How do I report an unscrupulous estate agent?

Rosa_Damascena

adhoc said:

Thanks for the advice all. Really helpful
to get different perspectives. I don’t think I will pursue this sale even if it means losing out - technically within our upper limit - I do not this unscrupulous thieving EA benefiting at the expense of the seller. Its not like he asked for an extra payment, rather he wants the seller to think they are getting less while he pockets the difference. The house is not near where we currently are but we will I think try and warn the seller about this. Up to them if they believe us. As propertyhunter notes, there will be other buyers that will consider this option. 

Having said that, the London property market is a tricky one to crack. I wouldn't submit to a request for a bribe but wonder if there is more than one way to skin a cat here?

TheJP

steampowered said:

KievLover said:

Recorded convos are only admissible in court if you tell the other person you're recording the convo at the start, and ask for their permission to continue, in case that's what you're thinking.

Not true, this is an urban myth. Recorded convos are perfectly admissible in court. 

I think it depends on how the conversation is instigated. If the OP called them and then said so tell me more about this bribe then i don't think it would be admissable as its a leading conversation. If the OP called them and said i still want to make an offer and they then offered the bribe then that's a different story.

doodling

Hi,

TheJP said:

steampowered said:

KievLover said:

Recorded convos are only admissible in court if you tell the other person you're recording the convo at the start, and ask for their permission to continue, in case that's what you're thinking.

Not true, this is an urban myth. Recorded convos are perfectly admissible in court. 

I think it depends on how the conversation is instigated. If the OP called them and then said so tell me more about this bribe then i don't think it would be admissable as its a leading conversation. If the OP called them and said i still want to make an offer and they then offered the bribe then that's a different story.

The way the call was instigated doesn't really matter. If this ever ended up in a court then the recording (or more usually a transcript of it) would simply be part of the evidence. Those representing each side would argue about its significance just as they would any other piece of evidence.  Clearly, if the call sounded like it was the buyer rather than the agent suggesting a bribe then a prosecution wouldn't get very far.

There is very little restriction on what may be presented as evidence in a UK court. We don't have the same laws as some other countries which restrict evidence that has been obtained illegally.

steve866

Am I naive to by really shocked this has happened? I’m sure dodgy deals and brown envelopes happen all the time but I’d assume this would with people the EA know. Seems very high on risk to make this type of offer to a random buyer.