A man who unlawfully acted as an estate agent while banned has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Amerjit Singh Dhuga, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully engaging in estate agency work over four years, was yesterday sentenced to a custodial sentence of six weeks suspended for two years, and fined £4,000 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Collective prosecution costs were £5,000 and there was a victim surcharge of £170.
Dhuga, known as Bobby Singh of Love Your Postcode, was investigated by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team and found to be playing an active part in running the estate agency business despite being banned from engaging in estate agency work in 2013.
Dhug’s clients were unaware of the ban, with the offences spanned over four years between August 2016, and November 2020.
The investigation found that Love Your Postcode Limited provided valuations to several consumers which were lower than the “For Sale” price, often to the sum of £10,000 less, to which Love Your Postcode Limited would retain as a “Performance Fee” as well as the usual commission.
Love Your Postcode Limited also pleaded guilty to breaching professional diligence requirements by failing to declare to customers that Dhuga could not lawfully undertake estate agency work.
The company has been fined £16,000, reduced to £12,000 due to its early guilty pleas.
Speaking yesterday following the sentencing, chair of National Trading Standards Lord Toby Harris said: “Buying or renting a home is a major financial transaction for people and it is important that the public can rely on legitimate estate agents to provide a professional service.
“Working as an estate agent while banned is against the law and we will take action against dishonest fraudsters who try to con the public.
“This investigation demonstrates the vital role of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency team in protecting consumers and safeguarding legitimate practice within the estate agency sector.”
I seem to remember this guy posting a lot on LinkedIn a couple of years back and loads of people constantly singing his praises
How odd
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No, I think he mainly sang his own praises.
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He had his face emblazoned on poster boards all round Sandwell .He couldn’t have been anymore in your face .Even NTSELAT couldn’t miss this one .No doubt inundated with snapshots from the public.
“This investigation demonstrates the vital role of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency team in protecting consumers and safeguarding legitimate practice within the estate agency sector.”
Already milking it despite the fact that somehow having been banned since 2013 managed to operate from 2016 onwards NTSELAT slow out of the traps
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“despite the fact that somehow having been banned since 2013 managed to operate from 2016 onwards”
According to Companies House, Love Your Postcode was incorporated in 2012 – so Singh could well have been operating illegally from the day he was banned.
Also according to Companies House, Singh is an Officer for another company – incorporated in 2017 – the nature of the business being described as “Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate”.
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If the industry is to be ‘self regulated’ why does NTSEAT not just set up a whistle blowers department. I am sure this character would have been caught much quicker. Really how difficult is it!
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Flock Exactly.
They keep referring you back to your local TS office. So if you were based in Folkestone and made a complaint about a property or person in Blackpool it would get referred to Folkestone who have no appetite in chasing something through in Lancs. They would then spend months arguing between themselves who owns the case
Even if it is a national and a number of similar complaints around the country .There will be a series of these battles engaging. It’s a pig’s ear
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This is why CMA is so effective – NTSELAT don’t have a clue !
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This man is repulsive, he cares more about his ego than his clients. He should be in prison.
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There is another (reasonably well-established) company in Birmingham run by his brother who I’d better not name. A friend of mine used them to sell his house and they had the same “performance fee” clause in their T’s & C’s. It very clearly said that the company was entitled to their fee plus any amount they achieved over the asking price. Also clearly stated that they were only obliged to report offers they felt were relevant. Quite how these people can get away with it for so long is beyond me. In contrast I’ve just had a rap on the knuckles for only displaying one of my two associated companies’ registration numbers on my website!
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“Quite how these people can get away with it for so long is beyond me.”
A question for Lord Toby Young I would suggest, ResiMan.
The guy’s clearly all for “protecting consumers and safeguarding legitimate practice within the estate agency sector.” – so he will be happy as a mayfly on day #3 to set his Powys poodles loose on that one!
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“chair of National Trading Standards Lord Toby Harris said: “…“This investigation demonstrates the vital role of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency team in protecting consumers and safeguarding legitimate practice within the estate agency sector.” “
Would that be the same NTSELAT that have just been proven to not recognise “legitimate practice” if it stepped up and slapped them on the face in their vendetta against Chris Wood?
Is that the same NTSELAT that assured PropertyIndustryEye (as published 14 May 2020) an investigation was underway into Mark Ashley Estates which has never seen the light of day since. According to Google, Mark Ashley Estates is now “permanently closed” (although the woefully non-compliant website that NTSELAT were supposedly investigating is still up and running) – so it would appear that they have lost their chance for a second scalp… especially as they are ignoring my constant pointing out to them that Ashley would appear to have morphed into another company by the name of Welcome Home and transferred their interesting little business of faking property listings on the portals to St Albans.
This could be a very long post where the next thirty or forty paragraphs (an extremely conservative estimate) would start with “Is that the same NTSELAT that…” – but frankly I’d just bore you all (more than usual) and it wouldn’t make a shizzle of difference.
Instead of Lord Toby Harris blowing ‘job well done’ smoke up the a*** of NTSELAT for the one “success” they can now claim (and let’s be completely clear on this – a nine month-old marmoset would have had no bother banging Bobby Singh to rights… and probably done it quicker), he wants to have a look at the growing raft of issues they fail to address.
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‘Bobby Singh’ was expelled by TPOs in 2011 for fraudulent use of their and OFT logos on his then company website. On a flying visit to the other pub in 2012, he scrawled this on the bog door:
“Tpos are bunch of cowboys! My company was struck off for using their crappy logos without consent… 1 year later we are flying… TPOS is not to be trusted… Run by kids!! We do more business without… We are not answerable to anyone but god.”
The PRS must consider themselves fortunate to have him in their Membership…
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