Estate agent subject access request

DD92

I could write an essay on the background to this but essentially we were selling our house through an independent estate agent (but part of a network), we've now binned them off on account of multiple lies some of which we can prove some of which we can't yet and some which are quite serious. 

If we were to submit a SAR to both the agent (her own Ltd company) and the network (where presumably my data is held and also the email is possibly hosted by them) what information could I expect to receive back? All my googling just gives the generic stuff. Does my address constitute my personal data, and therefore does any correspondence that contains my address therefore constitute my personal data? Even if they redact most of the content, it would still help with the timeline I'm building. 

eddddy

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

DD92

eddddy said:

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

At the moment it's just fact finding. We're going to raise a complaint with the network they're part of but want to gather evidence first and make sure everything is water tight. We don't want financial compensation or anything like that just want to throw the book at her and make sure others don't get lurred in. 

lika_86

DD92 said:

eddddy said:

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

At the moment it's just fact finding. We're going to raise a complaint with the network they're part of but want to gather evidence first and make sure everything is water tight. We don't want financial compensation or anything like that just want to throw the book at her and make sure others don't get lurred in. 

Why not just leave a Google review? You don't need it to be watertight if all you want other people to do is be wary.

DD92

lika_86 said:

DD92 said:

eddddy said:

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

At the moment it's just fact finding. We're going to raise a complaint with the network they're part of but want to gather evidence first and make sure everything is water tight. We don't want financial compensation or anything like that just want to throw the book at her and make sure others don't get lurred in. 

Why not just leave a Google review? You don't need it to be watertight if all you want other people to do is be wary.

We're 95% sure they faked an email address and communicated with us as if they were the buyer who either never existed or withdrew a lot earlier in the process (among some other questionable activities). Whilst I fully intend to review the hell out of them I want it to be factual and undeniable  I'd also want her network to drop her. SAR might not find the smoking gun but worth a try

TheJP

DD92 said:

eddddy said:

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

At the moment it's just fact finding. We're going to raise a complaint with the network they're part of but want to gather evidence first and make sure everything is water tight. We don't want financial compensation or anything like that just want to throw the book at her and make sure others don't get lurred in. 

Surely the complaint would lay with the Ltd company that you instructed and not the network the Ltd company is a member of? Is there anything in your T&C about a complaints procedure, are they a member of one of the regulatory bodies?

lincroft1710

You refer to a "network", is this a franchise operation or a trade/professional body of which the EA is a member?.

DD92

lincroft1710 said:

You refer to a "network", is this a franchise operation or a trade/professional body of which the EA is a member?.

Yeah some sort of franchise operation. From memory my contract is with the company with the agent being the person named on the front of the contract and all agents are self employed - many through their own limited companies. 

eddddy

DD92 said:

lincroft1710 said:

You refer to a "network", is this a franchise operation or a trade/professional body of which the EA is a member?.

Yeah some sort of franchise operation. From memory my contract is with the company with the agent being the person named on the front of the contract and all agents are self employed - many through their own limited companies. 

I guess you need to be prepared for the scenario where you do lots of work formulating a complaint, and then the franchisor (i.e. Network company) isn't particularly interested in it.

If the franchisee (the local estate agent) is generating a good income for the franchisor, they might not want to 'rock the boat' too much - in case she decides to move to a different franchise, or go independent.


I'd be tempted not to put too much effort into this, and instead, maybe put effort into finding a good estate agent, and getting the property sold.

NameUnavailable

Just send your complaint to the agent and c.c. the network offices.

I'm not sure you will get much whatever you do, as you're not seeking financial damages etc. It's unlikely that your complaint will result in the 'network' expelling the agent, unless you know that from having seen the terms of the agreement they have?

Hoenir

DD92 said:

lika_86 said:

DD92 said:

eddddy said:

A SAR should return information about you that is identifiable as being about you, but not necessarily about your property.

For example, if a document said...

• "The seller of 10 Acacia Avenue complained about x, y and z" - and it's possible for somebody to identify you as "the seller of 10 Acacia Avenue" by looking in another document (which it probably would be) - that should count as personal information about you.

But information about your property (and not about you) probably wouldn't be covered, for example:

• "There have been 3 viewings of 10 Acacia Avenue" - I doubt that would have to be included. (But I guess the agent would tell you that type of info anyway.)

And a document saying something like "One of our clients complained about x, y and z" wouldn't be included, unless you could be identified as that client. 


But more generally, why are you doing this? What is your goal?

Depending on what you are trying to do, there may be other more effective ways of achieving it.

At the moment it's just fact finding. We're going to raise a complaint with the network they're part of but want to gather evidence first and make sure everything is water tight. We don't want financial compensation or anything like that just want to throw the book at her and make sure others don't get lurred in. 

Why not just leave a Google review? You don't need it to be watertight if all you want other people to do is be wary.

We're 95% sure they faked an email address and communicated with us as if they were the buyer who either never existed or withdrew a lot earlier in the process (among some other questionable activities).

How did this buyer obtain your email address ?