Agent convicted for fraud thrown out of Ombudsman scheme

Published 01st Aug 2011

An estate agent with three convictions for fraud has been expelled from voluntary membership of The Property Ombudsman scheme.

In January, Amerjit Singh Dhuga, the owner of wli.uk.com which has sales and lettings offices in the Midlands, was fined £3,120 with £3,417 costs for 26 offences.

These included fraudulent use of the TPO and OFT logos on the website of his agency based at 101 High Street, West Bromwich.

At the time, the Property Ombudsman scheme chairman, Bill McClintock, said TPO would approach the Office of Fair Trading with a view to having Dhuga banned from working as an estate agent and warned that the firm could be expelled from TPO.

The TPO Disciplinary and Standards Committee (DSC) has now informed Dhuga that his membership has been withdrawn because of his fraud convictions. Dhuga will, however, be able to maintain basic membership of TPO.

Sandwell Council’s Trading Standards Department had started investigating wli.uk.com in January, 2010, and Dhuga’s TPO membership application was received in late April 2010. Dhuga pleaded guilty in January 2011 and did not appeal the sentence.

Gerry Fitzjohn, deputy chairman of the TPO operating company and a member of the DSC, said: “Sandwell could not disclose the date when it had first advised wli.uk.com that it was acting illegally in using our logo.

“As a result, the DSC could not expel wli.uk.com on the basis that it had breached an undertaking on its application form with regard to any Trading Standards Office or any other regulatory body taking, or considering whether to take, disciplinary action against the named applicant or any members of his staff.

“The DSC, in making the decision to expel, had to rely upon the fact that the proprietor of this member agent has multiple convictions, including three for fraud and we could not have persons with such convictions within membership.

“We declined to offer the opportunity to make representations to the DSC, or to appeal to the TPO council, because our decision relied upon the fact of the convictions for which he entered a guilty plea.

“We have allowed wli.uk.com to retain CEARA registration for its sales activities until such time as the OFT reaches a decision on whether Dugha should be banned from acting as an estate agent.

“The convictions will not be spent for five years and the expulsion will not be rescinded within that period.

“We are publicising this expulsion as Dugha tries to put a positive spin on any bad press reports and it is important that we make a positive statement that this agency is no longer a member of the voluntary scheme.

“To do otherwise could have unfavourable consequences for the integrity of the scheme and for consumers using Dhuga’s agency, particularly landlords and tenants who will no longer have any source of redress over unresolved complaints involving wli.uk.com.”

On the wli.uk.com website, various logos are displayed, including Rightmove.

The website claims the firm is ‘England’s finest estate agent’ and refers to its ‘highest standards of quality and integrity’ and ‘uncompromising professionalism’.

Source: ' EstateAgentToday '

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