The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has banned two
The OFT brought prohibition orders against Charles Grizzle and Luke Morris, from estate agency Imperial Homes in
The pair failed to disclose to a potential purchaser that a property being sold by their company was owned by Morris, and then took a deposit even though it is illegal for an agent to do so if they have a personal interest in the property.
Morris and Grizzle then fabricated a letter to the OFT to try and conceal their actions.
The OFT has banned them both from estate agency work and has made a warning against Imperial Homes.
Mike Haley, OFT director of consumer protection, said: “Estate agents have a duty to immediately disclose to prospective purchasers that they have a personal interest in the sale of a property they are marketing.
“In this case, matters were made worse by the fabrication of letters to the OFT. As this case shows, we will take the strongest possible action against those whose dishonesty make them unfit to practice estate agency.”
