Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

To be annoyed that estate agent has written to tell my landlord I'm house hunting

47 replies

TheThingsWeDo · 05/02/2014 19:12

I'm currently renting a flat but hoping to buy a house later this year. DP and I have been registering with estate agents near us and have viewed a couple of houses. We haven't spoken to our landlord about our intention to buy a house and wouldn't do so until we are ready to give notice on our tenancy (in accordance with our tenancy agreement of course) as we have no idea how long it could take us to find somewhere- it may not be for another year.

I've just opened up a letter, addressed to 'The owner' which I opened up without looking properly, thinking it said 'The occupier'. If it makes any difference DP and I are the first people to have lived in the flat so we don't ever get post for previous tenants, hence me not looking too carefully at the envelope.

Anyway the letter is from one of the estate agents that we have recently registered with and says "We have received a visit from your tenants looking for a new home, and therefore assume that the property will shortly be vacant and generating no income". Then it's blah blah blah, do you want to rent your property through us etc.

AIBU to be furious that the estate agent have invaded my privacy in this way and written to my landlord, suggesting that I will soon be moving out? I don't think it's their place to be contacting my landlord, or anyone else for that matter, about the fact that I am house hunting. WIBU to contact the estate agent and tell them that I think their behaviour is completely inappropriate?

OP posts:

AwfulMaureen · 05/02/2014 19:22

YABU to be "furious" ...it's business. What does it matter? Your Landlord will be happy as long as you give notice.

Prettykitty111 · 05/02/2014 19:23

Yes absolutely I'd be raging about this as I am in the same situation as you. What if takes you a month but your landlord panicked and gave you notice now. Stuff like this is so underhand I wouldn't use that agent again unless they had my perfect property

Prettykitty111 · 05/02/2014 19:24

Yanbu and I meant takes you a year damn phone

cocobongo · 05/02/2014 19:24

data protection issue right there- complain link to complaint process

Bowlersarm · 05/02/2014 19:24

Very enterprising of them, if a bit underhand.

raffle · 05/02/2014 19:25

I would be cross about that too, YANBU. I probably wouldn't speak to the Estate Agents, although I would continue to illegally intercept any more of their letters to the landlord.

MissMilbanke · 05/02/2014 19:26

This would have me mad too.

Totally underhand and unnecessary.

However I hope you have learnt one thing from all this.

Never trust an estate agent. Don't give them any information .
Wasn't J S was it ?

NoSquirrels · 05/02/2014 19:28

That's awful. I would be deleted-registering with that agent and telling them why. Then I'd be telling everyone I knew how appalling they are too. Very very bad business practice. Apart from it being really fucking annoying, and potentially jeopardizing your tenancy, it shows you can't have a relationship of trust with that agent. They would potentially be brokering the deal for the largest amount of money you'd ever spent - how could you ever trust them to behave with ethics?

Original poster

TheThingsWeDo · 05/02/2014 19:28

You're right Maureen, 'furious' is more than a little over the top of me but I am annoyed. As Prettykitty111 said it could cause my landlord to panic and give me notice when he otherwise would have done.

And just more generally I feel as though my privacy has been invaded.

Thanks for the link cocobongo, will have a look.

OP posts:

candycrushhater · 05/02/2014 19:29

This is a breach of the Data Protection Act - they have used information you provided them with for a different purpose. Complain.

NoSquirrels · 05/02/2014 19:29

Deleted-registering? De-registering, obviously!

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 05/02/2014 19:30

YANBU! What if it does take you another year to find a suitable house, and then another 6 months until you move in?

Meanwhile, your LL will be thinking that you will be leaving shortly - which isn't necessarily the case.

I would be livid.

Bowlersarm · 05/02/2014 19:31

NoSquirrels-how would de register with that agent help the OP? If that agent gets her dream house on their books, and she has put herself in the position where she can't see it and therefore buy it?

specialsubject · 05/02/2014 19:31

outrageous - and I'm a landlord! Although your landlord is unlikely to give you notice for this, why should he? It is courteous to keep him informed when you are nearer buying but that could be ages away.

complain bitterly to the agent.

Original poster

TheThingsWeDo · 05/02/2014 19:32

No MissMillbanke, it wasn't JS.

Candycrushhater I am probably being stupid but I thought that the Data Protection Act only applied to government/state bodies and not private companies?

I think I will write to them and ask them to remove my details from any databases and will explain why. I think you're spot on NoSquirrels about the trust issue, makes me annoyed to think that I could have been putting money into this company's pockets when as you say they could have jeopardized my tenancy, costing me lots of money.

OP posts:

SadFreak · 05/02/2014 19:33

Please complain. They need to know they cannot treat confidential information in this way.

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2014 19:33

Might depend on the terms and conditions you signed - you might have signed that you "agree that agent X can use your information including the fact that you are looking to move, in their marketing and sales processes" or some bumpf like that.

Still a bit crap of them really.

DanceParty · 05/02/2014 19:33

I agree - I would be furious. Complain complain complain to the Estate Agent. And refuse to buy anything through them.

londonrach · 05/02/2014 19:34

Yanbu. That stupid estate agency risks you losing your rental as the landlord might have given notice. We been in the same situation and had a failed attempt to buy. Given up now as the london market is too much for us. Complain as apart from being morally wrong this breaks data protection. Im shocked at this. Dont trust this estate agent and inform all your friends. Have you visited www.allagents.co.uk

Original poster

TheThingsWeDo · 05/02/2014 19:35

Bowlersarm I see your point and maybe it would be a bit cutting-my-nose-off-to-spite-my-face but I just wouldn't feel as though I could have a good relationship with this particular estate agent after this, it's left a sour taste.

specialsubject my worry is that landlord would be worried that I'd want to leave soon and so would just want to get a new tenant in as soon as possible.

OP posts:

NoSquirrels · 05/02/2014 19:36

bowlers I am stubborn and it would be a point of principle to me to never put any business their way. And as I say, I would never trust them, so for me it would be pointless to remain on their books.

All estate agents are in it for the money, of course, but there are limits!

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 05/02/2014 19:36

Data protection applies to everyone albeit in slightly different ways. There are varying degrees and types of data handlers. If it didn't apply to private companies they would not bother with all those tick boxes "We may share your information... etc"

londonrach · 05/02/2014 19:36

Follow complaints policy which is letter to office, then to head office for dead letter etc. Im worried if one estate agent gets away with this others could....

Bowlersarm · 05/02/2014 19:37

OP I think you would be right to complain, don't get me wrong, but if I were you I wouldn't go down the 'and I'm never dealing with you again' route just in case you need them sometime in the future.

Bankholidaybaby · 05/02/2014 19:37

The Data Protection Act applies to anyone processing personal data, not just government.

www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act

Flip

1 2