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OFT bans Croydon estate agent

The Office of Fair Trading has banned Marcia Whyte from agency work.

Whyte, who ran Executive Estates estate agency in South Croydon, was banned for failing to disclose to a potential vendor that she planned to buy his property.

An OFT adjudicator found that Whyte also failed to disclose her personal interest to a potential buyer, to whom she intended to re-sell the property. Whyte would have made a secret profit of £65,000 had the transaction proceeded.

Whyte also took a deposit from the potential buyer, which is unlawful where an agent has a personal interest in the property.

The OFT issued the prohibition order on March 25, and Whyte did not exercise her right to appeal within 28 days.

Mike Haley, OFT director of consumer protection, says: "Estate agents must immediately disclose to prospective vendors and purchasers that they have a personal interest in the sale of a property they are marketing.

"This is specifically to prevent them from making a secret profit, as Marcia Whyte would have done in this case. We take seriously any complaints of an estate agent potentially misleading consumers by failing to disclose a personal interest."

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