89% say they would not trust an estate agent in Which Magazine Survey

At last – Estate agents are deemed more trustworthy than politicians or bankers – but only just!

In 2004 Which Magazine compiled a survey of the least trusted professions.  Topping the list was the good old Tabloid Journalist, but in second place was the Estate Agent.  Seven years on, the survey has been repeated and, would you believe it, second and third are now taken by Bankers and Politicians.  Estate agents have gone from 2^nd to 4^th place in the latest survey.

Have there been any changes in the last 7 years that could have lead to this slight improvement in trustworthiness?  Well, in theory, yes there have.  Since the last survey was taken, compulsory membership of the Property Ombudsman Scheme has been introduced and tenants have greater protection with the new deposit protection scheme. 

In practise, however, it probably hasn’t made a blind bit of difference to the average estate agent.  Whilst the Ombudsman is supposed to protect the consumer, the annual report, aside from giving some very entertaining stories about what can go wrong for an estate agent, details numerous case studies where the agent has been found guilty of deception or incompetence.  In almost all of these examples, the agent has been forced to pay the most derisory compensation payments imaginable (I’ve written a separate article on this previously!(https://saleboards.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/the-property-ombudsman-a-help-or-hindrance/)).  In the last 7 years, the country has seen a banking crisis and numerous examples of bankers behaving badly or stupidly with our hard earned money; Politicians have fared little better with their own expenses scandal.  Don’t forget,  the number of housing transactions is running at an all-time low, meaning a much higher proportion of the population may not have used an estate agent than in the boom times of 7 years ago.  With only 11% of those surveyed saying they would trust an estate agent, and having only moved up the rankings because other professions are now perceived as being even worse, this is no cause for celebration within the industry.

Yet a quick skim of the customer reviews from our own agency paints a very different picture.  Founded on ethical values, customers who have bought or sold through the agency often comment on how they felt they could trust the staff and directors to be completely honest in this somewhat tarnished profession.

So if you’re looking for someone to trust to look after the sale of what is probably your most valuable asset, check out the growing website www.allagents.co.uk , where customers are invited to review their experiences of estate agents.  Furthermore, if an agent is making claims such as “We’ve definitely got buyers for your house” (which there is no way they can promise if the buyers haven’t already seen it) or they are prepared to value at a figure which is significantly higher than what you’d expect, then this is probably the first indication that you should stick with the 89% who don’t trust estate agents!