve the image of the industry as a whole) that's what we have to do.
The shame of it is that the ASA are not powerful enough, and it's time that the ombudsman enforced the code of conduct we are all signed up to, we have no choice whether we belong or not, so as there is a code of conduct, the ombudsman should enforce that code, and should be revoking membership for persistent offenders.
Does this really matter???
Matthews Estate Agents clearly have too much time on their hands and any member of the public who can be bothered to complain about a letter through their front door needs to get out and find a hobby.People who complain about this sort of thing just grab at the chance to feel important for a brief moment. It's a letter....pop it in the bin....easy.
I'm an estate agent who competes directly with Spicer Haart and don't have much time for them but I wouldn't waste a second of my working day complaining about their canvassing material.
Right.....this has taken me 3 minutes to write. I'll never get that 3 minutes back but I had to let off steam. Still considerably less time than Matthews have spent on it. Back to selling some houses.
@stickersonboards
Are you in East London?
@marketeer on 2013-09-20 08:02:02
'ASA = toothless'
'Haart will just keep on acting as they wish and keep getting a friendly slap on the wrist'.
Unless, of course, they happen to be a single office firm!
Someone has been putting small coloured stickers on the corners of the agent boards in my area.Orange ones for sold and green on for sale.
Is this part of a touting scheme? - Has anyone else experienced it?
This type of thing will only get worse when Optimhome launch with their first batch of agents later this year.Some of their agents will have had no experience and will be touting for property after only 5 days training and working, as agents, alone from home!
Haart are a member of the property Ombudsman and these type of canvassing/mailings are not allowed under their guidance and procedures, but it is the tactic of most most large groups.
ASA = toothless
Haart will just keep on acting as they wish and keep getting a friendly slap on the wrist.
We can all sleep safely now.