Estate agents could face investigation by the Office of Fair Trading for single acts of malpractice following a landmark High Court ruling.
Up until now the OFT as acted only where it suspects the occurrence of several improprieties.
But that is set to change in the light of a case brought against the OFT by Benham & Reeves when it refused to act regarding the conduct of two B&R employees dismissed for gross misconduct. The complaint involved Jeremy Gee, who now works at Glentree Estates, and Paul Samuels, employed at Parkheath Estates.
Both were dismissed when it was discovered they had accepted £5,000 each from a purchaser – without disclosing the payment to the vendor.
This week High Court judge Mr Justice Silver found in B&R’s favour.
Jeremy Gee was unavailable for comment. Paul Samuels said: “The only thing I did wrong was not to declare a gift to the company.”
