Estate Agents Among Worst Rip-Offs In Britain, Says European Commission

[The Masked Tulip]

http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3651&title=Estate_agents_among_worst_rip-offs_in_Britain%2C_says_European_Commission&type=news_features

Estate agents come second to bottom in being the biggest rip-offs in Britain and also across Europe as a whole, a new study by the European Commission has shown.

Both in the UK and across the EU, used cars come one place above estate agents, whilst all that keeps agents from bottom place is financial investments.

They are the three markets found to be the most likely to fail consumers, according to the 2010 Consumer Markets Scoreboard.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health & Consumers ranks 50 markets in all 27 EU member states, based on research among 500 consumers in each country, all with recent purchasing experience in each market.

They were asked about such factors as trust, customer satisfaction, complaints, ease of switching and cost.

[billybong]

They are the three markets found to be the most likely to fail consumers, according to the 2010 Consumer Markets Scoreboard.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health & Consumers ranks 50 markets in all 27 EU member states, based on research among 500 consumers in each country, all with recent purchasing experience in each market.

They were asked about such factors as trust, customer satisfaction, complaints, ease of switching and cost.

Looks like they didn't investigate the political market to see where it ranked on the most likely to fail people scoreboard.

One guess based on factors such as " trust, customer satisfaction, complaints, ease of switching and cost" with ease of switching at zero. As for cost well say no more.

[Harry Monk]

Oh dear I have upset an estate agent.

Posted By Harry Monk on Monday 25th October 2010 13:50:13

Estate agents are basically all crooked and thieving scum... I predict that as house prices crash over the next 3-4 years that hundreds of them will go bust and good riddance to the thieving parasites.

Respected Female Estate Agent on Monday 25th October 2010 14:15:24

Harry Monk, you are an idiot, to say the least, and I can call you that because it's clear you are one. YOU can't call all agents crooked thieving scum because it isn't true. So you go back to reading your Viz comic and leave us grown ups alone, ok.

Get her user name lol!

[tim123]

http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3651&title=Estate_agents_among_worst_rip-offs_in_Britain%2C_says_European_Commission&type=news_features

But this is just a survey based upon whether people think that they get value for money.

The problem with EAs is that they have all of the cost of a high street shop but have very few sales per month.

It is hardly surprising that each sale costs a lot more than the day to day "staff" input that the seller sees.

tim

[Harry Monk]

I really think that estate agents are totally unnecessary in the digital age.

Anybody selling a house is more than capable of taking photographs and measuring rooms and writing a description of it.

Anybody buying a house is more than capable of identifying the type of house they wish to buy and arranging to view it.

In my experience, estate agents are worse than useless. Whenever I have gone onto a mailing list (often before email, when house details were posted by snail mail) I have received reams of details of properties totally different to the type I wanted. When I was looking for my first house I told the agent I wanted details of Victorian two bedroom terraced houses only. -which you would think any reasonable estate agent would be able to identify- and I received details of everything but, even though they had them on their books, or at least were advertising in their window and in newspapers that they did.

I told an agent recently that I was possibly interested in a flat for £50,000 and to let me know as and when flats in this range came on, so I started getting details of flats at £120,000.

Buyers and sellers pay for those High Street shops and Audi A6's and these smarmy parasites with their plastic salesmen's smiles.

The best thing for all concerned would be if estate agents were to disappear and all houses were sold by internet auction following the eBay format with bidders simply needing to be pre-approved to bid by having funds or a mortgage offer in place.