News
Tesco Suspends Service
10 October 2007
tescopropertymarket.com suspended its private seller service as of last Friday. In an announcement made on its website and to its Tesco Clubcard members via email, managing director Mark Davis explained that, after consulting the Office of Fair Trading, tescopropertymarket.com could no longer continue in its present guise.
tescopropertymarket.com were offering drastically reduced rates compared to high street estate agents by creating a complete online service with the focus being on direct interaction between buyer and seller, cutting out the need for a middle man.
However, since its launch, questions have been raised about the status of tescopropertymarket.com as a ‘Private Sale Business’ under the 1979 Estate Agency Act. The Act states that a business is not a ‘Private Sale Business’ but is an ‘Estate Agent’ if;
“…in the course of business and acting on instructions from a third party (your client) who wishes to either buy or sell property (an interest in land), you do… things for the purpose of, or with a view to, effecting the introduction to your client, of someone who either wishes to buy or sell property”
It is a dramatic U-turn for Tesco who hoped to have found a gap in the market that could be capitalised upon with their vast financial resources. The market giant has promised to re-launch its tescopropertymarket.com brand in the near future as an ‘Estate Agent’.
movewithus will be holding a seminar at this year’s PCS Show titled The Fleet of Foot Agency which lectures on the need for agents to always be aware that changes in the industry may force them to re-evaluate their methods and market focus
The recent tescopropertymarket.com news will almost certainly be mentioned and is a prime example of how quickly tides can turn in the property industry and how competitors have to continually adapt and re-adapt to cope with these changes.
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