eXp UK dismisses estate agent for abusing position and misleading clients

Independent estate agent Ian Wyn-Jones has been dismissed by eXp UK following allegations that he misled some of his former clients after being instructed to sell their properties.

Wyn-Jones, from Anglesey, has two decades of experience in the industry, and operated as a self-employed estate agent under the eXp UK brand. But he has been investigated over the past couple of months by the franchise following a string of allegations accusing him of creating fake visits and feedback, false offers for houses, and failing to pass on offers to sellers.

The independent estate agent, a former Purplebricks territory manager, was recently the subject of an investigation by the current affairs series Y Byd ar Bedwar in Wales. The allegations ranged between 2019 and 2023.

Now eXp UK has issued a statement confirming that Wyn-Jones has been shown the door.

eXp UK’s statement read: “Allegations were made of instances where his approach to customer service fell short of client expectations. As a consequence of the allegations made, eXp UK immediately suspended Wyn-Jones from their platform and halted permission for him to promote himself as an eXp agent. eXp also announced a formal investigation into the allegations.”

Wyn-Jones first partnered with eXp in January 2021 and prior to this was a franchisee with easyProperty and a territory manager with PurpleBricks before that.

The investigation by eXp was conducted in the United States by members of the eXp Global senior team. This thorough process has now concluded and it finds that Wyn-Jones at times fell below the standards set out and expected by eXp. It also found that the majority of the criticisms made of Wyn-Jones relate to his time working at previous companies.

The statement added: “In the circumstances, it is with regret that Ian Wyn-Jones has now been terminated as an eXp partner agent with immediate effect. This is due to the evidence of his failure to maintain required customer related standards at all times during his tenure with eXp UK.

“No further statement or comment will be made on this matter.”

 

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35 Comments

  1. Chris Arnold

    There’s the story and then there’s the back story that few have heard.
    It’s fine being holier-than-thou but it’s an incomplete process if we don’t know the full story.

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    1. jan-byers

      So what is the story
      As far as I can see he does done what many agents have done over the years

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  2. 0racle

    On a positive note, it’s good to see that he remembered most of the excellent PB training that he received

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    1. jan-byers

      Or any agent?

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      1. AcornsRNuts

        Just like developers over-egg the interest shown in their properties?

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        1. jan-byers

          I have worked in independent and natioabl esatte agents I know what goes on
          I don’t need to – we have a very high spec – small excluse sites – top end – most buyers are not getting a mortgage – current sales rate over last 3 months 1.8 a week
          Doing fine thanks 🙂

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      2. 0racle

        Jan Byers

        I’ve been an agent for 25 years and I have never once made up an offer or lied about the number of viewings…. So no, not ANY agent…. Mind you, if you wanna talk about the lies and made up nonsense I came across this year from a new build developer… but I don’t have time right now

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        1. jan-byers

          Hit a nerve there methinks!
          I have been involved in seling houses since 1986 so I trump you
          I am not responsible for the actions of other developers any more than you are for estate agents
          I work with agents all the time
          Some I trust some i do not
          You do not have the time because you do not understand it
          There is far more to it than putting a photo on Righmnove and waiting for e mails
          I have done what you dov from being a neg to an area director
          It is easy
          You could never run a new build developer

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          1. AcornsRNuts

            On a roll today, Jan? Must be a quiet day at the coalface.

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        2. jan-byers

          I hqve to go now
          Meeting with planner and architect that would be way over your tiny brain
          In the meantime keep looking out of the window waiting for an e mail
          And keep on paying RM £1000’s

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          1. AcornsRNuts

            Hair appointment to touch up your roots?

            You have no idea of the size of my brian, but once you resort to personal insults, the gloves are off, dear. Don’t forget to top the stylist. That is what nice people do.

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          2. 0racle

            Jesus…. And you say YOU touched a nerve Jan??

            New Homes is where all the washed up agents go when they can’t hack the real business any more… but you already know that don’t you?

            Over the years, I’ve dealt with all sorts of developers, from good ones to downright crooks…
            ….and one thing they all have in common is that they usually have their head firmly up their own backside…

            …I’m tempted to think some of this has rubbed off on you….

            I sincerely hope that the stylist didn’t miss those whiskers

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            1. jan-byers

              You could never do what I do
              Find land by cold calling
              Negotiate a price for said land
              Deal with architects and planners and LAs
              Negotiate 1o6 agreements
              Deal with buliding contractors
              Selling is the easiest part
              All you do is put a photo and Righmove and wait for an e-mail
              What you do is a low skiilled admin job that requires no qualifiactions whatsoever
              That is why agents are often staffed by kids on low wages
              How many of your staff eran 50K plus
              I guess not one
              This year 2 of my on site sales staff will earn in excess of 70k
              We have stopped using agents we use our own sales people who we have headhunted from agents It is an easy sell to recruit as they earn more money and work far shorted hours
              Now toddle off and put some photos on Rightmove and pay then £££££ for the privelidge
              I will not look at this thread again – just off to see a land onwer
              What are you doinfg this afternoon?
              Looking out of the window I guess begging the govt to help you

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              1. Neil Robinson

                Wow

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              2. AcornsRNuts

                That is two days running that Jan got out of the wrong side of the bed and proved that one really should proofread for punctuation (as in use some), typos etc before hitting the red button.

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  3. NHGURU

    Problem is these are Lone Wolves doing whatever they want however they want to do it . Exp just collecting a slice of the top. Its not surprising you are going to get these sort of situations .That’s why a lot of companies don’t go into the Franchise model-this is a few steps beyond that

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    1. jan-byers

      I have worked for nationals and small independed who do exactly the same thing
      It is not just lone wolves
      I guess the problem is most sales staff are young kids earning a very low hourly rate

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  4. Woodentop

    This is down side problem with bedroom agents. Out of sight and no-one to see what they get up to. I’m sure there are conscientious people but the bedroom model is wide open to abuse if you are that way inclined, with little supervision and even when there is you would need to take on the role of a VAT inspectors dedication/thoroughness to catch you.

    At least working face to face in a team makes it considerably harder to scam.

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    1. AcornsRNuts

      Bedroom agents? That old slur went out with the dinosaurs?
      Some agents, WITH OFFICES, are the worst. Some agents who work from home (not their bedrooms, are the best.

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    2. 0racle

      Then why has it been an industry wide problem for years?

      This is a personal issue and probably something he has done throughout his career, most likely even encouraged by managers and area managers

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      1. jan-byers

        Where is your evidence for that

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        1. 0racle

          25 years working in the industry… the REAL industry… not the toy town version you’ve been in for 300 years or so

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    3. Matthew Gardiner Legge

      I think the thousands and counting self employed agents out there might take issue with your term ‘bedroom’ agents especially the many that are now taking over market share in their respective home towns. Worth bearing in mind that ‘bedroom’ agents can only succeed in their local areas by their individual reputation alone – no corporate brand to hide behind. Just like the hospitality industry now lives and dies according to their Tripadvisor ratings so ‘bedroom’ agents survive by their Google/Facebook/Trustpilot etc reviews.

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      1. Neil Robinson

        I’m absolutely not a bedroom agent, and I still take exception to that term being used.

        This industry is meant to be a professional one, and that means accepting that different companies have different ways of operating. However what ties us together is that we all have to abide by the same rules and regulations – yet people STILL moan and bitch when someone who chooses not to be bound by these rules, gets found out and thrown out.

        IN other words, they moan when people get away with it, and still moan when people don’t, as is the case here.

        Too much time and energy is spent, in my opinion, on trying to tell people that their way of working is somehow wrong, when it is nothing to do with them.

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    4. MLB

      Bedroom agents? Oh mate…

      Many are outperforming their local ‘high street ‘ agents which is why there is so much jealousy. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all get on and stop using puerile slurs? Just a thought

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    5. jan-byers

      It does not make it harder to scam they encourage each other Been there seen it

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    6. Woodentop

      Chill guys, bedroom agent is a term used for poor professional standards, part-time attitudes, doing it on the cheap etc. You need to read the message and not have a guilty conscience! Did I say all and reference is to a well known and documented down side of that business model, as proven by this article? Sure there will be some good ones, but doing better than the high street …… fantasy to think that is the norm, lol.

      ” I’m sure there are conscientious people but the bedroom model ……”

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      1. AcornsRNuts

        Woodentop, it is a term used by dinosaurs. As for accusing those of us who objected to your phraseology of having a guilty conscience, I would suggest using an old phrase, you look for the beam in your eye.

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        1. Woodentop

          Or another phrase ….. You can’t reinvent history.

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          1. AcornsRNuts

            Woodentop – so accurate a name. Nothing gets through does it?

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  5. Simon Bradbury

    Well I say, well done EXP!
    No business owner or franchisor can be 100% certain that from time to time, their employees/franchisee’s will always stick to the rules. They can make those rules clear and through training try to ensure that everyone adhere’s to the law and protocols, but occasionally things may go wrong despite their best efforts.
    What matters then is how any alleged misdemeanours are actually dealt with – fairly and in accordance with company policy, with appropriate action taken where required.
    That is exactly what EXP appear to have done!

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    1. Neil Robinson

      I couldn’t agree more, Simon.

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    2. Robert_May

      EXP have done something Propertymark and before that NAEA seem adverse to doing, dealing with the spivs, chancers and wrongdoers.
      Chris Wood ( previous board member NAEA)provided Propertymark ( pre Nathan) and the redress schemes with 15gb of documented wrongdoing by multiple agents in breach of CPR and BPR, his concerns were dismissed as “agents’ gripes” and they set about him in a most unprofessional manner.

      If the organisations who promote professionalism and standards don’t enforce the standards, rules and codes of conduct, who will?

      (a rhetorical question, to which I already know the answer)

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  6. Neil Robinson

    There are a lot of very bitter agents on here, evidently.

    eXp has been active in the UK for 4 years, and now has something like 400 agents within the group – this is the first and only time a story of this kind has broken relating to them.

    Just because eXp don’t do things how you do it, doesn’t mean it’s wrong, and just because one agent went rogue, doesn’t mean the whole organisation is.

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  7. NHGURU

    Very fair points from both sides of the argument .4 years isn’t very long though is it (how long were our PB friends in business) though time will tell if Exp has the ability to retain staff long term as opposed to the inevitable churn in this model and where you then get a lot of these “compliance” type problems.
    Hope they do well TBF but I fear the market is very much against them and severely so over the next year or so

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