Labour MP Stella Creasy has announced the finalists in the “Walthamstow Housing Awards”.
Local campaigners came up with the scheme and worked with Creasy to invite nominations for the best and worst letting agents in her constituency. Categories include the best and worst letting and estate agents; the kindest gesture from a letting agent; some social housing “gongs”; plus a “special MP award for outrageous behaviour in Walthamstow’s housing market”.
The list was compiled from public nominations, with the public invited to choose the “winners”of each category.
Awards will be presented next month.
Among the finalists, it is claimed, is a letting agent who allegedly charged nearly £400 for references and admin; and an estate agent accused of forcing potential buyers to compete in a “survey race”.
Creasy, a busy user of Twitter, said of the “awards”: “We want to send a strong message in presenting these awards that Walthamstow won’t tolerate those rip-off charges of poor behaviour and will take their custom to those who treat our community with respect.”
We are not giving a link to Creasy’s “finalists”, as Eye does not consider that would be fair on those agents who find themselves on the “worst” sections of such a list and who appear to have been given no chance to defend themselves.
We do, however, think there is a wider issue here: is it really the job of an MP to back or help organise such a “scheme” and to publicly name and shame local businesses, whoever they might be, but in this case high street agents?
We think most agents – and others – would take a pretty dim view if, in other constituencies, their MPs did this sort of thing. However, we would be interested in your views.
Comments (7)
In answer to the question posed, no. Not unless she is ready, willing and able to face a potential libel case or two…
How about an award for the government department most out of touch with Housing?
The nominations are; Communities and Local Government employing Generation Rent malcontentesque advisors to brief the Department on PRS. Department of Work and Pensions- allowing Torfaen Universal Credit pilot to be run by local government officials who have no comprehension of the benefits of monthly rent collections to tenants on the very edge of sustainable income. HMRC/OFT (as was) belligerent incompetence in the face of Tax evasion, fraud and money laundering by drug dealers, benefits cheats & foreign nationals through PRS. Department for Housing; being absent from parliament for 19 years.
Maybe agents should organise themselves into a body that equally self-importantly awards and 'brickbats' and 'gongs' to best/worst ministers and (especially) shadow ministers……;)
Perhaps an award for the "Most Imaginative Expenses Claim" or the "Smallest item claimed"?
Love to know how much Greasy Creasey claims.
Hmmm – pot, kettle and black are three of the more polite words that spring to mind.
Of course that's OK, she's a 'woman of the people'. Everyone knows already that estate agents only exist to rip people off, they do it all day every day all year 😉 That's how lots of them manage to stay in business – because people keep going back for more!
So if a small business is closed down and people will lose their jobs on hearsay rather than a full investigation that's okay with her then?