56 rogue agents from ECG could get the boot

ECG Property may fire 56 of its property agents who violated regulations set by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).

The errant agents were either caught moonlighting or using client information from the company’s database to sell other products, according to Eric Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of ECG.

In some cases, the agents collected deposits from potential tenants on behalf of landlords looking to rent out their homes, an act prohibited by CEA.

“We sent a few warning letters to some of them but they just ignored the warnings,” said Cheng. He added that the agents will be given a chance to explain themselves before ECG issues termination letters.

Meanwhile, Andy Lye, Chief Operating Officer at ECG, noted that dismissing errant agents will protect their clients and the company’s reputation.

“We cannot afford for our brand to be impacted negatively by rogue consultants, thus the need to eradicate those who are not abiding by industry rules and regulations.”

At the same time, ECG has distributed a 35-page Consultant Operations Manual to its agents.

“We’ve told our agents that they must finish reading the manual and acknowledge every clause by 31 July,” said Cheng.

Written by the firm’s in-house lawyers, the manual “covers things like the attire they should wear, what sort of name cards they can print and carry, how they should do their presentations to clients, guidelines on advertisements and where they can put up fliers, and what they can say in the fliers”.

Souce: PropertyGuru – 2012 July 16