First-time Buyer
Listing site rapped for advertising out-of-date property… AND ignoring regulator
Guest Author:
John FitzsimonsComplaints against property listing website Houser have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the site advertised a property that had not been on the market for two years.
Newton Fallowell Estate and Letting Agents – which had marketed the four-bedroom property in Lincolnshire back in 2015 – argued that the advert posted by Houser was misleading.
The ASA said it was “concerned” that Houser had refused to respond to its enquiries surrounding the advert, displaying an “apparent disregard” for the advertising code.
In its assessment, the ASA said that members of the public would have understood from the advert that the property was still on the market, and agreed this was misleading.
It must not appear again in its current form, while the ASA also ordered Houser to ensure properties no longer on the market were removed from its listings.