The Office of Fair Trading has banned a former property agent from estate agency work.
But it appears that the ban would still leave Price Property Rental director Sharon Price, a former NAEA member, free to work in lettings, and even to set up her own lettings business again at some point in the future.
Her convictions in a magistrates’ court 18 months ago related not to sales, but to over £90,000 of money belonging to tenants and landlords. Her business went into administration in February 2010.
The OFT controls estate agents but not letting agents, who are not recognised under the Estate Agents Act.
The ban on estate agency work follows Price’s convictions for offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 by Huntingdon Magistrates Court on June 7, 2011.
Huntington-based Price Property Rentals had failed to register tenants’ deposits with an authorised protection scheme, failed to repay deposits when tenants moved out, and failed to pass on rent to landlords.
She was said in court to have run her business in a chaotic way, in some cases not to have paid landlords for a year. She was fined just £3,000 and banned from being a director for five years.
The NAEA is understood to have received 75 claims from tenants and landlords totalling £144,000. The OFT said it believes 45 claims have been settled with a total value of £94,000. The case affected NAEA’s members’ insurance premiums.
The then chief executive, Peter Bolton King, hit out at Price’s sentence, saying the court had been too lenient and had sent out “no meaningful messages”.
The OFT said that after the Huntingdon court case, it had launched its own investigation under the Estate Agents Act 1979 and determined that Price was unfit to carry on estate agency work.
Letting Agent Today asked the OFT whether the ban would, or could, include letting agency work. The OFT has so far not got back to us with their response.
Yesterday, Peter Bolton King, now global residential director at the RICS, said: “Due to the unfortunate definition of an estate agent in the 1979 Act, my understanding is that the OFT cannot use this as a reason to ban her from acting as a lettings agent.
“This example typifies the issue and has always been one of my concerns. Hence the reason why RICS continues to call for the definition to be revised. The consumer deserves full protection.”
Here is how we reported the case at the time:
http://tinyurl.com/bjky8og
Comments
Former landlords of Sharon Price have apparently seen her in the company of ex staff who are now managing some of her old properties under a new company name and have been caught out using logos on their web site of organisations they are not members of!
She had a portfolio of around 70 rental properties before she went bust which had a value and which were being touted around local estate & letting agents but the Administrator allowed them to be given away.
The portfolio should have been sold and the proceeds set off against her losses.
IO - "Kevin Warboys, mitigating, said Price admitted mismanaging the company finances “disastrously” but had made no personal profit, and that her membership of estate agency bodies had allowed many creditors to reclaim their losses."
So, she was a stupid thief
@The Last Straw
Quite right - a NAEA member so what happened to her compliance checks for cmp etc then? Not a SAFE member as well I trust?
How on earth can any Landlord go a year without being paid and not do anything about it - can someone please explain that to me as most Landlords seem agitated if their rent is a few days late hitting their bank account on the usual date!!
Did she only deal with doddery old Landlords living in care homes, or living in Australia or America and unable to get at her?
@Dave
I agree with you 100% disgracefully lenient for what was obviously a deliberate fraud. "Running a chaotic business" indeed - she seems to have done pretty well and seems quite organised thank you giving what she has raked off compared to the paltry fine.
Why wasn't she jailed? Don't tell me - she was suffering from depression and had young kids?
Just WHO is supposed to be spot checking, monitoring etc. etc. all the current legislation that has been heaped upon the industry in recent years? Even more un-monitored legislation etc. will fix things will it? Think again! The first thing that is needed more than anything is vigourous regular checks on compliance with what is in place at the moment.
Nick a pair of trainers during the riots - 12 months inside
Steal £150k ....... oh well.
The words "tip of the iceberg" come to mind.
"There are MANY agents trading with deficits of clients money and with unregistered deposits"
Yep - look at Scotland. Imagine London......
The real crime is the Governments failure to make a small amendment to the 1979 EA Act.
Ms Price is not unique. She has just been found out. There are MANY agents trading with deficits of clients money and with unregistered deposits.
They remedy individual complaints from cash-flow - often new clients / tenants money. This really is a time-bomb and a significant reason why the Government avoids regulation and the floodgate which would follow.