A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority says a flyer from an estate agency suggesting that a property was to let was mistaken and could have caused distress to those who received it.

A direct mailing from Marsh & Parsons was addressed specifically to the complainant and read: “Dear Landlord, Having recently valued a number of properties in the XXX area, I couldn’t help but notice your property is currently on the market for lettings” and “I’d love to meet you and let you know how Marsh & Parsons… can expose your property to the widest range of tenants”. 

The complainant, whose house was not on the lettings market, contacted the ASA and said that the ad was likely to cause undue distress.

A statement from the authority says: “The advertiser investigated with their data provider and explained this was an isolated instance of an incorrect address being supplied. They provided assurance that measures had been taken to ensure the complainant’s address was suppressed so they would not receive any further communications of this nature.”

The complaint was judged to be informally resolved.