An agent has hit out at his local paper and tenants activist group Acorn after his firm was accused of offering “hush money” to a disgruntled renter.

Local Brighton paper The Argus published a story this week claiming Brand Vaughan Estate Agents had tried to silence a tenant by offering her £250 – which has since been accepted by the tenant and paid by the agency – if she agreed never to criticise the company again.

The tenant had complained about drainage issues at her Hove property and sought help from Acorn activists after being unhappy about the time it took for the issues to be resolved.

However, Jason Brand, director of Brand Vaughan – which received funding from Lomond Capital last year – insisted the agency has been the victim of fake news and said the whole issue has been misreported.

He told EYE: “We have been painted as the guilty party but this has been exaggerated.

“Brighton and Hove is an area with old properties so issues can emerge, and while we may have been a bit slow on this occasion there is a complaints process that has to be followed.”

Brand said the tenant could have followed the agency’s internal complaints procedure but had instead gone to Acorn, which imposed “ridiculous deadlines”.

He said the agency attended the property with the tenant and a representative of Acorn one week ago and agreed a schedule of minor works which was carried out in just four working days.

Brand then offered £250 as a goodwill gesture but said he wanted the issue to be finalised to protect them from bad press.

Brand told EYE: “We weren’t looking to silence anyone, but wanted to protect ourselves from the culture of fake news and fake reviews that is hitting the agency sector.

“These groups that target agents in Brighton and across the country aren’t following normal complaints procedures. We resolve all complaints, if we ever have them, amicably.

“This hasn’t followed our process and we have been bullied and blackmailed into compensation with the threat that Acorn would otherwise picket outside our offices.”

Brand said he understood there is a place for a group like Acorn where agents are “dropping the ball” but said his award winning agency, which is also an ARLA Propertymark member, had been unfairly targeted by the local paper and Acorn.

He added: “We don’t condemn what Acorn is doing – there is a place for their work – but there are processes to ensure if a tenant is happy.”

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/16416760.estate-agent-offered-hush-money-to-destroy-documents-and-silence-tenant-and-union/