REGISTRATION OF ESTATE AGENTS
Stn,—The years since the war, because of the inflated price of house property, have seen the rise in this country of many so-called estate agents who are men without business training and, in many cases, unham- pered by any sense of business ethics. In their early days these estate agents romped into the big money, but the coming of severe credit restrictions made things more difficult for them and, as a result, many of them have now become a social evil in need of curbing by immediate legislation.
I have personal knowledge of at least two serious cases in which estate agents have for a long time lived on the multiple deposits obtained from trustful would-be purchasers upon houses which the agents falsely claimed to be able to sell. Criminal action in both cases has happily ended the careers of these agents, but many poor folk are financially the poorer, for by the time of trial no money remained for the reimbursement of victims. There is good reason to believe that these frauds still continue in all parts of Britain.
To me it seems essential without delay to call for legislation which will enforce registration of all estate agents whether belonging to reputable professional bodies or not and which will make it illegal for them to pass clients' moneys through their personal or firms' accounts at the bank.
Already I•have received assurance from Mr. Philip Noel-Baker, MP, that he will look into this matter, but any factual evidence which your readers may be able to supply will help to speed action by emphasis- ing how widespread is this criminal conduct.—Yours
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