DOWN WITH FOXTONS!
Ive always suspected it – and now there is irrefutable proof. BBC reporter Anna Adams set off with two other colleagues to work undercover to expose real estate agents for the fraudsters they are. Foxtons, being one of the giants in the real estate game was targeted. And rightly so. Foxtons sure didn’t get where they are now with their fancy Minis and cafe/bar stye offices with plasma screens by being honest.
If you didn’t get to watch BBC One tonight at nine, read Anna’s version of it online here.
Watched it tonight and found it shocking, chilling and disheartening. Basically she went undercover as a real estate agent and taped activity and conversation with a hidden camera. We trust real estate agents implicitly to represent you honestly, whether you’re buying or selling. What Anna and her team exposed were ruthless dishonesty and bullying techniques.
During her three month employment with Foxtons in Notting Hill she uncovered the following offences (and this is only a few):
- Putting in false offers
- Deliberately quoting sellers more than what their property is actually worth.
- Forging landlords’ signatures (affectionately called ‘chop-chop’)
- Obtaining confidential information, like what your actual earnings are, from Alexander Hall, an independent mortgage company. Incidentally, Alexander Hall is owned by the same man who owns Foxtons, Jon Hunt.
- Deliberately bullying buyers into putting in offers quickly by telling them falsely that they will lose the property to another fictional interested party.
Grrrrr……just writing about this is making me nuts. Incidentally, I know this is a food review blog, but I feel some responsibility to make sure that everyone who didn’t see the TV documentary or didn’t read the article knows what is going on and doesn’t get scammed.
Foxtons weren’t the only ones in the firing line. Time2Move, a very small real estate agency was exposed as deceitful and sly. Bruce Burkitt, the owner of Time2Move, lied to owners to try to get them to reduce their selling price, for a quicker sale. Anna was actually ‘found out’ by Bruce Burkitt from Time2Move. Basically he became paranoid and flipped through her mobile text messages (who does that?) and discovered one from her BBC colleague also researching the story. It was really funny to see him backstepping and saying that he was only saying all that unscrupulous stuff to ‘feel her out’.
A real estate agent working in Chard, Fulham was willing to accept money on the sly from the buyer and in return he would bring the seller down his asking price by £50 000.
Primetime Mortgage and Property in north London provided the reporters with fake wage slips, forged utility bills and more shockingly passports. In this way it is very possible to get an umemployed person with no money a mortgage. Unbelievably daring.
Three cheers and more for Anna Adams and her crew. A very courageous deed she has done for the greater benefit of all. Jon Hunt is issuing law suits against them, but I can’t see that going far. What he and his company has done is no different from con artists/criminals in fancy suits and a professional front. A scam that has gone on too far and for too long.
I’m sure Foxtons aren’t the only ones. I’m sure all real estate agents tell lies to varying degrees. I do think that Foxtons are the only ones willing to ‘stretch the truth’ more so than other companies – otherwise how else are they so rich and powerful? The aggressive bullying atmosphere in Foxtons is generated by the push to meet sales targets. Losers are meant to feel like losers (wearing comical dummy hats) and winners are awarded with high-fives and champagne.
We’re actually trying to look for a house. After seeing this programme I feel really disgruntled and lost. The question is, which real estate agent can we be more likely to trust? How do we prevent ourselves from getting royally screwed over? Be careful everyone.
I look forward to the following weeks to see how this programme will affect the property market. Agencies like Foxtons are the ones responsible for pushing up the prices of property. No wonder now the average price of a property in London has crept up to £300 000! All real estate agents will now have to be on their toes and be on their best behaviour. No one is safe. Hopefully this brave undercover story by Anna Adams will unleash massive reforms in the real estate industry and bring them under scrutiny by external agencies. Make them more regulated, conform to a certain standard. Have them be regularly ‘surprise’ inspected by external independent organisations. Do something to stop the greatest con of all.
posted by Property Blogger @ 6:16 PM
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