To be surprised this estate agent wasn’t sacked?

[Easack]

We listed our house with the biggest estate agent in our area (also with the best reviews/reputation).

We approved the photos to be used and description to be added to the usual portals such as RightMove.

Shortly after it went live, a friend told me it had been posted on our town’s community Facebook page. On one of the living room photos, the TV on the wall had been edited to include a couple having sex.

I immediately called the estate agent who got back to me shortly after, apologised and said they’d remove the photo and instigated a full investigation.

They contacted me today and said they had identified it was a junior colleague who did this ‘as a joke’ and that they’d been reprimanded. They confirmed they’ve kept their job.

I am perplexed by this. Surely that is a sackable offence?

its up to them what disciplinary action they take against their own staff, but I’d expect most employers to dismiss for this. Maybe there is mitigation you aren’t aware of.

Probably the owner’s son

I got the impression that some porn had been digitally added to the TV screen.

I'm pretty sure that most plumbers and electricians don't charge when they come around to give you a quote.

That's not what happened though! They put a small porn picture over the tv screen in a shot of the living room. Not pictures of the OP!!

However, you could ask for compensation as people may have associated this with you. Tarnish your reputation.

😂😂😂

You don't have any control over what they do about the situation but you do have control over what you do as a result.

They have no doubt breached their contract so personally I would terminate the contract out of principle.

They obviously haven't taken reputational damage seriously so a fair and honest review wouldn't go amiss

some posters here haven't read the op carefully.

they stuck a porn picture on the TV, that was visible in the living room photo. subsequently removed.

expecting people to be sacked is mad.

just speak to the most senior person, explain what a stupid thing this was to do, see if you can get a fee reduction, or refund for any photos paid for.

if thats not enough change agent.

once the house is sold this will just be a funny family story

Really odd attitude.

If I did anything like this in my profession, my feet wouldn’t touch the ground on the way out the door.

Think about it from the OPs perspective. She tells her “funny family story” to a friend, who tells another friend, who tells another. Which of those friends do you think will then give the EA a wide berth when they come to sell?

Why would you have a total liability with no judgment in your office; an accident waiting to happen, that directly impacts your business.

I would expect the estate agent to be sacked as a minimum. Surely creating and publishing indecent images is against the law, which is what has happened here, and this image was viewable by the public at large. That includes using digital alteration.

I wouldn't want to have them sell my house after that. I fear the trust would be broken. Not sure if you can get out of the contract you signed with them but considering what they did I am sure it would be a mutual thing.

I would not want them making money off my house sale.

I hope you have something in writing about their conduct in fact I would probably email them to reiterate my dismay at their behaviour so that I would have something in writing from them. Then I would leave a review of what happened on any website you checked to show what kind of people they are.

fair enough, what would you suggest the OP does next?

Yes course it was silly and unprofessional

A discount? I would have wanted to break the contract with them immediately and use someone else.

I am not surprised that the person kept their job. It's an estate agent, you should presume the worst to begin with.

The sooner we have proper regulation of estate agents the better.

that's fair enough but getting a new EA on board will take a while, new photos, further costs etc.

a discount in commission % might be worth several thousand pounds.

for one naught photo, on a Facebook listing, now removed.....

presumably the OP wants to get the house sold and move sooner rather than later so there's merit in being pragmatic with this.

most EAs are target driven and financially motivated. they are not, as a class, known as a particularly thoughtful or as a caring profession. a necessary evil if you will, I see little merit in dwelling on this one

I would change estate agent as I would no longer trust them. Losing business is the only language they will understand.

I would suggest to the EA that they have breached your trust and therefore you are terminating the contract

Wouldn’t have thought they can afford to cut their commission

most only charge 1%

tell them you want out without any come back from
them and a redund on any cost incurred

You have worryingly low standards. Nobody expects the estate agents to be caring. But they expect them to be professional.

A few years ago, during a funeral service in my local area, a pornographic film was accidentally shown on the big screen. It was made worse by the fact that it was a very large funeral for a young father and his baby, tragically killed in a road traffic accident. I can’t remember the exact details of the investigation, but I think city council staff were found to be responsible. I’m guessing they were dealt with appropriately, but in your case who knows.

I’ve bought and sold many properties and my experience of estate agents is not the best. I value honesty, and it’s sadly lacking in that profession in my experience.

🥲

This. Absolutely.

@Easack either they take it seriously and they sack the person who did it, or they think it's a joke.

If the latter, I wouldn't want them marketing my property. I'd also be posting online about how unprofessional they are and leaving a very poor review.