Spicerhaart is threatening to report an independent competitor to the Advertising Standards Authority.
The firm’s in-house legal team has written to Hannells in Chellaston, Derby, to complain about claims made in a marketing leaflet.
Michael Brain, of Hannells, said: “Coming from them, it’s a bit rich.”
On the ASA website, 16 rulings concerning Spicerhaart are listed since October 2010, of which 14 were upheld or upheld in part.
In the Hannells marketing leaflet, the firm says it is Derby’s top selling agent and that “in the most recent board count it was found that we sell nearly three times as many properties as the next best agent”.
The letter from Spicerhaart Group Legal Services says such claims could be in breach, and asks Hannells to explain its methodology, give further information, and disclose the date on which the information was obtained.
Spicerhaart asks for the information to be received by close of business on November 1, or it “will have no option but to formally refer this matter to the ASA”.
Brain said that he is able to prove his claims and does not take kindly to Spicerhaart’s demands.
He has told Spicerhaart’s lawyer, Matthew Bowden, to go ahead and report him to the ASA.
Separately, a vendor client of Hannells has complained about a touting letter received from haart.
The letter says: “Please reconsider before you sign anything with Hannells. We WILL achieve more for the house than Hannells will, that’s almost a certainty. It is total false economy going with just Hannells and will cost you more overall … My colleagues have already started ringing out on this [the client’s property] today and may have you a viewer or two.”
Estate Agent Today invited Spicerhaart to comment on both the threat to report Hannells to the ASA and on the separate matter of the touting letter, where we asked how an agent can apparently start marketing a property without a signed contract.
Paul Smith, CEO of haart, said of both matters: “We have no further comment while we are investigating.”
In February 2010, Hannells said they were having difficulty getting their local paper to accept an advert which said “Sell with your head, not your heart”, and carrying an image of a woman wearing a heart.
It followed an advertising campaign by haart to get sellers to dump their agents, showing images such as an estate agent upside down in pink and a pink heart with ‘goodbye’ written over it.
Here’s how EAT reported in 2010 what haart dismissed as “a storm in a teacup”:
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/oldeat_news_features/Local-agent-takes-on-haart-advertising
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Comments
So Haart feel that they can 'market' a seller's property by phoning out to their client base without a valid contract in place between them and the owner, do they?
Mailings such as Haarts smack of desperation. If they can't find customers without resorting to such cheap shots perhaps they should look at the way they operate. My own experience of Haart as a prospective purchaser was less than impressive, poor communication, extortionate fees for obtaining a mortgage etc, etc.
"Paul Smith, CEO of haart, said of both matters: “We have no further comment..."
Well there's a first.
you are not them and its cheap and easy to knock on here!
Spectacular own goal by Spicer, If I was them I wouldn't want attention brought to my history with the ASA.