Letting agent used pictures of house without authorisation

S

SHAREEGIRL

Registered User
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Hiya

I just registered and I hope someone can help me.

To keep the story short, we chose a letting agent to let our apartment as we moved abroad due to work, however we only had problems with them first they were not reachable for a full week then we advised them we would give it to another agent and then all of a sudden she had someone and then again she did not but never informed us. That's the first part.

We took our keys back on the 25 June and on the 28 June we noticed the letting agent was using the pictures of our house to promote a different apartment. Can we do something against them besides filing a complaint with PSRA, we have informed them we saw those pictures and they took all the ads down but we saved them so we can prove they exist.

Any help is welcome
 
Ask them to confirm to you in writing that they have deleted / destroyed the pictures and won't use them again?

What are you hoping to achieve - the pictures are down now, will that not do you?
 
Besides the fact the letting agent was useless (as many of them are) what do you want "to do against them" regards the three days incorrect use of your apt's pictures which were removed when you informed them?

You want money for the distress this evidently caused you? You want them punished?
 
Yes that's fine but I want them to be held accountable, they're getting away with murder and nobody is saying anything, I filed a complaint with PSRA, that's not normal and taking the pictures down is not enough for me, I want to make sure they think twice before doing it again. But thanks for your reply.
 
oldnick said:
Besides the fact the letting agent was useless (as many of them are) what do you want "to do against them"regards the three days incorrect use of your apt's pictures which were removed when you informed them?

You want money for the distress this evidently caused you? You want them punished?
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Not necessarily money but surely they have to be held accountable somehow or is that normal in the letting agents world? I checked the PSRA and that's called dishonesty. I just wanted to hear if anyone else experienced the same.
 
I think a lot of people would think that life is too short to pursue it any further...
 
Just never use them again and use WOM (word of mouth) with your friends and contacts about your bad experience with them.
 
What do you mean by "accountable"? In business you are generally held accountable by your customers and your suppliers. As other posters said, they won't be long about getting a bad reputation through word of mouth, and surely they'll be "held accountable" by anyone coming to view an apartment, when they realise that the photos they've been shown aren't the property in question.

No offence but you're coming across as a tiny bit petty and vindictive - it seems your real issue is more than just the pictures, but you're kind of hoping that they might be the key to you being able to get them a hefty fine or something, as punishment for just being generally useless to deal with.
 
mandelbrot said:
What do you mean by "accountable"? In business you are generally held accountable by your customers and your suppliers.
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Unless you're a bank

OP is dead right to take it up with relevant authorities. Maybe if businesses had a bit more ethics about them we wouldn't need regulators etc to keep them in line. There are privacy laws in this country you know.
 
Privacy laws would not cover this as permission was given by the owners to take photos and advertise the property. Stupidly and wrongly the agent kept the photos on display for three more days and removed them when notified. Assumedly these photos will be again displayed in public by the other agency. Privacy indeed!

This is probably the most trivial complaint about a business I've ever read about.
 
mandelbrot said:
What do you mean by "accountable"? In business you are generally held accountable by your customers and your suppliers. As other posters said, they won't be long about getting a bad reputation through word of mouth, and surely they'll be "held accountable" by anyone coming to view an apartment, when they realise that the photos they've been shown aren't the property in question...

No offence but you're coming across as a tiny bit petty and vindictive - it seems your real issue is more than just the pictures, but you're kind of hoping that they might be the key to you being able to get them a hefty fine or something, as punishment for just being generally useless to deal with.
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No sorry but if I'm petty for not being happy and wanting something done when someone has wronged me so be it. I'm not a sheep and I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience. If I shall see what their regulating authority says. And just so you know there was no apartment they just used our pictures to attract a pool of tenants.
 
oldnick said:
Privacy laws would not cover this as permission was given by the owners to take photos and advertise the property. Stupidly and wrongly the agent kept the photos on display for three more days and removed them when notified. Assumedly these photos will be again displayed in public by the other agency. Privacy indeed!

This is probably the most trivial complaint about a business I've ever read about.
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The point is not the agent having pictures but that they used pictures of our house without consent to advertise a different one that didn't even exist. They never advertise ours I'm baffled nobody sees how wrong this is. Not everyone is out to get money through suing left right and center but surely reaffirming your rights shsould not be frowned upon.
 
DB74 said:
Unless you're a bank

OP is dead right to take it up with relevant authorities. Maybe if businesses had a bit more ethics about them we wouldn't need regulators etc to keep them in line. There are privacy laws in this country you know.
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Thank you for seeing my point...
 
Its unprofessional behaviour-don't know if it's anything else. See how you get on with the complaint-they will more than likely deny, then defer to them making a mistake and removing them as soon as it came to light. The PRSA will probably buy that.
Letting Agents are on my list of much talk but not a lot of actual bang. Auctioneers head the list. All you can be sure of getting from both of them is vague answers and very little else.
Your experience does not surprise me.
 
oldnick said:
This is probably the most trivial complaint about a business I've ever read about.
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Obviously Monday morning blues has hit on a Tuesday. You gave them a job -- they tried to advertise it and now you're damming them.

Why don't you get a large black card and use this as advertising. Particulars only available after you blow up any agents who told any perspective tenant what the property is like, and that the landlord needs a sizable deposit if any tenant mentions what the property is like.

Please get real. Agents for property are ruthless and tactless worldwide. If you think you are going to change them --- Wake up
 
If you don't understand don't comment, they never advertised our apartment as they say they had people already waiting to live in our area. Yet once we took our keys ans revoked the contract they used pictures of our house for a fake ad to attract tenants. Maybe I won't change anything but at least I'm not just laying there like a doormat. This must be my wednesday blues then.
 
Of course I understand. You obviously do not realise as to how these people operate. It's the same no matter where you go. Agents will take whatever short cut they can, and not just in Ireland but everywhere. Fight them if you wish, but do you really think you will achieve anything ??
 
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