Estate agents among least trusted professionals to leave home alone Posted By Carmel McCarthy on May 5, 2006 @ 12:00 am in Home, news article ESTATE AGENTS AMONG LEAST TRUSTED PROFESSIONALS TO LEAVE HOME ALONE - Estate agents in the top three least trusted professionals to be left alone in UK homes - One in ten people have experienced disputes with estate agents over fees and commission - MORE TH>N Family Legal Services provides a full range of legal solutions and documents to help resolve property-related disputes and recover costs They may be the life blood of the property market, but new research from leading home insurer, MORE TH>N, reveals that Britons now place estate agents in the top three least trusted professionals to be left alone in our homes. With 18% of the votes, estate agents were out-voted only by window-cleaners (31%), and builders and decorators (26%). Estate agents showing people round their home when they are not present make two thirds of Brits (69%) feel uncomfortable. As a result, over half (51%) go out of their way to ensure they are always present at a viewing; but an unlucky fifth (18%) with busy working lives have no choice but to let the estate agents continue with viewings in their absence, even though they would prefer to be there. Such problems don't just affect those buying and selling, the MORE TH>N research reveals, but also renters. Over one in ten people (11%) have experienced a dispute over payment of fees or commission with an estate agent. The research comes in the aftermath of the recent BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary Whistleblower, which shocked the property industry to the core by revealing dubious sales practices such as under and over-valuing, false offers and developer back-handers by some of the UK's leading estate agents. Craig Allen, Home Insurance Manager at MORE TH>N, comments: "Moving home is stressful enough without having to consider whether the person who is supposed to be assisting you is trustworthy. While we hope that for most people, the experience of dealing with estate agents is a smooth one, there are those for whom problems do arise. MORE TH>N Family Legal Services could offer peace of mind with a 24-hour legal helpline, online legal documents and legal cover." MORE TH>N's Family Legal Services offers unlimited use of several legal documents relating to issues with estate agents. The most popular of these is a letter which assists the owner/seller of a property to refuse any additional undisclosed agent's charges that may arise after the instruction of the estate agent. Allen concludes: "We've been providing access to legal documents as part of our home legal cover since 2002, and it still surprises us that people have problems with estate agents that are serious enough to warrant taking steps towards legal action."
MORE TH>N Family Legal Services costs around £18 a year, and is available as an extension to MORE TH>N home insurance. Once purchased there is no charge to use the service, and no limit on the number of times it is used. It provides £50,000 legal expenses cover, a 24-hour legal services helpline and over 200 professionally-written, interactive documents available anytime on the MORE TH>N website. More information on Family Legal Services is available from www.morethan.com/home or by calling 0800 300 680. -
Copyright (C) MORE TH>N Newsroom