Leaders has denied that a letter sent to the landlord client of another agent was touting.
The letter, sent by the Fenstanton branch of Leaders, has worried the landlords of the tenanted property, who say they do not know how their details could have been acquired.
Addressed to the couple at their home address, the letter is about a different property in the same village in Cambridgeshire.
But Leaders told Eye that they get their information from entirely legitimate means that are in the public domain.
The letter says: “We note from our records that you have previously been marketing your property to rent.
“We are writing to enquire how your current agent is treating your investment, and to see if we can offer you an alternative that will ensure your property performs to its full potential.”
The letter goes on to outline three offers should the landlords instruct Leaders – a £250 cashback if the property is empty and not let within 14 days of instruction; 0% commission for the first three months plus £100 of John Lewis vouchers if the property is tenanted; and free check-in and check-out inventories if Leaders are instructed on an introduction-only basis.
The landlords are currently with another agent, Pennington Properties of Huntingdon.
Managing director Ian Sanford said: “My client is extremely concerned as to where Leaders have obtained the information on him, as he has never had any contact with Leaders previously, having put the property straight with us after purchasing it.
“I have tried to contact someone at Leaders above the level of branch manager but am told by their staff that they are not allowed to give out the head office number.”
Carole Charge, Leaders’ technical and compliance director, said: “In areas where we have high demand we regularly use sources such as the Land Registry to create a database of property owners.
“We will write to these property owners, whose details are in the public domain, from time to time, which is a legitimate part of the marketing process used regularly by many respected agents.
“This is not ‘touting’, which involves specifically targeting properties displaying an agent’s board.
“With regards to being told that it was not possible to give out head office numbers, our branch staff are advised not to give out head office numbers as a general rule but to instead ask for details of the nature of the enquiry and a contact telephone number.
“The message is then passed to the appropriate individual at our head office to ensure the enquiry is dealt with by the correct person.
“Any complaints are dealt with promptly in accordance with our complaints procedure.”
Sanford said he remained unhappy.
He said: “I am told touting is now a legitimate business practice endorsed by ARLA to counter the actions of non-ARLA members.
“Basically, instead of supporting members, ARLA is happy for us to be all dragged down to the lowest common denominator.
“Certainly a trawl of the Land Registry would produce the details needed for a mail shot.
“My experience is that most landlords tend to stick with who they know, especially as Leaders’ charges are at the top end of the market.
“I have already legitimately identified a number of Leaders properties in our area and will now be targeting them in the same way.”
Comments (7)
Here's an idea, what about if this Ian Sanford chap grew a pair , assured his landlord that its absolutely nothing to worry about chuck the letter in the bin and let them know it happens from time to time…….all this pretend confusion / I can't get hold of head office thing is all a bit wet. – Jonnie
I don't think I am concerned about Leaders as I am about Zoopla doing the same thing. I saw this week a letter sent to the addresses of the properties that an agent had withdrawn from them when they stopped advertising on Z. The letter said it was disappointed to see the property had been withdrawn from their portal and suggested that the owners were missing out on huge interest in their property as a result!…..This added to billboards I saw today from Z saying "Smart is committed to getting the best price for you home, ensure your agent uses Zoopla"…….gloves are off and its dirty tricks time. Makes Leaders look like boy scouts I would suggest.
Although of course if Leaders and others are indeed upstanding members of the business community they will know that one of the the terms and conditions of using the land registry data is that it cannot be used for marketing purposes…. please explain leaders.
Since when has 'hitting' a competitor's boards or using Land Registry information to increase one's own sales or rental stock an issue? Common practice and I would be unhappy if negs were not actively engaged in prospecting. It is the core lead generator. Come on peeps! We operate in a commercial world – not all a bunch of hand holding happy campers who share fees amongst ourselves. They have to be generated. What is the issue?
Think the point is being missed here on two counts.
First I think you'll find touting between ARLA agents is still not condoned by ARLA
Second OK Leaders sweep Land Registry details to find owners. But that does not tell them whether or not the property is rented out – so is Leaders paying a staff member to drive round in an undecalled company car to take note of to let boards?
Or does Leaders simply note the Land Registry properies where the owner's address is registered as different to the property address, a practice I think all Landlords have been advised to do to avoid Land Registry scams.
Or is this Leaders effort a Land Registry scam?
Carole Charge sails close to the wind in her definition of 'touting' to suit herself of course. This is a pathetic marketing activity totally unworthy of Leaders who present themselves as a top quality agent.
As you say, stumpy, the industry is unregulated and in the wild west of agency, anything goes. Carry on touting! Sorry, I meant, continue employing "a legitimate part of the marketing process used regularly by many respected agents". Is everyone tarred with the same brush?
Come on Property Eye, is this really newsworthy as your lead storey?
Landlords, Agents and the PRS as we know it are under seige from a blinkered Labour Party, spurred on by the misguided politics of Shelter; landlords and tenants remain at risk while client money held by agents is unregulated; and the UK is drastically short of housing and still under building compared to the homeless demand.
How does this article, about one agent having a local spat with another, even get the time of day? Boring!
Then, after lambasting Leaders and ARLA over a personal direct marketing approach that the complainant finds unacceptable, the article closes by saying he intends to now follow the same approach himself!
What a load of rubbish!